NASCAR, citing FBI reports, described the item as “garage door laces made like ropes.”
“The FBI knows that garage number 4, where the snare was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week,” the agent said in a statement Tuesday. “The investigation also revealed evidence, including an authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the snare found in garage number 4 had been in the garage since October 2019. Although the snare is now known to be in garage number 4 in 2019, no one can know Mr. Wallace will be assigned to garage number 4 last week. “
Wallace has not publicly responded to FBI findings on Tuesday night. NASCAR said that he had never seen the figure.
NASCAR issued a statement regarding the FBI’s decision that said, “We appreciate the FBI’s rapid and thorough investigation and are grateful to know that this was not an intentional and racist racist act against Bubba.”
“We remain firm in our commitment to provide a friendly and inclusive environment for all who love to race,” NASCAR said.
Richard Petty Motorsports, who drives No. car. 43, who was driven by Wallace, issued a statement saying one of his employees “found a rope tied like a rope in a garage garage” assigned to Wallace.
Petty’s employees followed the protocol and notified NASCAR, the statement said.
“No member of Richard Petty Motorsports, or Wallace is involved with the presence of the rope,” the statement said.
Also on Tuesday, the Wood Brothers Racing team said via Twitter that a member of his team remembered seeing a rope like a rope hanging in a garage in the fall of 2019. The information was conveyed to the appropriate authorities as part of a NASCAR investigation, the Wood said of the brother.
The discovery of the Sunday afternoon snares at Wallace’s workshop in Talladega came when the United States, and NASCAR in particular, more precisely dealt with American systemic racism after the police killed George Floyd.
Wallace, the only black racer on the NASCAR top circuit, has been a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and related protests against racism and police brutality.
In a teleconference Tuesday, NASCAR president Steve Phelps said the FBI findings were “the best outcome we could hope for.”
“Team (No.) 43 has nothing to do with this,” Phelps said. Wallace drives No. 43.
“The proof is very clear that the snares in the garage were already in the garage before,” continued Phelps. “The last race we did there was in October, that there was no snare, and that – the fact that it wasn’t discovered until team 43 members came there was something that was a fact. We haven’t returned to the garage. It was a quick one-day performance. Members the crew went back in. He looked and saw the snare, brought it to the attention of his crew chief, who then went to NASCAR series director Jay Fabian, and we launched this investigation.
“To be clear, we will do this again. From the evidence we have, it is clear that we need to see this.”
Phelps does not accept media inquiries by telephone.
A NASCAR spokesman said on the call that while the federal investigation was finished, the NASCAR investigation continued.
Wallace wore a “I Can’t Breathe” shirt before one event, repainted his car with the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and asked NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag, which the organization agreed to do on June 10.
Wallace tweeted Sunday that the “despicable act” left him “very sad and serves as a painful reminder of how far we must go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.”
“This will not destroy me, I will not surrender or retreat. I will continue to proudly defend what I believe,” Wallace said.
Monday, NASCAR racers, pit crew members and others walked with Wallace and escorted No. car. 43 was as a form of support before the race.
Dianne Gallagher and Kevin Dotson from CNN contributed to this report.