NASCAR has officially become the first major sport in the U.S. to announce their return after the spread of COVID-19, as they unveiled a schedule on Thursday that marks the return of racing on Sunday, May 17 at Darlington Raceway.
The announcement makes NASCAR the first sports organization to cement plans for a return after having to postpone the season after the March 8 race at Phoenix Raceway. The schedule features seven races throughout May, with the first three taking place at Darlington and the other four being at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Darlington and Charlotte were selected for the May races because of their proximity to many teams’ headquarters, which are mostly in Charlotte, North Carolina. The opening race on May 17 will not have fans in attendance but will be a positive step in the return of fans being able to attend sporting events again.
“It’s nearly impossible to create a perfect schedule, but NASCAR worked hard & has done a great job to make racing happen again,” said driver Brad Keselowski via his Twitter account after the announcement was made.
There will be no practice sessions or qualifying for any races other than the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24.
NASCAR still plans to keep a full 36-race schedule for the season, including the 10-race postseason format, and hope to keep all tracks in place as well.
The final race on the schedule so far is the May 27 race in Charlotte, but NASCAR should be announcing more dates and if they will allow fans for the June races sometime in May.
Ben Kennedy, the VP of Racing Development at NASCAR, said on Thursday that there would be health screenings for everyone entering the facilities, and there will also be secondary screenings to help ensure the health and safety of everyone as they resume with races.
“We’ll be maintaining social distancing protocols throughout the event and really trying to be as safely and responsibly as we can as we go about these events,” said Kennedy. “Total team effort to get to this point, and we are looking forward to getting back on May 17.”
Joey Logano won the last official NASCAR race held back on March 8, as the Cup Series only completed four races before the season was postponed. Kevin Harvick leads in the Cup Series standings after four races, with Logano in second by one point.
The first NASCAR race in nearly two months will take place on Sunday, May 17, and will be broadcast on FOX starting at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Written by Danny Morales
UPDATED SCHEDULE
Sunday, May 17 – Cup Series at Darlington (400 miles) – FOX 3:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday, May 19 – Xfinity Series at Darlington (200 miles) – FS1 8 p.m. ET
Wednesday, May 20 – Cup Series at Darlington (500 km) – FS1 7:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 24 – Cup Series at Charlotte (600 miles) – FOX 6 p.m. ET
Monday, May 25 – Xfinity Series at Charlotte (300 miles) – FS1 7:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday, May 26 – Trucks at Charlotte (200 miles) – FS1 8 p.m. ET
Wednesday, May 27 – Cup Series at Charlotte (500 km) – FS1 8 p.m. ET
