North Carolina racecourse owner faces severe backlash after announcing the sale of “Bubba Rope” on Facebook, just days after a rope was found at Bubba Wallace’s garage stall at Talladega International Speedway.
Mike Fulp, the owner of 311 Motor Speedway in Stokes County, North Carolina, announced the sale of the “Bubba Rope” on Facebook on Wednesday, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. The publication was withdrawn on Thursday.
“Buy your Bubba Rope today for just $ 9.99 each, they come with a lifetime warranty and work great.”
NASCAR released a photo Thursday of the rope hanging at the Wallace garage stall, which federal investigators said had been there since October 2019 and was not directed at Wallace, the sport’s only black driver. While it has come under harsh criticism in recent days, the NASCAR drivers mounted a massive show of solidarity behind Wallace ahead of Monday’s race.
Naturally, Fulp’s post sparked a backlash from both Facebook users and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
“This incident of racism is horrible and embarrassing,” Cooper Deputy Chief Communications Officer Ford Porter told the Winston-Salem Journal. “North Carolina is better than this.”
NAACP local chapter president Jeff Crisp was also outraged and said he contacted the NAACP state director to request criminal charges.
“It is horrible that someone publishes something of that nature,” Crisp said through the Winston-Salem newspaper.
“It is absolutely unnecessary in these tense times. You go back to the days of slavery and hanging people and calling them ‘strange fruit’ on the trees because there were so many hanged slaves. This is not the time for comments like this, only causing unnecessary tension. “
Fulp has a history of racist and offensive social media posts in recent weeks, including one on Wednesday asking fans to bring Confederate flags, something NASCAR finally banned earlier this month, to its “heritage night ” Saturday. It also opened its race track in May to fans despite Cooper’s order to ban large gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, he did not let “crown-infested” members of the media in.
The owner of 311 Motor Speedway in North Carolina posted an ad trying to sell “Bubba Rope” this week, days after a rope was found in Bubba Wallace’s garage. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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