Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner calls Trump tweet about Bubba Wallace ‘late, misinformed, and factually incorrect’

Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Andrew Murstein defended Bubba Wallace after Trump’s tweet.

Monday on Twitter, President Donald Trump tweeted about Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. and the noose found in his team’s Talladega Superspeedway garage last month, calling it a “HOAX” and asking if the only Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series apologized.

The disparaging tweet contains multiple lies and illogical claims, while also incorrectly arguing NASCAR’s recent ban on the Confederate flag has led to the lowest TV ratings ever.

Since Trump’s tweet at 8:33 a.m. ET, the NASCAR world has remained largely silent regarding the president’s smearing of Wallace. Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson tweeted an image of the No. 43 Chevrolet team’s number along with #IStandWithBubba. Cup rookie Tyler Reddick responded to the president in a now-deleted quote tweet saying: “We don’t need an apology. We did what was right and we will do just fine without your support.”

NASCAR has not yet responded to For The Win’s request for a comment about Trump’s tweet about Wallace.

Later on Monday, Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Andrew Murstein defended Wallace in a statement, calling it “a late, misinformed, and factually incorrect” tweet. However, Murstein also tried to defend the president spreading decidedly false information, despite the frequency at which that happens.

Murstein said, via FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass:

“I find it hard to believe that the President would send out such a misinformed tweet. Perhaps one of his staff did it without his knowledge or he doesn’t know the facts. After all of the information that has come out regarding the noose incident, such a late, misinformed, and factually incorrect statement seems completely unwarranted, especially after the photo came out. I could of course go on and on, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Bubba has reacted in a truthful, professional, level headed and positive manner. The NASCAR community, and those in the know all stand by him.”

Here’s how those in NASCAR have responded so far (and we will continue updating this story as needed):

A screenshot of Reddick’s now-deleted quote tweet:

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