A noose was found in the garage of Bubba Wallace, who races for Petty’s team, on Sunday.
Richard Petty will attend Monday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway to support driver Bubba Wallace after a noose was found in his garage Sunday, Richard Petty Motorsports announced.
According to ESPN's Marty Smith, Petty said of his decision to attend the race, "The most important thing for me right now is hugging my driver." Petty, 82, has not been at races since mid-March during the coronavirus pandemic.
NASCAR launched an investigation after the noose was found in Wallace's garage stall. Wallace, who drives No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports, released a statement in response, promising "this will not break me."
"Today's despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and 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," Wallace said. "Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate."
Earlier this month, NASCAR announced a ban on Confederate flags at all events, something Wallace had advocated strongly for. Earlier on Sunday, fans outside of Talladega Superspeedway displayed Confederate flags from the vehicles. A plane flew overhead with a Confederate flag banner, with a sign reading "Defund NASCAR."