CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Each week that passes brings more speculation about when sports will resume. NASCAR especially is raring to restart its engines as a sport with no person-to-person contact and growing support from Republican lawmakers to bring entertainment to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The first racing event could come as early as mid-May at Darlington Raceway, according to a report this week by Sports Business Journal. The track declined to comment, and NASCAR maintained a statement it put out Friday that said it intended to run all 36 Cup Series races and potentially return to the track without fans in May at "a date and location to be determined."
"The health and safety of our competitors, employees, fans, and the communities in which we run continues to be our top priority," the statement said. "We will continue to consult with health experts and local, state and federal officials as we assess future scheduling options."
As NASCAR president Steve Phelps said in March, the situation continues to be "fluid." But as teams and tracks take a financial hit and suffer from job cuts, pressure is mounting to get back to racing sooner rather than later.
"I really sympathize for those who have to make these decisions because there's really not a good option," NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski told the Observer. "We can't keep sitting around doing nothing, because we're draining vital resources and quite frankly, we can't afford it."
"But on the flip side," he continued, "we also have a responsibility to each other to not expose one another to harmful contagions and that's part of our responsibility as a community. Those two things seem to be at odds."
The intermediate track in Darlington, S.C., looks like the most promising location for the sport to return in May since South Carolina is not operating under a stay-at-home order and the track is only two hours from Charlotte, where most teams are headquartered around. However, teams would still need to access their North Carolina shops prior to traveling. North Carolina's stay-at-home order lasts until April 29.
Tuesday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a press briefing that he would announce updates later this week regarding easing his executive order, which prevents gatherings of more than 10 people for non-essential businesses. Since the NASCAR season was officially postponed March 13, racing teams have been operating under this order.
Since Sunday, seven state government officials have asked Gov. Cooper to amend his stay-at-home order to allow NASCAR to race without fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend. Those officials include five state senators, North Carolina's Speaker of the House and the state treasurer.
Cooper said his office was working to ease restrictions in a "responsible" and "staged" way, but he did not provide a timeline for when and how restrictions would be lifted, and said an update would come later this week.
"We understand that we can't stay at home forever and that this is not something that is sustainable long-term," Cooper said Tuesday. "But what we have to do is ease back into it and make sure this virus does not spike, which it very easily could do, overwhelming our hospitals."
While a lot hinges on North Carolina's policies, other states where NASCAR has races are involved in the sport's scheduling discussions.
Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway could both become early contenders for racing's return. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have publicly expressed support for NASCAR to run races in their states.
Gov. Abbott tweeted Monday that he spoke with NASCAR leaders about returning to Texas Motor Speedway "very soon" and that he would "announce the exciting details in the near future." Gov. DeSantis said last week that he was in favor of running a NASCAR race in Florida, fan-free.
In a press briefing Wednesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services provided an update on COVID-19 in the state. The department announced 7,220 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 93 counties. Department secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said that the organization met with two work groups on Wednesday morning _ one group represented large gatherings and another represented the North Carolina business community _ to discuss a path forward for easing restrictions while continuing to protect residents.
"All of these groups are discussing mitigation strategies, such as optimizing social distancing of employees and consumers and congregants, screening of employees for symptoms and combating misinformation about the virus," Cohen said. "While also taking into account the realities faced by different venues and different businesses."
The Department of Health and Human Services did not disclose if representatives from NASCAR were involved in those discussions following multiple requests, but sports and entertainment interests appeared to be represented in the meeting. Cohen said that Spectrum Center general manager Donna Julian chaired the group representing large gatherings. Spectrum Center is the home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
Despite the discussions, tweets and rumors, the bottom line when it comes to NASCAR's remaining 32 Cup points races, which are set to take place across 20 states, is nothing is official until it's official.
