NASCAR will be first to approach restart line

Stockcar circuit plans fanfree return May 17

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR announced Thursday that it will resume its season without fans starting May 17 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, with the premier Cup Series racing three more times in a 10day span afterward.

NASCAR will be the first major sports organization to announce specific returntoplay plans since the coronavirus pandemic shut down U.S. sports in midMarch.

“NASCAR and its teams are eager and excited to return to racing, and have great respect for the responsibility that comes with a return to competition,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “NASCAR will return in an environment that will ensure the safety of our competitors, officials and all those in the local community.”

NASCAR’s revised schedule goes only through May and has two Wednesday Cup races. The first race is scheduled for Darlington, NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, followed by a second race at the 70yearold, eggshaped oval track three days later.

Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway then will host the CocaCola 600 on May 24 to mark 60 consecutive years the longest race on the NASCAR schedule will be held on Memorial Day weekend. The track in Concord, outside NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, will host a Wednesday race three days later.

There also will be lowertier Xfinity and Trucks series races at the two tracks. The North Carolina governor has said the the Charlotte races can be held as long as health conditions in the area do not deteriorate.

NASCAR suspended its season March 13 with only four of its 36 scheduled races completed. The stockcar series, heavily reliant on television money and sponsor payments, has vowed to complete its full schedule.