NASCAR will split seven races -- Cup, Xfinity and Trucks -- between Darlington and Charlotte GETTY IMAGES
There are "endless questions" about NASCAR's return on May 17, as the racing circuit "attempts to pull off a feat other professional sports leagues, including the NBA, MLB, MLS and NHL, have not yet come close to crystallizing: Resuming its season amid a global pandemic that has disrupted life far beyond sports," according to Alex Andrejev of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. NASCAR Exec VP & Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell said, "We realize up front it’s a huge responsibility for us as a sport. But I’m also confident in the group we’ve gathered to put this plan together.” Andrejev notes there will be "seven single-day events across NASCAR’s three series -- Cup, Xfinity and Truck -- at two track locations -- Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway." NASCAR consulted with "public health officials, medical experts, state and local officials and the sport’s stakeholders to design its updated schedule and safety protocols for live racing." No fans will be admitted to these initial races, and O’Donnell said that the "timeline for when fans can expect to be able to watch a race in person is 'still a work in progress.'" NASCAR VP/Racing Operations John Bobo said that temperatures of anyone "entering the venue will be taken, as they will randomly throughout the day." NASCAR also is requiring that "personal protective equipment be worn, including cloth face masks in the infield and fireproof sock masks or face shields on pit road and over the wall" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/1).
INSIDE THE PLAN: ESPN’s Ryan McGee said NASCAR's plan to resume racing “went back-and-forth for several weeks with the highest North Carolina health officials," including Gov. Roy Cooper, with the “same processing happening in South Carolina.” It is "already happening in other states as well." There were "notes from the state of North Carolina, ‘You can't do this, you can't do that.’" NASCAR "took those notes and that's how they formulated this plan.” McGee said this is a “pretty solid ramp-up plan.” McGee noted the ‘21 NASCAR schedule was supposed to be released this week, and reportedly it “was going to be a very aggressive schedule with mid-week races, running two and three races in a week." This "kind of feels like a dress rehearsal for that” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 4/30). SMI President & CEO Marcus Smith said he "spent a lot of time on the phone with governors and local leaders, health experts, asking for feedback. We had great communication with NASCAR, with the race teams." There was “communication with trying to figure out how does television work there? How do the teams work? And all these details will start to really get in the motion and as we get closer to the race" ("Race Hub," FS1, 4/30).
STAYING CLOSE TO ITS BASE: In South Carolina, Scott Chancey notes all of the initial races will be “one-day shows” at tracks that are “within driving distance of North Carolina race shops to minimize travel and time spent in a community” (FLORENCE NEWS, 5/1). In Daytona Beach, Zach Dean notes NASCAR plans to continue "looking at tracks that are within driving distance" for races after May 27. While a return to Daytona Int'l Speedway has been discussed, O’Donnell indicated that the "seven-hour drive was further than they’d like to go right now." He said, "Daytona and Miami were discussed and are still (being) discussed. The governor has been very supportive of NASCAR, and it’s certainly drivable, but it’s a decent drive. You’d probably have an overnight, which we were really trying to avoid for those first four races out of the box” (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 5/1). The original NASCAR schedule had Kansas Speedway holding a Cup race on May 31, and track PR Dir Kelly Hale indicated that the facility is still "planning for a race." Hale: "At this time, our staff is working toward a May 30-31 race weekend” (K.C. STAR, 5/1).
FIGURING OUT FINANCIAL CONCERNS: YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg noted should NASCAR resume racing on May 17, it would be the "second American sports organization to resume activities following the UFC’s scheduled fight card on May 9." It is hard not to believe a key factor in the "relatively quick planned return was the NASCAR industry’s tenuous financial footing." Teams across the top three series "were struggling to match sponsor revenue with costs before the pandemic brought racing to a halt in mid-March." Multiple teams had "started cutting pay for employees or, in some cases, putting them on furlough," while NASCAR itself "cut the salaries of its own employees." The mid-May restart gives NASCAR the chance to "run each of the races that it had on its Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series schedules at the beginning of the year and fulfill its TV contract, its primary source of revenue" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/30).
