NASCAR fans greeted Bubba Wallace with a chorus of boos in his first return to a track with fans following noosegate. You may remember the drama that occurred back in June when Bubba Wallace and crew believed they found a noose in his garage at Talladega Superspeedway. It turned out to be an ordinary garage pull that had been at the track for months and months and months.
Despite the booing at hearing Wallace’s name and the cheering upon watching his crash, the booing from the fans likely had less to do with the driver’s stances on social issues and more to do with his harsh characterization of NASCAR fans who were dubious, (correctly, as it turns out) of Wallace’s contention that someone had placed a noose in his garage with racial intent.
In June, an FBI investigation concluded that no hate crime had occurred because the “noose” in Wallace’s garage was in fact a garage pull handle that had been in place long before anyone could have known Wallace would use that garage. In response to claims from some fans that the noose incident had been staged, Wallace accused some NASCAR fans of being “simple minded,” not taking the time to “educate” themselves, and being quick to “jump to a conclusion.”
He also claimed that those fans view their job as being “always to deliver hate.”
NASCAR fans react to Bubba Wallace for first time…
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) July 17, 2020
Bubba Wallace did eventually hear the crowd cheer for him…when his race ended early due to a crash. Oh snap!
Wallace deserved this greeting. If he genuinely thought the rope was a noose, that is fine. However, once the FBI investigated and determined it was not a noose and simply a pull for the garage, he should have immediately backed off and acknowledged THE FACTS.
Instead, he dug in and stuck to his story. On June 23rd, he gave an interview to CNN after the FBI findings were released. CBS47 reported:
In an interview Tuesday night with CNN, Wallace said what he saw in his garage “was a straight-up noose.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Wallace said. “Whether it was tied in 2019 or not, whenever, it was a noose. It wasn’t directed at me, but somebody tied it.”
Wallace said he is angry with people who are claiming the noose claim was a hoax.
“I’m mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am and my integrity,” Wallace told CNN. “You won’t break me. You won’t tear me down.”
Bubba did eventually relent and admit there was no noose.
In a post race interview, Wallace attacked the driver who clipped him, snidely referring to him as God-fearing. Wallace is not earning himself any new fans with this constant sideshow.
He needs to just shut up and drive.
Evidently @bubbawallace has moved on to #Christian hating now. So glad the failing @NASCAR tweeted this video. It’s a perfect example of the “blame everyone” narcissistic juvenile their favorite spokesperson is.
pic.twitter.com/xiAyVlmFsy— Jonathan T Gilliam (@JGilliam_SEAL) July 17, 2020