Saturday's Pocono Organics 325 faced a brief delay due to inclement weather in Pennsylvania. This pushed the start time but also provided announcer Mike Joy with the opportunity to address a recent situation. He talked about driver Bubba Wallace and the recent FBI investigation into a rope with a noose fashioned on the end.
Joy took the opportunity to address the "noose situation" and how NASCAR reacted on Sunday evening. The noose in question was actually a garage door pull rope, which led to several people on social media alleging that Wallace and NASCAR created a hoax. Joy responded and said that this was not a possibility. He also said that NASCAR did not overreact after learning about the rope.
"Pundits that don't know Rusty Wallace from Bubba Wallace from Bubba Watson or Bubba Pollard have all weighed in as they tried to settle on the answers to two questions," Joy said. "First, was this a Jussie Smollett-style grab for attention? Absolutely not! The drivers are not allowed in the garage area during the pandemic. Wallace never saw the noose, only was told about it." Joy also explained that he believes NASCAR reacted appropriately considering that there were protesters outside of Talladega Superspeedway, as well as a massive Confederate flag flying over the track.
When he made these comments, some Twitter users responded by accusing the announcer of simply saying "whatever NASCAR tells him to say." The vocal majority, however, used this as an opportunity to explain why Joy is their favorite announcer. They said that he truly understands the situation that took place earlier in the week and pleaded with critics to pay attention to his words.