After being forced to completely halt the sport in early March because of the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR officially announced Thursday afternoon their intention to re-fire the sport next month beginning with NASCAR Cup Series competition at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Top series’ officials have been working tirelessly with local, state and health officials to restart the season based on data and approval. The situation remains fluid, but Darlington currently has the nod to wave the green flag on Sun., May 17 for a 400-mile event scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
In order to continue to make up Cup races the COVID-19 virus has forced into postponement; NASCAR will run again under the lights at Darlington on Wed. May 20th, while returning to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for its traditional Memorial Day weekend home for the 60th consecutive season.
The Cola-Cola 600 will air on Sun. May 24 at 6:00 p.m., while returning for a midweek Wednesday night 500km showdown at 8:00 pm.
Each of NASCAR’s return events will be run without fans in attendance.
“NASCAR and its teams are eager and excited to return to racing and have great respect for the responsibility that comes with a return to competition,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer.
“NASCAR will return in an environment that will ensure the safety of our competitors, officials and all those in the local community. We thank local, state and federal officials and medical experts, as well as everyone in the industry, for the unprecedented support in our return to racing, and we look forward to joining our passionate fans in watching cars return to the track.”
Each race will be aired live on either FOX or FOX Sports 1.
“We are excited to welcome back the FOX NASCAR season to our airwaves to provide a return to live sports, a move toward normalcy and a much-needed distraction during these unprecedented times,” said Mark Silverman, President, National Networks, FOX Sports.
“While we are thrilled to return to the race track, the health and safety of our employees and all race participants is our top priority. We will continue working in lockstep with our partners at NASCAR and the race tracks to follow all national and local health guidelines.”
NASCAR officials through thorough collaboration with public health officials, medical experts and state and federal officials, NASCAR has implemented a comprehensive health and safety plan in accordance with the specific guidelines set by the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention.
In accordance with CDC, OSHA and state and local government recommendations, nearly every aspect of how the event is ran will be substantially modified including:
• One-day shows;
• Mandated use of personal protective equipment throughout the event;
• Health screenings for all individuals prior to entering the facility, while inside the facility and exiting the facility;
• Social distancing protocols throughout the event;
• Strict limits on the number of individuals who are granted access into each facility
As of now, Darlington is expected to keep its Sun. Sept. 6, 2020 race date for the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Playoffs on Labor Day weekend without any further significant interruption from the virus.
“It’s an honor for Darlington Raceway to resume the 2020 NASCAR season in just a few short weeks with three races in four days,” offered Darlington Raceway president Kerry Tharp. “Darlington is one of the most iconic and historic tracks in the sport and will be a tremendous backdrop when NASCAR returns to racing. We certainly appreciate the support from our state’s leadership in working with NASCAR to allow us to host these events.
“In accordance with the CDC and public health agency standards and protocols, no fans will be admitted to these events; however, we encourage all fans to tune in to FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will emerge from hiatus on Tues., May 19 at Darlington with the intention to compete in another race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Mon., May 25.
After four races, Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Harrison Burton leads Chase Briscoe by three points. So far, the series’ is behind six races after having to postpone events at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series teams were informed Thursday morning electronically that their paused schedule will resume at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Tues. May 26.
The series has only competed in two of its 23-race season at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, respectively. Five races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Richmond and Dover have been postponed because of the worldwide pandemic.
Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill is the championship leader by nine points over Johnny Sauter.
NASCAR did not announce which races (if any) are replacing the two Darlington races and the additional Charlotte Cup race.
In-race competition procedures remain largely unchanged, though NASCAR will eliminate practice for all events during this opening return slate, as well as qualifying for all events except the Coca-Cola 600.
According to NASCAR, Additional schedule weekend updates specific to tracks that have had races postponed, and are not part of this new May schedule, will be revealed at a later date.
The opening slate of races is as follows:
DATE TRACK SERIES DISTANCE NET START (ET)
Sun, May 17 Darlington Cup 400 mi FOX 3:30 PM
Tue, May 19 Darlington Xfinity 200 mi FS1 8:00 PM
Wed, May 20 Darlington Cup 500 km FS1 7:30 PM
Sun, May 24 Charlotte Cup 600 mi FOX 6:00 PM
Mon, May 25 Charlotte Xfinity 300 mi FS1 7:30 PM
Tue, May 26 Charlotte Gander Trucks 200 mi FS1 8:00 PM
Wed, May 27 Charlotte Cup 500 km FS1 8:00 PM
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