AceShowbiz - Bubba Wallace is venting his frustration at social media reactions to the finding of noose in his garage stall. Hours after the FBI concluded that he was not subjected to a hate crime at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, the NASCAR driver sat down for an interview with CNN's Don Lemon, and admitted that he was pissed at those saying it was all a hoax.

"I'm sorry. I'm pissed. I'm mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that am and my integrity," the 26-year-old confessed on Tuesday, June 23. "They're not stealing that from me, but trying to test that. And as a person that doesn't need to fame or the hype or the media, I could care less. I give two craps about that. To sit and reading too much into it. Investing too much time."

Having said that he was trying hard to stay away from social media, Wallace then talked about how he found out about the noose finding itself. "About 5:30 6 o'clock on Sunday evening, I was about to go out to dinner with a couple competitors and I get a phone call from [NASCAR] president, Steve Phelps," he recounted.

When they finally met face to face, Wallace recalled, "The look on his face…I will never forget." He added, "The conversation I had with Steve Phelps was probably one of the hardest things he had ever done to tell somebody. Tears rolling down his face," noting further that Phelps mentioned a "hate crime" was committed.

Talking about the noose itself, Wallace said, "The image that I have, that I have seen, of what was hanging in my garage is not a garage loop. I've been racing all of my life, we've raced out of hundreds of garages that have never had garage pulls like that." He added, "But from the evidence that we have, um, that I have, it's a straight-up noose."

"The FBI has stated it was a noose over and over again, NASCAR leadership has stated it was a noose," the first full-time black driver continued. "I can confirm that I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage over my car around my picker, guys, to confirm that it was a noose, and never seen anything like it."

At the end, Wallace insisted that the incident will not bring him down. "None of the allegations of being a hoax will break me or tear me down," he stressed. "That only fuels the competitive drive in me to shut everybody up and get on the track next week and showcase what I can do behind the wheel under tremendous amounts of BS. Whatever it is you want to say. It won’t break me or tear me down. I will stand proud of where I'm at."

On Tuesday afternoon, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office from the Northern District of Alabama issued a joint statement in regards to the noose finding in Wallace's garage. "On Monday, fifteen FBI special agents conducted numerous interviews regarding the situation at Talladega Superspeedway," it read. "After a thorough review of the facts and evidence surrounding this event, we have concluded that no federal crime was committed."

The FBI further noted that the noose has been put inside the garage "as early as October 2019" as revealed through video evidence. "Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week," its statement continued.

NASCAR followed it up with its own statement. "The FBI has completed its investigation at Talladega Superspeedway and determined that Bubba Wallace was not the target of a hate crime," the organization declared. "The FBI report concludes, and photographic evidence confirms, that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall."

"This was obviously well before the 43 team's arrival and garage assignment. We appreciate the FBI's quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba," the statement continued to read. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing."