Bubba Wallace: Noose found in black Nascar driver’s garage ‘not a crime’, says FBI

Bubba Wallace says: 'People are trying to test my character'

The FBI has concluded no hate crime was committed over the noose found in a trackside stall used by black Nascar driver Bubba Wallace, saying it was a pull-rope handle that had been there since at least October 2019.

The noose was spotted last week inside a garage space at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway.

Shocked Nascar bosses condemned it amid nationwide protests against systemic racism weeks after George Floyd, an unarmed black American, was killed in Minneapolis police custody on 25 May.

Mr Wallace, the sport’s single black professional driver who pushed Nascar to ban the Confederate flag from circuits and venues, called it a “despicable act of racism and hatred”.

However, the US justice department and FBI said in a statement that they “have concluded that no federal crime was committed.”

Nascar added that the noose appeared to be a door pull-rope and could not have been targeted at a particular driver.

“The FBI report concludes, and photographic evidence confirms, that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall,” Nascar in a statement. “This was obviously well before the 43 team’s arrival and garage assignment.

“We appreciate the FBI’s quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing.”

Mr Wallace, who has been a prominent Black Lives Matter advocate in recent weeks, denounced the investigation.

“It was a noose. Whether it was tied in 2019... it is a noose”, he told CNN. “I’m p****d. I’m mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am and my integrity.”

The 26-year-old driver, who said he had never seen the rope in question, said Nascar president Steve Phelps visited him on Sunday night with “tears running down his face” after the noose had been reported.

“The evidence he brought to me was that a hate crime has been committed, quote-on-quote,” said Mr Wallace.

He added: “Nascar was worried about Talladega. We had that one circled on the radar with everything going on.”

The FBI was informed on Monday that someone from the Wood Brothers Racing team recalled seeing a rope tied like a noose at Talladega in October 2019.