Shot talk: Opinions vary on vaccination in NASCAR
RICHMOND, Va. — Bubba Wallace’s advice: Get the shot, like he did.
Fellow NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski said he hasn’t decided yet whether to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Austin Dillon and reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott believe it’s a personal choice and no one else’s business, though Richard Childress Racing — the team for which Dillon competes — did host a voluntary vaccination clinic on site for employees and their families.
Throughout motorsports, which has long prided itself on face-to-face access for fans and glad-handing time with sponsors, approaches still vary greatly on how to best stifle the spread of the coronavirus, which has cost the sports world billions.
In IndyCar, which kicks off its
2021 season with Sunday’s race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmigham, Alabama, teams are pushing toward total vaccination for COVID-19.
In NASCAR, with a fan base traditionally more conservative in its Southern strongholds, it is the rare driver who touts vaccination for the coronavirus.
One of the few is Wallace, who left Richard Petty Motorsports after last season to drive for the new 23X1 team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and current Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. Like Richard Childress Racing, 23XI had a mass vaccination day at its shop for employees and their families. Wallace also partnered this past week with Novant Health to address the hesitancy some have to getting vaccinated; after CNN showed him receiving his jab, the 27-year-old who was born in Alabama and grew up in North Carolina said he’s trying to lead by example.
Wallace is the only Black driver in NASCAR’s top series, and the Black community has been especially hard hit by the pandemic, which has killed more than 561,000 people in the United States alone.
“I’m not trying to shove it down people’s throats,” Wallace said Friday. “I’m just saying, ‘Hey, I’m comfortable taking this route to get us back to a normal capacity in all aspects of life.’”
Wallace’s former boss, NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, filmed a promotion showing him getting vaccinated, but few others associated with stock car racing have taken such steps.
“I think it’s a personal decision that everyone has a right to, and so, accordingly, I think once it’s open to everyone, those who feel comfortable getting it should certainly get it if that’s what they want to do,” said Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion who drives for Team Penske. “I haven’t made a decision on what I’m going to do.”
His crew chief has, with Jeremy Bullins saying “I don’t have it yet, but I do have an appointment scheduled.”
With talk that NASCAR would like to — local governments permitting — begin increasing the number of fans at races, and perhaps allow sponsor access into the garage, it’s an easy choice, Bullins said.
“I read this weekend they’re going to start letting fans back in,” he said. “From that regard, I think our sport is not sustainable without fans, and I think the level of access that we’ve always provided is second to none compared to other sports.”
Team Penske fields cars in NASCAR’s Cup Series and the second-tier Xfinity Series, as well as IndyCar, the open-wheel series also owned by team owner Roger Penske.
As IndyCar prepared to start a new season, Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp., said “somewhere around 90% of the team personnel will be vaccinated, and I think that’s going to continue to move up.”
IndyCar is considering regular COVID-19 testing for participants who choose not to receive the vaccine, said Miles, who added that by the time the Indianapolis 500 is run on May 30 — with hopes of 400,000 in the stands — “I expect it to be very close to 100%” of team personnel vaccinated.