Start your engines: NASCAR roaring back during pandemic

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Ready or not, NASCAR is back, but without fans, flyovers or commercialism. Darlington Raceway opened its 70-year-old gates so engines in the stock car series could roar again and the revenue flow would resume.

NASCAR’S return started Sunday morning as teams began filing into Darlington at designated arrival times. A checkpoint at the gate allowed pre-approved personnel into the infield after a health screening. There is no exiting once inside NASCAR’S designated footprint, all part of a meticulously planned health protocol.

NASCAR chose Darlington, the oldest speedway on the Cup circuit, as the safest place to restart the season after eight events were postponed and the series sat idle for 10 weeks. Facing a financial collapse if live races didn’t get going on national television, NASCAR had its health plan approved in South Carolina and North Carolina andreleased an aggressive revised schedule.

Sunday marks the first of 20 races across seven Southern states between now and June 21. All eyes will be on NASCAR and its protocols — representatives from Indycar and the NFL’S Carolina Panthers, among others — were expected to observe the screening process Sunday.

The first event is called the “The Real Heroes 400” and is dedicated to health care workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The names of health care workers across the country have been substituted for the drivers’ name above the door on each of the 40 cars.

The health care workers will give the command to start the engines.

“These heroes will signal that NASCAR has returned, bringing back the intense competition and side-by-side racing we’ve all missed,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps wrote in a letter to fans released Sunday morning.