In wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, also known as the coronavirus, NASCAR has elected to hold its race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway (March 13-15) and Homestead Miami Speedway (March 20-22) without fans in attendance, per an announcement on Thursday, March 12.
Despite the changes, NASCAR plans to continue to hold all six events at the two currently affected tracks.
“These events will be restricted to competitors, crews, and officials and other necessary personnel to conduct the race,” a NASCAR release stated. “We will work with public health officials as we determine future scheduling beyond these events.”
NASCAR becomes the latest motorsports sanctioning body to put restrictions on its events, joining IndyCar, F1, IMSA and the NHRA.
A time table the for the resumption of normal procedures in unclear. Plans for future races, including those at Texas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway were unannounced.
Never at a loss for words, Zach Gillispie is a young, talented marketing professional from North Carolina who talks and writes on the side about his first love: racing! Since joining Frontstretch in 2018, Zach has served in numerous roles where he currently pens the NASCAR 101 column, a weekly piece delving into the basic nuts and bolts of the sport. Additionally, his unabashedly bold takes meshed with that trademarked dry wit of his have made Zach a fan favorite on the weekly Friday Faceoff panel. In his free time, he can be found in the great outdoors, actively involved in his church, cheering on his beloved Atlanta Braves or ruthlessly pestering his colleagues with completely useless statistics about Delma Cowart.
What a pile of Bull this is. there has been other flews WAY worse than this one. The WACKO Dems are trying to make this look political so that Donald J looks bad. We had the swine flew and Saars and others that killed a lot of people. But no one remembers that. This bs needs to pass quick.
Yes, I agree 1,000%
Impeachment didn’t work, so now this. Grrr!
I agree. How could anyone have been prepared for this “act of God”? To blame any person or group of people is ridiculous. But I think it’s more than that. There are a lot of people who don’t understand there are things that no one can control. While all kinds of things can be done to make it look like we are doing things to fix it, the truth is, that until there is a vaccine, it is going to do what it is going to do. I’m not sure what any of the things currently being done will do besides delay what is inevitable. Meantime the 24/7 news machine are succeeding in creating a state of panic.
My favourite movie is One Flu Over The Cuckoo’s (Trump’S) Nest. There are a lot of silent black helicopters over a lot of houses.
Maybe there’s something to this flu if NBA, NHL, MLB shutting down, hockey leagues in Germany and Austria are shutting down, soccer leagues are shutting down, NCAA is not allowing fans at the games, no fans at the PGA event, no fans at the Indycar event, F1…
People better hope their grandparents don’t get this not-so-bad flew.
That’s about liability Don – not goodwill towards man..
I’m not sure anyone will notice the difference in number of fans. But while I do agree this is politically motivated – let’s face it, the same irrational people who are out buying 1,000 rolls of toilet paper weren’t going to be voting sensibly anyway (i.e. for Trump).
The BS is that this govt essentially closed down the department that prepares for epidemics like this. And despite the lies coming out of the white house, there are very few test kits. Even Congress officials can’t be tested. How are your portfolios looking, oh, I forgot who I am talking to, the clueless ones.
And we now know which media networks you watch to get your “news”
Oh, come on guys! We all know the Republicans have been using nature as a weapon against Americans for years! Remember when George Bush sent Hurricane Katrina into New Orleans? :-P
My first reaction to NASCAR banning fans from the track was a snarky “Well, it’ll look the same on TV as it has for the last few years…” On the upside, my guess is TV ratings will be up for those 2 races?
Yep NASCAR will be the only sporting event on TV (monopoly) and many people will be stuck in their houses…. kind of sounds like the situation with the Daytona 500 in 1979.
So if folks bought tickets they’re SOL?
They will get refunds.
Never mind. From jayski:
Ticketholders on file will receive a credit for the full amount paid towards any admissions including grandstand seating, infield, camping, fan hospitality, pit passes, etc. The credit can be used for the balance of the 2020 or 2021 seasons for a NASCAR sanctioned event at any Speedway Motorsports owned track.
Details regarding the process of redeeming the credit will be posted on this webpage within the next 48 hours. We ask that you wait for those details before contacting the Ticket Office directly regarding any specific questions with your purchase.
Seems like there may have been a run on tin foil as well.
Let’s lay the blame where it belongs. THE CLINTONS ARE BEHIND ALL THIS!!!! Seriously though I too am curious what the TV ratings will be. At least the chances of hot dog wrappers on the grilles are lower. ?
Total bullshit. Hysteria on steroids. Damn freaking sheep! Wake up people! Pure politics! The ones behind this clown car dire doom bullshit can go to hell. Pretty obvious what is going on, and it ain’t the virus. The world has lost it’s damn mind!!!!
This isn’t your daddy’s flu. Go to your doctor and say you want the vaccination for COVID-19 and see what he says. And hope you don’t get infected on the trip.
Sorry, not buying the hype. I am well informed regarding this “crisis”. Thanks for your concern. I will win the Mega Million Jackpot before I get this flu.
Actually you will carry this virus well before you win a dollar on a jackpot (statistically speaking). You are highly contagious prior to showing any symptoms. Therefore, this is about protecting those who are high risk and reducing the spread of the virus. It is not about whether you will catch it and die.
If you know math, imagine 1 infected person who comes in contact with another who has a family of 6 who then becomes infected …4 children in school….you see the exponential curve?
Just this week here in Mi by day 0 cases T – 2 cases W – 12 cases R- how many will be confirmed today?
I get that people are upset as this is disrupting their daily lives but that fact of the matter is the entire globe is shutting things down in efforts to contain and slow the virus. This is very different from the Flu – Sars – and other coruna viruses that have surfaced. With past virus’s you would show symptoms prior to being highly contagious. That is the biggest difference between the two.
As studies are being released daily – this virus really is no joke to those at high risk. This was a tough but correct move by NASCAR….
Seeing people and media make this into a political topic just shows how sad and pathetic our society has become. There are no winners due to this virus and it is a global issue not a donkey and elephant topic. Come on – also this is a motorsports comment section so can we please leave any of that out – voice those opinions on the proper channels.
Basically all major sports have either cancelled their season or are still running (see motorsports) as I believe everything else has cancelled. I think this is temporarily until a driver or crew member tests positive. This is not a U.S. thing that we are seeing – globally countries are taking action in many of the same ways.
I suggest going to youtube and watching Joe Rogans interview with Michael Osterholm – he clears up a lot of the mis-information that has been spread by the media. By media I am talking all outlets as we have seen articles on Facebook claiming you can get the virus by drinking Coruna beer…..un-bel-iev-able. It is a long video by one of the top comments broke the interview down by question so you can skip around to the main points.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about our politics, it’s that a good crisis can never be wasted! After all, winning the next election is ALL that matters! If a couple normal Americans happen to be helped out (or not) along the way, then whatever.
And our big media conglomerates are such a joke. I’m not naive enough to say media was never bias in the past – clearly the media has been corrupt and agenda driven since about the second article ever printed, but it’s gotten to the point now it’s all basically just loudmouths shouting a bunch of noise trying to be heard over all the other hollering loudmouths and nothing worth listening to. There’s so much BS one has to wade through to identify any small kernels of truth it’s hardly worth the effort. Remember when The Enquirer was absurd and good for a couple laughs while standing in line at the grocery? Well now all media has about the same credibility as The Enquirer, and it’s no longer amusing, it’s just sad and pathetic.
OK, back to racing. With everyone sealed up in their bubble watching the race, who is going to get into fisticuffs after the checkered flag? My bet is Denny Hamlin vs Brad Keselowski. LOL Hey, a fistfight worked last time…
Haha I couldn’t agree more with what you said above :)
I would take Hamlin and Brad but is it s fistfight or are the going to be air fighting and elbow bumping (like SNL the other night)? I am excited for Atlanta, if the tire fall off is anywhere like it was out West we should have a great race Sunday.
Once again I must point out that it’s 24/7 news cycle that has totally ruined the news we get. Back when there was an hour of local news and an hour of national news they could only spend 5 minutes on any one subject. That doesn’t allow a lot of time for spin and speculation, just the facts. Which is what news should be. Somewhere along the way news became lucrative and, as we all know from watching NASCAR over the last 20 years, big money ruins everything.
There won’t be a fist fight. Without fans in the stadium and in the pit area after the race, and no one to cheer them on, it would look kind of silly. I am guessing that the pit road area is going to look pretty sparse without the usual crowd there.
Well, they may think they are at Fontanna or Texas.
Well said, Jeremy!
I’m not going to seal myself in a bubble. If the weather is nice, I’m going to be outside in the yard — my neighbors are all further away than 6 feet so it’s all good. I figure I can come in and out and keep up with whatever is going on in the race anyway.
The announcement was just made that the races for Atlanta and Homestead have been postponed.
Take care all!