Drivers display support for Wallace over noose threat

Fellow drivers united behind Bubba Wallace prior to Monday’s Nascar race at Talladega as investigations continued into the noose left in the garage of the association’s only black full-time driver.

Dozens of drivers pushed Wallace’s number 43 car to the front of the field at the Alabama speedway in a show of solidarity with the 26-year-old, who was made visibly emotional by the gesture.

The noose was left following a successful campaign by Wallace to have the Confederate flag banned from Nascar events in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a statement, Nascar said: “We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act.”

Wallace later issued a statement of his own on social media, saying he was “incredibly saddened” by the incident.

“(It) serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism,” he said.

Other drivers also took to social media to express their support.

Ryan Blaney, who went on to win Monday’s race, tweeted of Watson:

“You’re my brother and always will be. Don’t let the people who are lower than life to try and bring you down.”

And Alex Bowman said on Twitter: “We may not always get along the greatest, but I have a ton of appreciation for the person @ BubbaWallace is and everything he’s doing to push us all to be better.”

Watson went on to finish Monday’s race in 14th place.

Meanwhile, Talladega County Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore said Nascar had contacted the FBI, which was handling the investigation into the noose.

Picture: AP.