Daytona 500 May Welcome Reduced-Capacity Crowd

NASCAR has started preparing for the possibility of a reduced-capacity Daytona 500, according to sources, though tickets currently remain on sale for the entire venue. The race is slated to be held one week after Super Bowl LV, which reportedly is eyeing capacity around the 20% mark at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. NASCAR has all tickets at Daytona Int’l Speedway on sale while it monitors the pandemic, but sources said that budgetary and scenario planning is taking place in preparation for the possibility that the race will need to have a reduced capacity from its normal roughly 101,000.

It is not clear whether NASCAR would be comfortable having a significantly more-attended event than the NFL. The series is expected to follow CDC guidelines. NASCAR was the first sport in America to host fans back at venues after the pandemic started. NASCAR declined comment