NASCAR announced Friday a revamped schedule that will see three tracks have their events relocated to Darlington (S.C.) and Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway later this month as the sport hopes to emerge from hiatus amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change shifts Cup races from Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway, Richmond (Va.) Raceway (spring) and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
Last month, NASCAR rolled out portions of a revised schedule, adding national series events at Darlington and Charlotte with government restrictions being eased and a transparent action plan to host races without fans.
Charlotte and Darlington were chosen for their location to the industry’s North Carolina-area hub, as NASCAR attempts to minimize travel demands and limit the amount of at-track personnel with one-day shows.
“Due to the current pandemic, NASCAR has faced several difficult decisions, including realigning race dates from several race tracks.
“These decisions were made following thorough collaboration with local and state government officials from across the country, including the areas of the affected race tracks. We thank all our fans for their support, and we look forward to our return to racing.”
Richmond’s springtime Cup Series race initially planned for April 19 has been transferred to Darlington on Wed. May 20.
The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race slated for April 18 remains postponed with rescheduling details to be released when appropriate.
As of now, the track’s Playoff weekend set for Sept. 11-12 remains as scheduled.
“As a sport, we continue to be united in the best interests of the safety and well-being of our fans, competitors, stakeholders, and track personnel,” said Richmond President Dennis Bickmeier. “
There will be brighter and healthier days ahead in the greater Richmond region when NASCAR returns to Richmond Raceway for the NASCAR Playoff Race Weekend on Sept. 11-12. We look forward to NASCAR’s best getting back on the track at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17 as we launch a new countdown to the return of racing in RVA this fall.”
Sonoma’s Cup race set for June 14 has been moved to Charlotte on Wednesday night May 27th.
“We work all year for this event, so this is a huge disappointment for us, for our fans and our sponsors, but we realize it’s part of a larger challenge facing our nation and everyone in the live events business,” said Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager.
“We are excited that NASCAR is coming back to broadcast television and are ready to support the upcoming events at our Speedway Motorsports tracks. We look forward to NASCAR’s return to Sonoma in 2021.”
Chicagoland’s NASCAR Cup Series race – originally planned for June 21 has been shifted to Darlington next Sunday, May 17. The Xfinity Series race on June 20 will now be held on May 19th also at Darlington.
The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (June 19) and ARCA Menards Series (June 18) races will reassigned at a later date.
“The difficult decision to realign our race events was a combination of where we fell on the schedule, proximity to NASCAR’s teams and the safety and well-being of our community and larger NASCAR industry,” said Chicagoland President Scott Paddock.
“We will miss the roar of the engines at Chicagoland Speedway this season, but we will be rooting for and supporting our NASCAR colleagues at Darlington Raceway as competition returns on Sunday, May 17.”
Tracks are offering several options for ticket holders to either receive a full refund or a credit at their respective track or a company-owned track in 2020 or 2021, respectively.
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