Rival NASCAR teams have pushed Bubba Wallace's car to the start-line in a show of support, after a noose was found hanging in the African-American driver's garage at Talladega.
The motor-racing franchise has stepped up security around Wallace for the rain-delayed Geico 500 in Alabama, as the largely southern US fanbase reacts against the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
The only fulltime black driver in NASCAR's top series and a vocal BLM supporter was the target of a racial attack on Sunday, when a noose - a symbol connected to lynching and America's slave history - was left in his team stall.
As the start of Monday's race (local time) neared, other race teams and supporters - including NASCAR legend Richard Petty - united to push the No.43 car to the line, with Wallace, wearing an American flag face mask, hugging his rivals in appreciation.
Wallace went on to record his best finish of the season, coming in 14th place.
NASCAR president Steve Phelps has vowed to use all available resources to uncover the identity of the person responsible for the racist attack and have them banned from the sport for life.
Earlier on Monday, the US Attorney's office for the Northern District of Alabama said the FBI was reviewing the situation surrounding the noose to determine whether there are violations of federal law.
"We are going to use every effort we can to determine who has done this, whether it's a single person or multiple people," Phelps says.
"I know that the director of the FBI has informed the Birmingham office to use all their resources to find it as well.
"Unequivocally, they will be banned from this sport for life. There is no room for this at all and we won't tolerate it.
"I don't care who they are, they will not be here."
The incident has put NASCAR on high alert for Monday's race, which was already operating under tight security, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Only 5000 fans were allowed into the sprawling superspeedway, and access to the infield and pit areas was also restricted.
"We want to make sure that Bubba is safe and we have stepped up security," confirmed Phelps, adding he had personally told Wallace about the noose on Sunday.
"This is a family that needs to take care of one of its family members who's been attacked.
"We will firmly support, as an industry, as a family and a community to make sure Bubba and everyone else in this sport is safe."
Wallace was also one of the loudest voices in the push to have NASCAR remove the Confederate flag from its tracks.
Since the May 25 death of George Floyd, an Africa-American man who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, there have been calls to remove objects honoring the Confederacy, which defended slavery.
While some in the south see the flag as a source of pride and a remembrance of its soldiers who died in the Civil War, many Americans see it as a symbol of oppression and of a dark chapter in American history.
After nationwide protests against racism, NASCAR announced earlier this month that Confederate flags would be prohibited from all events and properties.
Despite NASCAR's ruling, plenty of Confederate flags flew and merchandise was sold outside the Alabama track on Sunday.
Before the race, a small plane flew above the superspeedway, with a banner of the Confederate flag trailing another that read "DEFUND NASCAR".
On Monday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey condemned the act and apologised to Wallace, a native of Mobile, calling the 26-year-old "one of us".
"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," said Ivey in a statement.
NASCAR was among the top-three trending topics on Twitter in the United States on Monday, with Wallace supporters using the hashtag #IStandWithBubba.
In a show of unity, the hashtag was painted on the infield at Talladega before Monday's race.
Newshub/Reuters
