‘The View’: NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace Calls Noose-Doubters “Simpleminded People Afraid Of Change”

Greg Evans
·2 min read

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NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace says he’s offended “but not shocked” that internet conspiracy mongers are expressing doubt about the noose that was found hanging in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday.

Appearing on ABC’s The View today, Wallace, NASCAR’s only black driver, was asked by co-host Sunny Hostin about the internet theories that the noose incident was “a hoax” or “staged by NASCAR to garner more support for the removal of the Confederate flag.”

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Watch the segment below.

Wallace said he was offended by the rumor but not shocked. “People are entitled to their own opinion to make them feel good or help them sleep at night,” he said, adding, “Simpleminded people like that, the ones who are afraid of change, they use everything in their power to defend what they stand for.”

The driver, who pushed for NASCAR’s recent banning of the Confederate flag from its properties, said he has spoken with the FBI in its ongoing hate crime investigation (NASCAR has launched its own investigation.)

Wallace said it’s better that he didn’t see the noose – he was informed of its discovery by NASCAR officials. “I don’t know how I would have reacted,” he said.

The incident, he said, did not discourage him from his commitment to social change. “This just shows how much further we have to go as a sport, but also as a nation,” he said. “Systemic racism is a problem from every aspect of life.”

Yesterday, NASCAR drivers and crews took to the Talladega Superspeedway field in a show of support for Wallace, pushing his car to the front of the track.

Said Wallace today, “We always show the utmost respect off the racetrack and in times of need, in times of support.”

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