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A North Carolina racetrack in Stokes County has lost some partnerships after its owner advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale online days after NASCAR said a noose had been found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, the top series’ only Black driver.
The owner, Mike Fulp, claims to have lost “all but two” of his sponsors, received death threats and has had 7 employees quit after his “Bubba Rope” post, which he described as a joke causing self-inflicted harm.
“I’ve lost all but two of my sponsors,” Fulp told the newspaper. “I’m responsible. I’m responsible for trying to make some jokes.”
Fulp said he is not a racist in an interview in which the Winston-Salem Journal reported he broke down in tears and sobbed.
“Buy your Bubba Rope today for only $9.99 each, they come with a lifetime warranty and work great,” the post said.
The Carolina Sprint Tour posted on its Facebook page that it would not race at the speedway for the remainder of its season, according to the newspaper.
“We do not condone nor support the comments and posts that have been made the past week,” the series said in a post online.
A concrete company also said it was cutting all ties with the speedway.
NASCAR officials released a photo Thursday of the rope found Sunday in Wallace’s garage stall that prompted a federal investigation, which determined it had been there since October. The incident came less than two weeks after NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its venues and races at Wallace’s urging.
Source: ESPN