NASCAR checked 1,684 garages, and Bubba Wallace's was the only one with a rope tied like a noose
- NASCAR released a photo of the noose found in Bubba Wallace's garage stall on Sunday.
- The FBI concluded that the noose was not a hate crime against Wallace but instead had been hanging in the stall for months, used as a handle for the garage.
- According to NASCAR, more than 1,600 garage stalls were checked during the investigation, and none but Wallace's has used a noose as a garage pull.
- This finding dispels the theory that lots of NASCAR garages use ropes tied in this manner.
It's been a whirlwind few days for the racing world, as NASCAR and its drivers have dealt with the intense emotions of the report that a noose had been found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, and the subsequent conclusion that the noose wasn't directly intended for him.
On Monday at Talladega, the racing world rallied around Wallace in solidarity after NASCAR had said in a statement that a noose had been found in Wallace's stall. Drivers and crew members from across the sport walked out with Wallace and stood with his car for the national anthem. Both his fellow drivers as well as athletes from across the sports world offered their support to Wallace online and in person.
The next day, the FBI concluded that the noose was not directed at Wallace, but rather had been hanging from that garage stall since October of 2019, and was used as a handle to close the garage.
After the FBI's report that no crime had been committed, some critics argued that NASCAR had overreacted, saying that garage pulls were common in the sport, and that Wallace's team had been too quick to jump to the conclusion that the noose was a racist act.
But Wallace argued otherwise, telling CNN that the noose was unlike anything he'd ever seen in his time in the sport.
"I've been racing all my life. We've raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that," Wallace said. "From the evidence that we have and I have, it's a straight-up noose. The FBI has stated that it was a noose over and over again. NASCAR leadership has stated it was a noose."
According to Bob Pockrass, who covers racing for Fox Sports, Wallace was right that the noose was a rarity.
After checking more than 1,600 garage stalls, NASCAR said that just 11 had a pull-down with a knot, and Wallace's was the only one that had a noose.
This finding dispelled claims made by many NASCAR fans that many of the garages use ropes tied in this manner.
Additionally, on Thursday NASCAR released an image of the noose that was found hanging from Wallace's stall. As Wallace had stated, the rope was clearly a noose, regardless of whatever other utility it was serving as a garage pull.
"It was a noose that was whether tied in 2019 or whenever, it was a noose," Wallace said. "It wasn't directed at me, but somebody tied a noose."
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