Texas Motor Speedway has a new date for its spring races.
NASCAR announced this afternoon that it has rescheduled the TMS weekend for July 18-19. The Xfinity Series' My Bariatric Solutions 300 will run at 2 p.m. followed by the Gander Outdoor Truck Series' Vankor 350 at 7 p.m. on Saturday July 18.
The Cup Series' O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 is scheduled to be run at 2 p.m. Sunday July 19.
But the big questions is whether fans will be allowed to attend.
"We'd like to do that. We certainly want fans," TMS president Eddie Gossage said. "But there's still unanswered questions that we need guidance from state on. We hope to have some direction soon and be able to share how we would go about it."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said sporting venues can allow 50% capacity in an order signed Wednesday. TMS has a capacity of approximately 130,000, which would mean half capacity would accommodate 65,00 fans. If it's limited to 25%, capacity would be 32,500.
But there's a number of layers that go into that decision for TMS.
What sort of protocol is necessary to ensure the safest environment for fans? Does every fan need to have their temperature checked? How should the track allow for social distancing in the stands? What if it means moving people with personal seat licenses?
Other questions include whether the state could allow for even more capacity at venues by the time the race is here in mid-July. Or possibly go in the opposite direction from 50% to 25%.
At the end of the day, the track will have to know the measures necessary in order to see if it's feasible _ both practically and financially.
"It's not as simple as saying, 'Yeah, we're going to allow fans,'" Gossage said. "There's a lot of things that have to be sorted out."
Gossage hopes to have those answers soon for fans, but he called Thursday a good day with the rescheduled race dates confirmed.
TMS' opening race weekend originally scheduled for March 26-29 was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In the meantime, the track is preparing to host its first race of 2020 on Saturday night with the IndyCar Genesys 300. No fans will be allowed to attend. There is expected to be approximately 900 people on the grounds for the race.
The IndyCar event is a one-day, made-for-TV spectacle with practice and qualifying in the afternoon, and the race beginning at 7:10 p.m. The race will be televised in prime-time on NBC.
Gossage is excited about getting the IndyCar season started at Texas and knows fans are itching to get back to live sports. It won't happen at the track this month, but maybe next.
"Nothing compares to attending a sporting event live," Gossage said. "We know there's a lot of fans that want to come Saturday night and just sit in the parking lot to hear the cars. A lot of folks are waiting for that green light."
