Former NASCAR driver Chase Pistone has died at 42.

The family has not revealed how Pistone passed away. However, they told Legends Nation, a news site for car racing, to post the suicide and crisis hotline number on their post.

Pistone’s brother, Nick, posted on Facebook to mourn his brother.

>50 SPORTS GREATS WHO DIED IN 2025 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

“Well, my young brother and best friend is gone,” Pistone’s brother said, “I’m brokenhearted and don’t know if I’ll ever get over this. I miss you, Chase, already, and I hope you are in a better place. I love you, and I miss you so much already.”

Pistone’s first race with NASCAR was in 2005. His first race was in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway, where he finished No. 35. In 2007, he attempted to make the ARCA Re/Max Series, but failed to qualify. 

Pistone took a seven-year break from professional racing. In 2014, he returned to professional racing with the NTS Motorsports team. He finished in the top 10 in his first race back at Gateway Motorsports Park. He finished No. 12 at the Iowa Speedway, 

Despite strong finishes in 2014, he was left without a ride for the 2015 season. This effectively ended his professional racing career. 

Pistone never had a major crash in his career. However, NASCAR cars go so fast that they cause head rattling. This head rattling, over the course of a career, can lead to serious head injuries.  

There’s also an epidemic of post-racing depression in motorsports like NASCAR. In many sports, athletes will feel like they’ve lost their identity when they retire. This feeling is compounded in motorsports because of how much is invested in a career. Motorsports is one of the most expensive sports to play. Even most professional drivers never get a full return on investment.

NASCAR announced a series of penalties in response to the post-race altercation between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The incident, which involved Stenhouse punching Busch, led to disciplinary actions against multiple Stenhouse’s No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team members. Stenhouse has been fined $75,000 for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.4.D in the NASCAR Rule Book) by initiating the fight.

The penalties for non-driver participants were even harsher. JTG Daugherty Racing tuner Keith Matthews received a four-race suspension for his involvement, while mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for eight races. Ricky’s father and a non-competitor, Richard Stenhouse, was indefinitely suspended after engaging Busch.

Busch, who provoked Stenhouse by pushing him into the wall on the second lap in retaliation for earlier contact, was not fined for his role in the incident. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer suggested that the deliberate nature of Stenhouse’s actions contributed to the severity of the penalties. Stenhouse had hinted in post-race interviews that he intended to confront Busch, which he did, as the only exit was a crossover gate on the backstretch, trapping both drivers on the track.

“When you wait 198 laps, and you make those decisions that were made, again, we’re going to react to that,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM. “Once we get to the point where it gets physical, we want the two drivers to be able to have time to express their differences. Once it escalates to a physical altercation, we are going to react.”

Sawyer also acknowledged that North Wilkesboro Speedway’s unique layout, lacking a tunnel or crossover bridge, complicated the situation. However, he emphasized that better decisions could have been made between the on-track incident and the post-race confrontation.

The penalties from the Stenhouse-Busch fight were the highlight of NASCAR’s weekly penalty report. Craftsman Truck Series crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz was fined $10,000 for an unsecured lug nut on Grant Enfinger’s truck, and Dawson Backus, rear tire changer for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck, was suspended for one race due to non-conforming protective equipment.

In the Xfinity Series, Rowan Mason, a No. 5 Our Motorsports team mechanic, was indefinitely suspended for violating NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy.

NASCAR has announced that Kevin Harvick would be penalized 100 points for modifications to his car in the YellaWood 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway Sunday. Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, will also receive a four-race suspension and $100,000 fine for the infractions, which remain unspecified.

Harvick was already far out of contention in the Cup Series, as he made the 16-team playoff but was already ranked last of the remaining drivers. A 100-point deduction leaves him 118 points behind 15th place.

At Talladega, any modifications to his car, illegal or otherwise, proved ineffective, as he only managed to earn eight points and finished 29th overall. But Harvick’s car was nevertheless one of two brought in for inspection following the race, and NASCAR concluded that the team had violated two sections of the rule book pertaining to parts changes.

Harvick and Childers remained coy in the wake of NASCAR’s investigation, as both released unclear tweets alluding to the incident. The pair have worked together since 2014 and won the Cup Series that year. They have been consistent playoff contenders since.

https://twitter.com/RodneyChilders4/status/1577764604624703488?s=20&t=jnfUj_tDNeUaCl5NpfpD9g

In reply to Harvick and Childers’ insinuation of targeting, NASCAR President Steve Phelps stood by the punishment and rejected any notion that the organization was going out of its way to hurt the team.

“No one has a vendetta against Kevin Harvick or Rodney, at all, or anyone at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Phelps told reporters. “Our guys are very good. They are going to look at (an infraction). Look at it again. Look at it a third time to make sure there’s a penalty and the penalty is right. If the four team thinks that’s not right, they will file an appeal.”

Harvick and Childers have not yet filed an appeal but could do so later this week. With five races remaining in the season, Childers would be set to return for the finale, though it’s impossible for the team to make it to the next round of the playoff.

Inadvertent fame is not something that Brandon Brown wants. At least not in the area in which he inadvertently found it.

NASCAR driver Brown became famous for the “Let’s Go Brandon” meme borne by his moniker. However, despite becoming the face of a partisan — albeit vulgar — rallying cry, he says he has “zero desire to be involved in politics.”

The infamy began in October when a reporter was interviewing Brown after he won his first NASCAR race, at Talladega Superspeedway. The reporter misheard the crowd’s chants of “F**k Joe Biden” and thought they were saying “Let’s Go Brandon.”

Conservatives took the slogan and ran with it, with some even selling merchandise with the phrase.

The driver said he didn’t notice the chants at first during the interview, and when he checked social media soon thereafter he thought the whole situation was “kind of funny.”

But the laughter soon stopped.

“Politics can be hazardous to your ability to make money,” Smith said. He added that as a NASCAR driver he wants “to appeal to everybody, because, all in all, everybody is a consumer … I have zero desire to be involved in politics.”

Brown said he hopes to turn the phrase into something more positive, suggesting “Let’s Go, America!”

On Monday, Bubba Wallace further etched his name in NASCAR history after becoming the first black driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race in nearly 60 years.

The triumphant Wallace did well to stay focused during a rain delay that postponed the YellaWood 500 from taking place on Sunday. As a result, 40 cars started their engines the following day — Monday — at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. 

The 27-year-old did not hesitate to capitalize on this opportunity to show the world his skill as a driver. Stars like Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch were ahead in points and considered favorites leading up to the race. Ultimately, Wallace came in first, placing him into a very small group of elite NASCAR drivers. Also, it has been nearly 60 years since a black driver has won a NASCAR Cup Series race. He now stands alongside Wendell Scott, who won a Cup Series in 1963.

Chase Elliott made a splash this past Sunday, claiming a major victory at the Jockey Made in America 250.

Elliott began in 34th place, but finished 5.705 seconds ahead of the next best driver, outlasting Christopher Bell for his second victory this season. Overall, Elliot has 13 victories, seven of which have been done on road courses. That number is the most road course wins amongst any active driver. In overall victories, Elliott ranks third.

Elliott discussed the composition of the course, stating, “It’s so long. You have a lot of opportunity to make mistakes or be good whenever you hit it.”

Elliott was savvy in regards to his strategy, outmaneuvering his opponents despite an undesirable starting position. To offset this hindrance, Elliott went into his pit early on the 11th lap, avoiding a caution that slowed down many other drivers just a few stops later.

Elliott, who had said he was unable to find his rhythm in his Saturday practice, mentioned that he was able to compose himself and push for victory.

“For whatever reason there, after about halfway through the race, I started finding some of that rhythm, was able to put it together, piece different parts of the track,” he said. “Finally I felt like I was able to piece most of it together.”

The crowd was near record highs, and Elliot celebrated with multiple burnouts. The crowd loved Elliott, who reciprocated the support of the fans. “I hope you enjoyed the show,” Elliott said.

Kyle Larson knows the effort required to win an event as challenging as the NASCAR All-Star Race – and he used just enough to give Hendrick Motorsports a victory for the second straight year. The victory also marks 10 total victories at the event for Hendrick Motorsports.

The win was not easily earned, with competitor Brad Keselowski nearly upsetting Larson. The efforts of Keselowski required Larson to utilize a risky passing maneuver in order to regain the lead. Following the risky pass, Larson held onto the first-place position for the remaining few laps.

Larson last won the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2019, competing with partner Chip Ganassi. However, Larson found himself in the heat of controversy when he was caught in a hot mic moment using a racial slur during a live-streamed virtual race. The abhorrent vocabulary hurled by Larson resulted in a six-month suspension for the professional racer, who then missed the 2020 All-Star Race.

Larson’s talent, regardless of his previous questionable antics, is undeniable. With the victory, he is now just the eighth driver to ever win the NASCAR All-Star Race more than once. Despite uncomfortable weather conditions – temperature during the race reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit, and prior to the event track temperatures climbed into the 140s – Larson was nevertheless able to finish victorious.

Ultimately, the event was used to honor Eddie Gossage, a long-time NASCAR promoter, whose final day of his three-decade career was the same day as the All-Star Race.

Alex Bowman secured his second season win at the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Bowman was able to take the lead when his pit crew got him off pit road first on lap 304. He then led the final 96 laps of the race as teammate Kyle Larson was unable to pass him. Bowman earned his racing team Hendrick Motorsports their 267th race win. That is one win shy of the team record held by Petty Enterprises.

To make the win better for the racing team, Bowman’s fellow teammates finished second, third and fourth. Larson finished second, Chase Elliott third, and William Byron fourth. Larson led for a race-high 263 laps and then Bowman led for 98 laps.

It’s the first time in team history that Hendrick cars have finished in the top four spots. The last time the team held the top spots was in the 1997 Daytona 500. In that race, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven finished first, second, and third.

After the race was over, Bowman was excited. The self-described “race car driver slash weirdo” quoted a movie line from the film Talladega Nights. “Help me, Tom Cruise, I’m on fire,” Bowman said.

“I want to be the guy that gets those wins for Mr. H,” Bowman said. “Not so fast,” said Larson in response to Bowman. “I hope I’m the driver to do it.”

The next season race will be held at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas on Sunday.

NASCAR star Bubba Wallace continues to use his platform for the greater good.

Wallace is partnering with Novant Health to address the hesitancy to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Novant Health announced the partnership with a press release on Wednesday.

Based in North Carolina, Novant Health is partnering with Wallace to bring awareness and end hesitancy to get vaccinated. “I’m really excited to partner with Novant Heath this year on several community initiatives, starting with getting my COVID vaccine this week,” said Wallace in the press release. “For me, it’s important to learn about the vaccine and do my part to help get us back to normal.”

Novant Health is seeking to increase vaccination rates across minority communities. The healthcare system has worked to close health equity gaps. “We thank Bubba for stepping up and using his voice, which helps educate members of our communities who may not trust or want the vaccine,” Carl Armato, president and CEO of Novant Health, said. “It’s vital we do all that we can to show our communities that the vaccines are safe and effective.”

On Tuesday, Wallace and 50 of his 23XI racing teammates and their immediate families received their first doses of the vaccine. They all received the vaccines in Wallace’s team shop in North Carolina.

Wallace and his crew were originally scheduled to receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, but the U.S. FDA recommended the immediate halt of using the company’s vaccine because six women developed a rare blood clot disorder within two weeks of receiving the shot.

Instead, they received the Pfizer vaccine, but the drama did not deter the racing driver. “Seeing that they are taking a pause and doing more research and figuring out what other avenues they need to go down to make this perfect,” Wallace said. “Just gives you reassurance.”

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty released a public service announcement with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services about getting vaccinated. “It doesn’t only help me; it helps my family and all of the people I associate with,” Petty said of getting vaccinated. “You are not only helping yourself; you are helping your neighbors.”

One of the biggest races in NASCAR is just around the corner.

The Toyota Owners 400 is set to be held on April 18 at 3 p.m. at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. It is the ninth race out of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Season. Richmond Raceway is known as “America’s premier short track,” and the race will be contested on the 0.75 mile asphalt track. The race will be broadcast of FOX, with Mike Joy, racing legend Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer on the call.

This race comes only a couple months after the biggest competition of the year, the Daytona 500. In one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history, Michael McDowell won on the final lap after Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked while competing for the top spot. McDowell was at 100-1 odds to win entering the race, and it was his first ever NASCAR Cup Series win. This exciting finish sets the stage for the Toyota Owners 400, as these racers and other major competitors, including Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace will all be in Richmond to square off for the title. Richmond is allowing a limited level of in person attendance, so be sure to get tickets to this showdown while they are still available.

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After Ryan Blaney won the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this past weekend, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series leaves Georgia and heads to Tennessee. For the first time in over 50 years, the NASCAR Cup Series will head to a dirt track for the Food City Dirt Race.

The race marks the 121st race at Bristol Motor Speedway in series’ history, however, it will be the first Cup race on dirt since Richard Petty won in 1970 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

The race will begin at 3:30 p.m. EST. on Sunday, March 28, and will cover 133.25 miles over 250 laps. All 39 cars are entered for the inaugural Food City Dirt Race, and for the first time since Daytona, practice and qualifying will take place. Practices will be held on Friday, March 26. Qualifying will take place on Saturday, March 27.

While the odds will surely change based on pole positioning, here are the current odds according to FanDuel Sportsbook:

– Kyle Larson (+250)
– Christopher Bell (+550)
– Austin Dillon (+900)
– Chase Elliott (+1200)
– Ricky Stenhouse (+1400)
– Kyle Busch (+1600)
– Ryan Blaney (+1800)
– Byron Wallace (+2200)
– Denny Hamlin (+2500)
– Martin Truex Jr. (+2500)
– Kevin Harvick (+2800)
– Alex Bowman (+3300)
– Kurt Busch (+3300)
– Brad Keselowski (+3300)
– Joey Logano (+3300)
– William Byron (+6600)

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For the second consecutive week, the top drivers in the world will stay out west, and head from Nevada to Arizona. Sunday’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway marks the 50th race hosted by this track in the series’ history. The race kicks off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The track in Phoenix is one of the most unique tracks on the circuit, featuring a “D-shaped” oval. The straights are almost completely flat and incredibly fast heading into the low and progressive corners. For this reason, the speed of the car is of utmost importance.

Phoenix Raceway is often won by the racer who leads the most laps. In four of the last five races here, the driver who led the most laps won the race. You don’t typically see a lot of lead changes at this track. That is why pole positioning is so important.

After winning his first Busch Pole Award of the season, Brad Keselowski will lead the pack on Sunday afternoon, followed by last week’s Penzoil 400 winner, Kyle Larson. Last week’s victory at Las Vegas marked Larson’s seventh career victory. He will be a favorite again this week as he has finished sixth or better in his last four starts at Phoenix.

Despite the fact that Larson currently ranks third in the NASCAR standings and has had really solid showings at Phoenix Raceway, there are seven drivers with better odds to win the event, including frontrunner Kevin Harvick (9-2 odds). Harvick is the only racer on the circuit who averages a finish in the single-digits (7.8 average finish). He is a nine-time winner at this track and leads all drivers in the series in laps led at this oval during the last 16 seasons. The No. 4 team at Stewart Haas Racing has two top-five finishes and an additional top-ten finish to begin this season. Of all the tracks where Harvick is likely to win, Phoenix might be his greatest opportunity.

Following Harvick, three drivers come in with 11-2 odds – Keselowski, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin. Rounding out the five most likely winners coming into the race is Martin Truex Jr. (13-2 odds).

The defending Cup Series champion, Elliott, won the last time drivers raced in Avondale, Arizona at the Season Finale 500 last November. Elliott dominated that afternoon, leading a whopping 153 laps on his way to Victory Lane. Elliott has always performed well at small oval tracks, and has led 256 laps over his last two starts at Phoenix Raceway.

Overall, this should be an incredibly competitive race with the best drivers around the world competing. Tickets are still available.

Kyle Larson earned his first NASCAR race win since his suspension. Following his victory at Sunday’s Penzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, racers Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski were waiting at the lane to congratulate him for his victory.

Larson was suspended for the remainder of the 2020 season after saying a racial slur during an online event in April of 2020. In addition to a suspension, he was fired from Chip Ganassi Racing. According to the Associated Press, Rick Hendrick took on the driver when no other team would. Larson was reinstated back in October, but was told to attend sensitivity training.

After almost a full year out of the sports, it took Larson just four races in 2021 to return to Victory Lane.

Wallace was one of the people who Larson reached out to after saying the slur word. However, Wallace believed in giving second chances and said, “I am not mad at him, and I believe that he, along with most people, deserve second chances and deserve space to improve.”

Following Larson’s victory, Wallace tweeted, “Proud and happy for @KyleLarsonRacin. Told him way to keep his head thru it all! We all knew it was a matter of time… Nice dub young money.”

When NASCAR suspended the 28-year-old for the rest of the 2020 season, Larson took the time to learn and reflect on his actions. “Since April, I’ve done a lot of reflecting, and I realized how little I really knew about the African-American experience in this country and racism in general,” he said. “Educating myself is something I should’ve done a long time ago because it would’ve made me a better person – the kind of person who doesn’t casually throw around an awful, racist word. The kind who makes an effort to understand the hate and oppression it symbolizes and the depth of pain it has caused Black people throughout history and still to this day.”

Larson was touched when Wallace came to congratulate him. “He’s always believed in me, so that was special,” Larson said. He was also humbled when Keselowski congratulated him for his victory. “That was really special to see Brad walking across the infield to come to congratulate me, then waiting while I completed my interviews and things,” the driver said.

The runner-up, Keselowski, said of Larson’s victory, “I think everybody loves a good redemption story.” Keselowski added, “We’ve all been kind of pulling for him.”

Bubba Wallace did not get the start he wanted to, but it worked out in the end.

Wallace’s number 23 car failed the pre-game inspection twice at the Daytona 500 before passing on the third inspection. The inspection failure prompted the ejection of Wallace’s car chief Greg Emmer from the race. As for Wallace, he was forced to start from the back of the field. The 27-year-old driver was slated to start in the third row before the failed inspection forced him in the back.

However, despite starting from the back, it did not stop the 27-year-old. Wallace went on to become the first black driver to lead a lap in the Daytona 500. He grabbed the lead on lap 129 before losing it to the two-time defending champion Denny Hamlin.

Wallace finished 17th as Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500. Wallace had high expectations heading into the race. Although he didn’t win, he did make history.

At the NASCAR All-Star Open, last Wednesday fans in attendance were openly hostile towards driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace by booing him when he was introduced and then cheering when he crashed his car 17 laps into the race. Wallace has been at the center of controversy the past month when his team found what appeared to be a noose in the driver’s garage and it was mistakenly taken as a racially charged threat towards Wallace, NASCAR’s only African-American driver. After an investigation by the FBI, it was determined that this wasn’t a hate crime but it seems that this incident has stirred up some racial tensions under the surface in the NASCAR community.

Since the incident, NASCAR has been a bit of a firestorm with President Donald Trump tweeting at Wallace directly telling him to apologize for the misunderstanding and NASCAR banning all confederate flags at events. This likely won’t be the last time that Wallace will be booed this season with all of the controversies that the noose incident stirred up, but it does call into question the motivations behind this hostility especially that the noose was reported by Wallace’s team and not Wallace himself.

This does little to help advance NASCAR’s profile and only re-establishes, in some people’s minds, is a sport with a racist fan base who like to fly the Confederate flag at races and boo the only black driver in the sport.

When what appeared to be a noose was found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace at Talladega Motor Speedway, the NASCAR community rallied around Wallace, who is the lone black driver on NASCAR’s main circuit. The FBI concluded that the rope was not actually a noose, rather it was a door pull and that Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime. 

On Monday, President Donald Trump sent out a tweet criticizing Wallace, calling the noose investigation a hoax. “Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!” Trump tweeted. 

Wallace responded later Monday with a long statement he posted on his Twitter account. Wallace called out the president saying, “Your words and actions will always be held to a higher standard than others. You have to be prepared for that. You don’t learn these things in school. You learn them from trials and tribulations, the ups and downs this crazy world provides. You will always have people testing you. Seeing if they can knock you off your pedestal. I encourage you to keep your head held high and walk proudly on the path you have chosen. Never let anybody tell you [you] can’t do something! God put us all here for a reason. Find that reason and be proud of it and work your tails off every day towards it! All the haters are doing is elevating your voice and platform to much greater heights! Last thing, always deal with the hate being thrown at you with LOVE! Love over hate every day. Love should some naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate. Even when it’s HATE from the POTUS. Love wins”

NASCAR also issued a statement, showing support for Wallace. “We are proud to have Bubba Wallace in the NASCAR family and we commend his courage and leadership,” the statement read. “NASCAR continues to stand tall with Bubba, our competitors and everyone who makes our sport welcoming and inclusive for all racing fans.”

Other athletes, including LeBron James and Jimmie Johnson, have shown their support for Wallace as well. 

Trump mentioned that NASCAR’s ratings are down because of Wallace, which is  actually far from the truth, as since the sport’s return back in May, NASCAR’s ratings are up 8%.

The federal government provided loans to struggling companies during the COVID-19 pandemic through its PPP program. Among those receiving millions in federal help include boxing promotions companies led by Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum, as well as teams in NASCAR, IndyCar and the MLS.

On Monday, data was released that showed the recipients of these loans, although specific dollar amounts were not given. The three boxing organizations requested loans between $350,000 and $1 million. What is interesting here is that in the case of Mayweather, last year he was named the highest-paid athlete during the decade of the 2010s as he made around $915 million.

The Seattle Sounders, Inter Miami, Orlando City, and D.C. United are teams from the MLS who received loans. There are rumors that other clubs received loans from the government. 

Other notable sports organizations that applied for PPP loans include: 

• National Women’s Soccer League
• 32 U.S. Olympic Sports Organizations 
• The BIG 3 
• Numerous NASCAR Teams
• Almost Every IndyCar Team Except Team Penske
• Several Esports Organizations
• 4 NCAA Conferences:
  • Conference USA
  • The Big South Conference
  • The Southland Conference
  • The BigSky Conference

After the FBI concluded Tuesday that the noose found in the garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was actually a door pull that was placed there in October 2019, and that Wallace was not a victim of a hate crime, NASCAR released an image of the perceived noose on Thursday. 

In a statement, NASCAR president Steve Phelps said that the main concern of NASCAR was to protect Wallace. “Given the facts presented to us, we would have pursued this with the same sense of urgency and purpose,” Phelps said Thursday. “Upon learning of seeing the noose, our initial reaction was to protect our driver. We’re living in a highly charged and emotional time. What we saw was a symbol of hate, and was only present in one area of the garage – that of the 43 car of Bubba Wallace. In hindsight, we should have – I should have – used the word ‘alleged’ in our statement…. As you can see from the photo, the noose was real, as was our concern for Bubba. With similar emotion, others across our industry and our media stood up to defend the NASCAR family – our NASCAR family – because they are part of the NASCAR family too. We were proud to see so many stand up for what’s right.”

Phelps also noted that as a part of NASCAR’s investigation, they checked every garage at every NASCAR track, a total of 1,684 garages and shared their findings. “We found only 11 total that had a pull-down rope tied in a knot, and only one noose – the one discovered on Sunday in Bubba Wallace’s garage.”

Cameras will also be added to the garage area at NASCAR races in the future according to Phelps as a means to protect its drivers.

The next NASCAR race at Pocono Motor Speedway will see an increase of security around Wallace, who is the only full-time black driver on NASCAR’s main circuit.

Nearly a day after a noose was found hanging in the garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, there was a show of solidarity among drivers for Wallace. Prior to Monday’s rescheduled race, drivers helped push Wallace’s car to the front of the race prior to the start. 

It was an emotional day for Wallace, who was moved to tears after the gesture and then post-race, while interacting with fans in “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts, he would apologize for not wearing a mask. “I wanted to show whoever it was: You are not going to take away my smile,” he said. “This sport is changing. The pre-race 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.”

Wallace would finish fourteenth in Monday’s race, but that really came secondary to the showing of unity among drivers. The race’s winner Ryan Blaney has been friends with Wallace for over a decade. He spoke to ESPN about his friend. “And it showed how you’re not gonna scare [Wallace],” he said. “You’re not gonna scare him. He’s really strong. He’s gonna rise above it and fight this. So we just wanted to show our support. I wanted to show my support for my best friend. He’s just been someone I’ve really, really loved for a long time, and I’m gonna support him 100 percent along the way for many years to come. I hope a lot of people will look at that and learn from everyone coming together and supporting each other. That’s what it’s gonna take to make things better.”

The FBI has since gotten involved in the investigation originally opened by NASCAR into finding out who left the noose in Wallace’s garage. NASCAR has said that they will not release any video they have right away, and will turn all evidence over to the FBI. Given the limited access to garages because of the pandemic, the leading opinion that whoever placed the noose was a member of an opposing team to Wallace’s, a security or maintenance staff member or a NASCAR official that had access to the area, but it is still unclear.

NASCAR went to Miami over the weekend to Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Xfinity Series race saw  Dale Earnhardt Jr. race in his one race a year since he retired in 2017.  This time around, he took a different approach to his race-day preparations.

According to Earnhardt, his plan was to fly to Miami Saturday morning and get to the racetrack in the early afternoon, go through the various health screening protocols, sit in his rental car where he will change into his gear and arrive in his car shortly before the start of the race without any practice. 

For Earnhardt, he essentially went into this cold, but he said that he was excited. “I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to really sit in the car, drive the car, understand if it’s comfortable, if there’s anything wrong, if the mirror’s in the right place or all those little things that you’d like to take care of during the first few practices. And so, there’ll be a couple things that might not be exactly right or exactly comfortable as we’re racing, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to getting in the car and just kind of enjoying the experience of driving a race car and competition.”

The 45-year old Earndhart had 26 wins in his career, but has not won since 2016.

In the end, the strategy seemed to pay off as although Harrison Burton came out victorious from Saturday’s race, Earndhart did not finish too far behind, placing in fifth.