NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace says he wants to use his heightened platform to ‘stand up for a race that feels defeated’ after he found a noose in his racetrack garage at the weekend.
An FBI investigation followed, with is determined that the garage door pull rope, which had been fashioned like a noose, had been in that stall at the Talledaga Superspeedway track since last October.
Wallace, the sport’s only African-American driver, has insisted that it was "straight-up noose" and whether directed at him or not, still believes it was an act of racism.
A vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter, Wallace has been one of the loudest voices in the push for the banning of Confederate flags, formerly a common sight at NASCAR events.
He has received criticism on social media for playing the ‘race card’, but speaking to Trevor Noah on the Daily Show, the 26-year-old said that he was hoping to use his raised profile to change opinions in the sport he loves and the wider community as a whole.
"Ever since being vocal in being a human being, I've been proud to kind of step away from Bubba Wallace the athlete and to step up as Bubba Wallace the human and not be so, 'I don't know If I can touch that,' 'I don't know if I can say these types of things.' I'm letting that guard down," said Wallace.
"With me doing this, they have to know the bigger picture of everything. It's not about racing. It's about race," he said. "So ever since having that voice and being vocal about it and coming out and standing my ground, to helping NASCAR paint a new picture for sport and for the next generation to see and latch onto."
On the criticism he has received, he continued: "I am looked at as an African-American guy because of the colour of my skin.
"I am darker. I am not white. I am not black. I am mixed, and it's something that I've never once tried to bring in. I've always tried to bring in the competitive nature: 'Don't mess with me, I won't mess with you.' Let's race our hearts out. That's it."
"And now, having a voice, having a platform, being vocal, standing up for what I believe is right, standing up for a race that feels defeated, that is afraid to speak out because they don't know what's going to happen — I don't want to see my people go down like that." Wallace went on to say that, moving forward, he wants to use his voice to create change in his sport and his community."
Reflecting on the weekend’s events at Talledaga, Wallace revealed that his first fear when discovering the noose was for the wellbeing of his family.
"I was relieved that it wasn't my family but I was emotional," he continued. "My crew member checked each and every garage around us. Not one of them had anything close to resembling what we had.
"When they found that evidence, it was good. My family wasn't targeted, I wasn't targeted."
The race was postponed for a day due to bad weather in the area, and before the rescheduled start a dozen of his fellow drivers united behind Wallace – pushing his car to the front of the grid as a sign of solidarity.
"That was powerful," he added. "From the moment I was being pushed down the lane... there I was bawling, gathered my thoughts, turned around and seen all the drivers there, started bawling again. It shows that we can let down that side and be human beings and show love and compassion for our fellow competitors, our fellow brothers and sisters to come together as one."
