Dustin Skinner, the son of former NASCAR star Mike Skinner, has apologized for a troubling post on social media after a noose was found in Bubba Wallace's garage Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
The post said, in part, "Frankly I wish they would've tied [the noose] to [Wallace] and drug him around the pits because he has single handedly destroyed what I grew up watching and cared about for 30 years now." It appears to be a Facebook comment, and the words have been condemned by the Skinner family.
MORE: Driver pushes Wallace's car to pit road so he can finish race
Dustin Skinner competed in one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2008. The Race Car Solutions website, owned by Mike Skinner's other son Jamie, says Dustin Skinner now "has transitioned into success as a driving coach and crew chief."
After his post started to get attention, drawing criticism, Dustin Skinner said his comments were not about race.
"I love everyone this was not about race at all," Skinner wrote. "I disagree with what [Wallace] is doing, but it was stupidly foolish for me to say what I said and I truly regret every bit of it. If there was a way to take last night back I would. All I can do is say I'm sorry. I love everyone and wish the world to pull back together and us all find a positive way to agree or disagree."
Mike Skinner also released a pair of statements on his son's comments. The first was a single tweet, saying "his views are not the same" as his or his wife's.
Dustin Skinner Is my son and he’s an amazing father and amazing man he’s also a full-grown adult his views are not the same as Angie and myself we support Bubba have his whole career we don’t like what’s going on in our country anymore than anybody else
— Mike Skinner (@MSTheGunslinger) June 23, 2020
Mike Skinner later released a longer statement saying he was "shocked" by what Dustin wrote.
"I am devastated by what he said and have spoken with him regarding his comments," Skinner said. "While I do not believe in airing family grievances on social media, I feel strongly that it is important I publicly state that his comments do not reflect the opinions of Angie or me, and we apologize to any fans and industry personnel who were hurt because of his comments."
— Mike Skinner (@MSTheGunslinger) June 23, 2020
The NASCAR community has by in large shown support for Wallace after the noose was discovered Sunday afternoon. NASCAR said Tuesday that the rope in question was a pull rope fashioned like a noose used to open the garage door. It coincided with the FBI's determination that the rope had been in the garage stall "as early as 2019," as confirmed by video evidence. Wallace was assigned the stall a week before the Talladega race.
Federal authorities had been investigating the incident as a possible civil rights violation, but found "no federal crime was committed."
UPDATE: Angie Skinner, the wife of Mike Skinner, wrote an open letter about Dustin's comments. Angie is not Dustin's biological mother, but her relationship with Mike made her want to say something.
"We pray Dustin changes his views," Angie writes. "He already broke down, apologized and realized how horrific and hurtful his comments were. He asked what to do and we suggested apologizing and learning from the outburst. Again, we pray that his views change. But it’s up to him to handle. Mike will not stop loving his son because the public demands him to. Mike will promote his positives and hope he continues to grow and love; reminding him of his good qualities and using love and positivity to change his attitude one day at a time."
You can read her full letter here.
