Officials did not rule out the possibility of hosting a NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader at TMSGETTY IMAGES
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he expects a NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway “very soon,” according to Drew Davison of the Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM. Details as to "when and how aren’t known yet." All that is known is that NASCAR is "planning to run in Texas without fans in the near future." TMS President Eddie Gossage said that the first step was "getting permission to proceed with plans of staging an auto race" in Ft. Worth. He added, "It was necessary to get the green light from Governor Abbott. We had a conference call (yesterday) morning with him and he was very enthusiastic. We also have the support of State Senator Jane Nelson, State Representative Tan Parker, Denton County Judge Andy Eads and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. All of our representatives are in our corner, so now we’ve got to work on the details with the sanctioning bodies and TV networks." Davison notes the "biggest hurdle will be decided elsewhere." North Carolina, the home state of a number of NASCAR teams, is in the "middle of a stay-at-home order that isn’t allowing teams to work on cars." Meanwhile, Gossage "didn’t rule out the potential" of having a NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader at TMS on the same weekend. If that happens, Gossage said that the track "would be better positioned to hold an IndyCar race without fans." NASCAR "gives tracks a cut of its TV revenue, but IndyCar does not" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 4/21).
WHEN & WHERE: Sources said that NASCAR is considering running its first race back in mid-May, and one of the top options being considered is Darlington Raceway. NASCAR is eyeing when it can return without fans. After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week publicly said that he was talking to NASCAR Vice Chair Lesa France Kennedy about holding a race in the state soon, Homestead-Miami Speedway or Daytona Int’l Speedway’s road course emerged as possible options. However, sources said that some teams are pushing for the first race back to be at a track within driving distance of Charlotte. NASCAR theoretically could run an event at Darlington one weekend before the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is still scheduled for May 24. NASCAR would be running the events without fans and is developing a coronavirus testing protocol for both people in shops who work on cars and anyone at races (Adam Stern, THE DAILY). In Charlotte, Langston Wertz Jr. notes state Treasurer Dale Folwell and state Rep. Tim Moore have joined other N.C. politicians in asking Gov. Roy Cooper to "modify an executive order" to allow Charlotte Motor Speedway to host the Coca-Cola 600. Earlier, five state senators from the Charlotte area "called for Cooper to amend his stay-at-home order and partially reopen Charlotte Motor Speedway" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/21).
FINANCIAL HIT: The AP's Jenna Fryer wrote iRacing events have been "cute and kept everyone entertained but NASCAR needs to get back to the real thing, quickly, for the financial and mental health of the sport." NASCAR is "not built to withstand a shutdown of any sort." Team owners are "on their own to figure out how to pay the bills." NASCAR does have a 10-year, $8.2B TV deal with Fox and NBC Sports, but the teams "get just 25% of that money and the checks come only after a race is completed." Eight events have been "postponed so far." A lot of sponsors are "withholding payments until their logos are again shown at the track." Fryer: "Here is the desperate truth: Nobody is making any money right now and the longer NASCAR is shuttered, the deeper the financial hit will be for an industry already battling a slew of challenges" (AP, 4/20).
FIGURING OUT LOGISTICS: FOXSPORTS.com's Bob Pockrass noted as NASCAR "tries to determine how it can get back to racing as soon as possible, it will have to make decisions about whether to have practice and/or qualifying, how lineups are set if there is no qualifying, whether to have pit stops, what to do if a certain number of crew members or drivers get sick, and probably decisions NASCAR hasn’t even thought about yet." The question is "how to race with drivers and crews all the while following safety and health guidelines." How many people are "needed at the race track could depend on if NASCAR opts to have practice." NASCAR also "could eliminate pit crews by having breaks or using the controlled pit stop procedures it already planned to use at select Xfinity and truck events this year." Having no pit crews "could reduce the number of people who come for the race, which very likely could be teams arriving and having the race all in the same day." NASCAR also "would need to set up procedures as far as testing and monitoring anyone inside the facility to see if they have a fever or are sick" (FOXSPORTS.com, 4/20).
