Rarely united on any subject, racers march to decry racism

IT was January 2018 when I was introduced to Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’S only African American driver.

The meeting was not at the racetrack but at Topgolf Las Vegas. He was there to jump-start the sale of tickets for NASCAR Weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by hitting a few balls.

To show how things have changed, the main topic of discussion was the weather — how it was much too cold and damp to be hitting golf balls off an elevated deck fronting a swanky hipster lounge.

George Floyd still was

descended on Talladega Superspeedway on Monday to investigate the discovery of a noose in Wallace’s garage stall, the entire industry rallied around the Cup Series’ only Black driver.

“The news has disturbed us all and of course we want justice and know who and why,” said seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. “And we want to stand with our friend.”

The 82-year-old Petty, at his first race since the coronavirus pandemic began and at Talladega on race day for the first time in more than 10 years, stood side by side with Wallace during the national anthem before Monday’s rain-postponed event. Everyone stood behind the car while Brad Keselowski held the American flag at the front of the display of solidarity.

The idea to stand with

Wallace started with Johnson, while former series champion Kevin Harvick suggested they all push the car to the front of the grid, Wallace said.

One by one, after the anthem, they hugged Wallace. He then had a long embrace with Petty.

And then he went racing in the Geico 500.

If not for a shortage of fuel, Wallace might have had a chance to race for the win. A late stop for gas led to a 14th-place finish but felt like a win for Wallace. He went to the fence and slapped hands through the wiring with a group of fans, many wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirts as they cheered.

He apologized for not wearing a mandatory mask but didn’t put it on because “I wanted to show whoever it was, you are not going to take away my smile.”

“This sport is changing,” he said. “The prerace deal was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had

to witness in my life. From all the supporters, from drivers to crew members, everybody here, the badass fan base, thank you guys for coming out. This is truly incredible and I’m glad to be a part of this sport.”

It was Wallace who successfully pushed the stock car series to ban the Confederate flag at its venues less than two weeks ago and he was the target when the noose was found hanging in the Richard Petty Motorsports garage stall Sunday afternoon at the Alabama track. A member of Wallace’s crew reported it to NASCAR, and by Monday morning U.S. Attorney Jay Town said his office, the

FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division were involved.

“Regardless of whether federal charges can be brought, this type of action has no place in our society,” Town said.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps said security has

been stepped up for Wallace — his team was also granted unusual access to its car Monday morning to ensure it had not been tampered with overnight — and the FBI was “currently on site” at the track.

He said the FBI director had told agents in Birmingham to “use all their resources” to find the perpetrator.

“Unequivocally they will be banned from this sport for life,” Phelps said. “There is no room for this at all. We won’t tolerate it. They won’t be here. I don’t care who they are, they will not be here.”

NASCAR has tried to distance itself from the Confederate flag for years at the risk of alienating a core group of its fan base. At Wallace’s urging, it went ahead with the ban as the nation grapples with social unrest largely tied to George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.