Kay Ivey calls noose found in Bubba Wallace’s garage ‘disgusting display of hatred’
A noose was found in the garage stall of NASCAR’s only black driver, Bubba Wallace, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Ala. on Sunday. On Monday, Gov. Kay Ivey called the act a “disgusting display of hatred in our state.” “I am shocked and appalled to hear of yesterday’s vile act against Bubba Wallace in Talladega – there is no place for this disgusting display of hatred in our state,” said Ivey. “Racism and threats of this nature will not be condoned nor tolerated, and I commit to assisting in any way possible to ensure that the person responsible for this is caught and punished.” “While the important conversation of racial reconciliation is ongoing all over our country, it is clear there is much work to do. Bubba Wallace is one of us; he is a native of Mobile and on behalf of all Alabamians, I apologize to Bubba Wallace as well as to his family and friends for the hurt this has caused and regret the mark this leaves on our state. I ask the NASCAR family to rally around Bubba and his team as they compete today, and I know that there are more people who are wishing him well today than ever before.” Wallace himself weighed in on the situation on Twitter Sunday night calling it “despicable act of racism and hatred.” “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 Tweeted. “Over the last several weeks, I have been overwhelmed by the support from people across the NASCAR industry, including other drivers and team members in the garage. Together, our sport has made a commitment to driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone.” pic.twitter.com/koL655AJB9 — Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) June 22, 2020 The noose comes in the wake of Wallace starting the movement to have NASCAR ban all Confederate flags from NASCAR races. NASCAR did just that earlier this month.
Kay Ivey announces $50M ‘Transformation’ for Talladega Superspeedway
The owners of Talladega Superspeedway are investing at least $50 million as part of a year-long project dubbed “Transformation” that will add amenities that include a fan area in garages and a massive covered area with a bar, seating and giant video screen. International Speedway Corporation said today it is making the investment in NASCAR’s most competitive track to “take Talladega to another level,” according to ISC Chief Operating Officer Joie Chitwood. Watch the Talladega Superspeedway Transformation development announcement from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo. “We’re elevating the guest experience with unique amenities and conveniences that Talladega Superspeedway can offer and that’s going to continue the history of this facility well into the future,” Chitwood said. Among the enhancements will be: Garage Fan Zone Experience, with more than 140,000 square feet of social and engagement areas, and up-close access to race car bays via a garage viewing walkway in the new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage. There will also be interactive attractions and enhanced amenities for fans, sponsors, teams and stakeholders in the infield. The area will also have Wi-Fi, two new concession stands, restroom complexes, a guest services center and a fan first-aid facility. Open Air Club, a 35,000-square-foot covered area with lots of seating, a bar, a 41-foot video screen and views into the garage areas. Paddock Club will be a two-level viewing and seating area for more than 600 at the end of pit road. New Gatorade Victory Lane will be visible from fans in both the grandstands and the Garage Fan Zone Experience. Approximately 300 new RV spaces – all with power and water hookups – offering views of of the Alabama Gang Superstretch and the start-finish line. A new two-lane, oversized vehicle tunnel at the end of the Alabama Gang Superstretch will allow 24-hour entry/exit access for vehicular traffic, including RVs along with a tram route that will deliver fans to the entrance of the new Garage Fan Zone Experience. The project also will include an expanded drivers meeting location, renovated media center and a Race Operations building high atop the tri-oval that will house race control, live television booths for Fox and NBC, the Motor Racing Network and public address. The improvements are coming in 2019, the year Talladega Superspeedway marks its 50th anniversary. “We have had nearly 50 years of incredible history in motorsports and have been a tourist destination for so many,” said Grant Lynch, chairman of Talladega Superspeedway. “The investment that we are making shows a commitment today, tomorrow and beyond. Fans, both current and future, have a lot to look forward to in the next 50 years. There’s only one Talladega.” Construction will start following the Oct. 12-14 NASCAR Playoff doubleheader this year, featuring the 1000Bulbs.com 500 and Talladega 250. The new RV spaces and Race Operations improvements will be ready in time for the spring 2019 race while the other infield enhancements will be ready in time for the fall 2019 race. NASCAR and International Motorsports Hall of Famer Richard Childress raced in the first NASCAR race at Talladega in 1969 and has run many races there with his Richard Childress Racing team of drivers. “Talladega Superspeedway is where my career began as a driver, so it holds a special place in my heart,” Childress said. “Over the years we have met so many fans that love our sport here, and with this new endeavor, Talladega and ISC are taking this place to next level. Fans have loved it for nearly 50 years, but this is going to take it to new heights.” The improvements are expected to add to the economic impact the Talladega Superspeedway has on the state by bringing in more than 100,000 race fans to the state for two races each year. “In 2017, Talladega had a $435 million impact on our state, including $167 million in payroll supporting nearly 8,300 jobs,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. “We simply cannot overstate the positive impact that NASCAR, (ISC) and the Talladega Superspeedway have on Alabama. Attractions like Talladega are essential to a healthy industry of tourism and it has a positive effect on Alabama’s economy.” The Talladega Superspeedway Transformation project focuses on infield improvements. (DLR Group/Alabama Newscenter) Birmingham’s Hoar Construction is the pre construction contractor on the project, which was designed by Omaha, Nebraska-based DLR Group. “We are excited to be involved in the redevelopment of the Talladega Superspeedway,” said Turner Burton, vice president at Hoar. “It is an honor to work with International Speedway Corporation on one of the most famous racetracks in the world. We are building a strong team of local partners that will make sure the project is a success and has a significant economic impact for our home state. We are looking forward to breaking ground this fall.” Transformation comes at a fitting time in the racetrack’s history, Ivey said. “Since ground was broken at this site 50 years ago, Alabama has proudly been the home of the biggest and baddest racetrack in NASCAR,” she said. Republished with the permission of the Alabama Newscenter.
Kay Ivey declares Oct. 15 ‘Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day’
Governor Kay Ivey has declared Sunday, Oct. 15th as ‘Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day’ in the
After Donald Trump endorsement, NASCAR leader faces the fallout
When Brian France endorsed Donald Trump for president, the chairman and chief executive of NASCAR thought of it as nothing more than a “routine endorsement.” He’s been dealing with the fallout ever since. France’s decision to personally back the front-runner for the Republican nomination has roiled a sport his family built from the ground up. It’s threatened a decade of work to broaden NASCAR’s appeal among minorities, upset one of the most powerful teams in the sport and risked a break with the corporate sponsors that are its financial lifeblood. “I was frankly, very surprised, that my diversity efforts for my whole career would have been called into question, over this, in my view, a routine endorsement,” France said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. France acknowledged he’s had to have conversations with sponsors since making the endorsement, which came as NASCAR is seeking a new main sponsor for its top series. “I made a few phone calls and clarified some things,” he said. “That kind of goes with the territory.” France’s appearance at a Trump rally the day before last week’s Super Tuesday elections fits with the sport’s history of occasionally blending politics with the action at the track. France’s grandfather, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., endorsed George Wallace for president. Its all-time winningest driver, Richard Petty, celebrated his 200th victory with President Ronald Reagan and ran for statewide office in North Carolina in the 1990s. France told the AP on Wednesday he backed Barack Obama in 2008 and actively participated in the campaign, shifting his support to Mitt Romney four years later. “I supported Obama. I went to his rallies. I parted with my hard-earned money. There was a movement going on, and I was really thrilled with the idea of the first African-American president,” he said. “I did the same for Mitt Romney. In both of those cases, I have never agreed with all of their policies.” But Trump is a candidate unlike any other in recent memory, drawing intense criticism for the racial undertones of his rhetoric and policies. The billionaire has called immigrants from Mexico rapists and drug dealers, has vowed to forcibly deport the 11 million people living in the country illegally and seeks to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the U.S. Trump has also earned the explicit or implicit backing of a slew of white nationalist leaders, including former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has compared his language to that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. It’s into that cauldron that France inserted himself and his sport — admittedly without knowing all of what Trump has proposed. “I don’t even know all their policies, truthfully,” France said. He said he likes Trump’s “business approach” and his status as a Washington outsider. He also cited the electricity around the Trump campaign and a friendship with one of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr., that dates back nearly two decades. “I’m not supporting him for all of his views, or his immigration views,” France said. “I happen to be very enamored by the excitement he’s brought and the voter turnout that it is creating.” That excitement is what got Chase Elliott into a jam just two weeks into his new job at Hendrick Motorsports, where he’s taking the place of retired superstar Jeff Gordon. The son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, the rookie has been cast as the sport’s next superstar. To the surprise of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, France was joined by Elliott at the Trump rally in Georgia where he offered his endorsement. At 20, Elliott has yet to vote in his first presidential election. Trump called Elliott to the microphone, and the young driver stumbled through a few remarks before sheepishly joining his father and the rest of the NASCAR contingent off to the side. A person familiar with the situation told the AP that Elliott, intrigued by the election process, agreed to an invitation from NASCAR to fly on a NASCAR plane to the Trump event in Elliott’s home state of Georgia. It never occurred to the rising star to give his team or sponsors a heads-up, the person said, and Elliott realized he was in over his head when he began receiving heavy criticism on social media. The person spoke on condition of anonymity, because the person was not authorized to discuss the details of Elliott’s involvement. While France does not regret his own participation in the Trump rally, he does feel badly for Elliott. “You never want to see anybody get their true positions distorted in the way that has happened,” France said. France is also trying to protect his record on diversity. He said NASCAR has spent “tens of millions of dollars” on a program aimed at boosting the participation of minorities in the sport. That program includes Japanese-American driver Kyle Larson, who competes in the top-level Sprint Cup, and Darrell Wallace Jr., a driver in the second-tier Xfinity Series who is black and who came up through NASCAR’s diversity program. NASCAR has also invested heavily in developing Mexican driver Daniel Suarez, who has risen to the Xfinity Series and currently leads its standings. Some of Suarez’s current corporate backing comes from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Domit, whose family’s TV production company cut ties with Trump last year after the real estate mogul announced his signature plan to build a wall along the U.S. southern border. Asked about France’s endorsement last week, Suarez told reporters: “I think Brian can do everything he wants on his own, but NASCAR is different. I’m in NASCAR, I’m not in Brian France, whatever.” Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World, the longtime title sponsor of NASCAR’s third-tier Truck Series, wrote an open letter to NASCAR last year saying his company would boycott the season-ending banquets if they returned to a Trump-owned property. After France’s endorsement of Trump, the Lebanese-born Lemonis wrote on Twitter: “There is no place for politics/any political endorsements in
