As NASCAR prepares for the challenges of its upcoming doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway this Saturday and Sunday, the sport has already taken on a difficult task far from the Tricky Triangle.

Much of the conversation throughout the week has centered around the noose that was found in driver Bubba Wallace’s garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this week, and the resulting aftermath from it.

While an FBI investigation, which was completed on Tuesday, determined that Wallace, the sport’s only full-time African American driver, was not the target of a hate crime, questions remained.

After completing its own investigation into the matter, NASCAR President Steve Phelps took questions and addressed the media on Thursday, reiterating that the noose was real.

“Through the investigation, the examination of the video and photographic evidence, the FBI was able to determine the noose was present in the same garage stall as last fall,” said Phelps. “It was still our responsibility to find answers to key questions as we had talked about on Tuesday: How did the noose get there? Was anyone an intended target? Was this a code-of-conduct violation? Are nooses present elsewhere in other garages where we race?

“So let me talk about the last one first. NASCAR conducted a thorough sweep of all the garage areas across the tracks that we race. So across those 29 tracks and 1,684 garage stalls, we found only 11 total that had a pull-down rope tied in a knot. And only one noose: The one discovered on Sunday in Bubba Wallace’s garage.”

The FBI citied photographic evidence in its investigation that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall, well before the team’s arrival. NASCAR made the photo available on Thursday.

“We further determined that the noose was not in place when the October 2019 race weekend began, but was created at some point during that weekend,” said Phelps. “Given that timing and the garage access policies and procedures at the time, we were unfortunately unable to determine with any certainty who tied this rope in this manner or why it was done.

“We know it brings up another question: How could it have gone unnoticed by so many people in October 2019 and for the morning on June 21, 2020? Our ultimate conclusion for this investigation is to ensure that this never happens again, that no one walks by a noose without recognizing the potential damage it can do.”

The Wood Brothers occupied the garage stall a year ago.

“We did have a lot of conversations as part of our investigation with the Wood Brothers, as we did with others in the industry,” said Phelps. “We could not determine whether it was someone on their team or someone else, but extensive conversations there. And to your point, we have no idea what the intent was at all, whether there was any malice in it or whether it was just fashioned as a noose for a pulley. We don’t know that.”

The reaction since the FBI completed its investigation has been polarizing, with takes quickly turning against Wallace and the sport.

“I think that I’ve tried to stay off Twitter as much as I can,” said Phelps. “I do think anyone who would suggest that this was a hoax or manufactured or that the events around this - I just find, again, personally offensive. I don’t know how people frankly think that way and I’m not going to try to, but I would say of all those things, that’s probably the most offensive to me.

“Here’s what I would say to the fans: I think it goes to the industry broadly and not just the fan base, which is there was something - a member of our community, in this case Bubba Wallace, we believed was under attack, right? That the events that we found or that the crew member of the 43 found and the subsequent things that happened after that, that it was, we needed to protect - kind of protect our ranks and protect our family member.

“So I don’t want anyone to feel - I don’t think anyone should feel embarrassed, right. I don’t think anyone, those people who are not part of our sport and are making comments about what we should or shouldn’t have done, or it was a hoax and this is all fake, I just, I can’t speak to that, but I would say, again, NASCAR showed its true colors on Monday, our drivers, our crews, anyone at the racetrack, but more importantly, all the fans that watched it on TV. I watched it on television, and I’m not embarrassed to say, I cried. It was an emotional, moving moment for our sport, and I think an important one that suggests that NASCAR is welcome to all.”

The incident also came on the heels of NASCAR banning the Confederate flag from its racetracks, which reared its head again over the weekend.

“I would say it absolutely was a factor in it,” Phelps said. ”I think that being at the racetrack and someone’s ability to protest peacefully outside of our facility, we were all for, right? A guy flying overhead in a crop duster with a Confederate flag, saying “defund NASCAR,” you know, and frankly all the points to your points, things that have led up to that, including the banning of the Confederate flag, something that we were enforcing for the first time that weekend, and fortunately we didn’t see any incidents of the Confederate flag on the property and our fans respected that.

“And it was a great first step on that front. But were there heightened emotions (with) what has gone on over the past two-and-a-half weeks in our country and then in our sport? I think it absolutely was emotionally charged for a lot of people, and I’ll include myself in that.”

As it relates to pushback the series has received regarding the ban of the flag, Phelps reiterated that it would be changing its stance for any of its tracks moving forward.

“We have made a statement that we’re going to ban the Confederate flag at all our facilities,” he said. “And when I say all of our facilities, I’m not talking about just the racetracks that we own, but Marcus Smith (president and CEO) at SMI (Speedway Motorsports, Inc.), he’s resolute that they will do what is necessary to make sure there are no Confederate flags on their properties.

“The three independent tracks at our top series that we race at, Dover, Pocono and Indy, they also are very supportive of what we’re doing, so we are not going to back off that policy, it is, we have made the statement and we’re going to follow through to its fullest. So ultimately, when we get back to full grandstands, everyone who walks through the gates or onto our property or one of our tracks or where our races are being held, will understand that they will not see the Confederate flag.”

As for increased security for Wallace at Pocono this weekend, Phelps made clear the series will continue to do everything in its power to protect him.

“I think during this entire time, because, even before kind of the goings-on at Talladega, Bubba has put himself out there, and I know there’s been a lot of hate that has been spread his way, social media and other places, so it’s important for us to increase his security, and we have done that,” he said. “We need to keep Bubba safe. We need to keep a member of our family safe.”