NASCAR drivers have shown Bubba Wallace major support following the FBI’s investigation into the rope with a noose handle that was found in one of the garages at Talladega Superspeedway. However, the son of one former driver has opted for a different route. Dustin Skinner, the son of 1997 Cup Series Rookie of the Year Mike Skinner, posted a long comment on Facebook saying “hats off” to the person that left the noose.
“Frankly I wish they would’ve tied [the noose] to [Wallace] and drug him around the pits because he has single handedly destroyed what I grew up watching and cared about for 30 years now,” Dustin commented on Facebook. “I will not watch this sport anymore and that’s sad… go NASCAR [thumbs up emoji]. I hope the scumbag piece of s— was worth what has been started…”
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Dustin later walked back his comments after considerable criticism from his father and many others on social media. He released a statement and said that this was not about race. He just wants the world to find positive ways to agree or disagree with each other.
“I love everyone this was not about race at all,” Skinner wrote. “I disagree with what [Wallace] is doing, but it was stupidly foolish for me to say what I said and I truly regret every bit of it. If there was a way to take last night back I would. All I can do is say I’m sorry. I love everyone and wish the world to pull back together and us all find a positive way to agree or disagree.” This coincided with Skinner’s statement distancing himself from Dustin’s comments.
Many NASCAR fans have proclaimed that they are boycotting the sport following recent policy changes. Wallace called for racing’s governing body to ban the Confederate flag from all events, and the change went into effect days later. Following this decision, protesters lined up outside of Talladega Superspeedway while others said that Wallace was ruining the sport. One group, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, paid to have an airplane pull a massive Confederate flag banner over the track.
As Dustin’s comments — and several others — have shown, there are several people that disagree with NASCAR banning the Confederate flag. Wallace knew that this was a possibility when he spoke out on CNN, but he said that this move was necessary in order to make the sport more inclusive and welcoming to all fans.
