I want to talk about the @BubbaWallace/ @NASCAR Noose incident one more time, then I don't want to talk about it anymore.

I know you're like, what's this Pete Buttigieg account doing, writing a thread on the subject?

I joined Twitter originally when Twitter first started as a

NASCAR fan account. One that NASCAR websites included on early lists of Twitter accounts to follow, alongside the few drivers, teams, and tracks that were on Twitter at the time.

That account is no more. So I'm using this one...

I have been a NASCAR fan my entire life. I'm 34

And it's hard to say how many years I've been a fan - I've been watching as long as I've watched TV. I'm from a NASCAR family. Grew up a @RustyWallace fan, then @CJMearsGang, now @BubbaWallace.

I've been to more races than I can even guess. I've been to over a dozen tracks.

Martinsville is my home track. I live less than an hr away.

I know the sport. I know it's history. I know how intertwined it is with "Southern Pride" & "Heritage, Not Hate" which were phrases I used frequently in HS when I wore the Confederate flag.

Before I knew better.

Looking over a track's campground or parking lot when I was growing up, you'd see just as many Confederate flags at you would Dale Earnhardt or @DaleJr flags.

Racism is just a part of NASCAR.

The race teams, including the drivers, know this & for the most part, ignore it.

The racist race fans ignore the fact that most drivers and teams have been pretty progressive for the last 20-30 years.

I can't say enough about what @BubbaWallace has done in the last month for NASCAR. It's inspiring and has brought this disengaged fan back to the sport.

But racist fans that have been downright disgusting to Bubba forget that their own king and prince, Dale and Dale Jr, were against the Confederate flag. Jr even pushed to remove it from NASCAR 5 years ago.

It's easy to see that seven-time champ @JimmieJohnson is progressive.

The actual King and greatest NASCAR driver in history, Richard Petty, happens to own Bubba's race team and has been proudly by his side as he pushes for change in the sport.

But the racist portion of the fan base ignores that their heroes want this change and agree with Bubba. That every driver in the series supports him.

The flag & what it means is too important. It even beats "Raise Hell and Praise Dale," which shouldn't surprise me, but it does.

So this not-small portion of the fan base was very, very angry with Bubba going in to this weekend. There were caravans of trucks coming to the track, flying the stars and bars. A plane flew over the track with the Confederate flag and "DEFUND NASCAR" flying behind it.

This was the atmosphere in which a crew member spotted a rope tied like a noose in Bubba's garage on Sunday.

Bubba wasn't there. He was already back in NC about to go out to dinner. He hadn't even been in the garage.

The NASCAR president came to him & told him about it, crying.

Bubba, his team, NASCAR, the NASCAR media (including SW Virginia's own @MartySmithESPN), and the other drivers and their teams KNOW the racist history of this sport. Just as I do. And there was no reason to doubt that that noose was placed there intentionally, to threaten Bubba.

It's why you saw such an outpouring of support, both Sunday night from NASCAR and on Monday from all the competitiors and their teams.

Even if that noose wasn't put there specifically for Bubba, it very well could have been. It tracks with this fan base.

Need proof? Look at the replies to any of Bubba's tweets since he came out in support of #BlackLivesMatter .

Hell, the hashtag "BubbaSmollett" trended last night. These people are saying he faked it for attention. I saw memes calling him Jussie's brother. Some racist AF shit.

The disgusting behavior of "true fans" (thats what a white lady said to me yesterday on here - that once the POC get bored and go away, just the "true fans" will be left ) on social media are proving how much change is needed in the sport.

These awful people are backing up Bubba's argument with every racist tweet and Facebook comment.

It's going to get worse before it gets better. It always does.

@donlemon told Bubba last night to stay off social media.

I hope @BubbaWallace sees one more tweet - this one.

Bubba, I can't begin to understand what you're going through. I can tell you that you are changing the world and that so many of us support you.

I saw this shirt on Etsy. It wasn't easy for them and it won't be easy for you.

I'm going to be supporting @BubbaWallace every way I can as he goes through this. Buying merch, spreading his message, all of it.

I'll be at @BMSupdates for the All-Star Race, decked out in #BlackLivesMatter gear. If anyone else is going, let me know. Strength in numbers.

And, as a final word on the noose - I'm happy that @NASCAR responded the way the did. They showed that such acts will not be tolerated and that they will not shy away from calling them out.

You can't go too hard at racists. They made their stance known and I'm proud of them.

Since I've already gotten a "you're not a real NASCAR fan" DM:

Here I am at various races & my long-time license plate. You'll notice my @kaseykahne jacket - he was my #2 driver for years, behind @CJMearsGang.

Note that Casey drove the Old No 07 Jack Daniels car during pic 3

This: https://twitter.com/elleduncanESPN/status/1275570960331083778?s=19