KEY POINTS

  • FBI discovers noose on Bubba Wallace's garage was actually a door pull rope
  • Wallace is being called a liar due to the findings
  • NASCAR says the organization is relieved by the result of the investigation

Bubba Wallace is in hot water a day after he cried foul on an alleged noose inside his team’s garage. As the FBI probe finds out that it was not really a noose but rather a garage door pull rope, Wallace took the brunt of criticism and was called a liar for what his detractors deem as an act enabling a “purposeful hoax.”

The discovery sparked speculation that the 26-year-old may have already known about the “fake noose” even before NASCAR called for an immediate investigation. For some, it is impossible for Wallace not to know that the noose was fake and that the car racer was simply attempting to pull out the victim card.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said, via CNN: "The FBI learned that garage number 4, where the noose was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week. The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019. Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week.”

In response to the investigation, NASCAR said: "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."

Despite the hate and criticism, NASCAR President Steve Phelps said the organization is relieved by the result of the probe.

"For us in NASCAR, this is the best result we could hope for," Phelps said during a teleconference call on Tuesday, via ESPN. "This is ... disturbing to hear that it was thought that one of our own had committed this heinous act. It is fantastic to hear from the FBI, definitively, that there was not a hate crime."

Wallace, the only full-time Black American racer in NASCAR’s top racing series, is in the midst of an active fight for racism, just as the rest of his community in the United States. Weeks ago, he took the headlines for calling and convincing the racing organization to ban the Confederate flag from all racetracks.

Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, wears an "I Can't Breathe -- Black Lives Matter" T-shirt under his firesuit at a race in Martinsville, Virginia, in solidarity with protests over the death of George Floyd
Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, wears an "I Can't Breathe -- Black Lives Matter" T-shirt under his firesuit at a race in Martinsville, Virginia, in solidarity with protests over the death of George Floyd GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Jared C. Tilton