Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Back on track: Harvick wins Cup’s return race
DARLINGTON, S.C. — This was a 400-mile drive unlike any other in modern day NASCAR.
The grandstands were completely empty. There wasn’t a single tailgate inside the track. Everyone wore face coverings — some with the team logos, others opting for plain disposable medical masks. It was nothing close to the corporate sponsorship, pomp and patriotic traveling circus that symbolizes NASCAR.
But when the engines fired at Darlington Raceway following a 10-week layoff during the coronavirus pandemic, it turned into a regular old race.
Kevin Harvick beat Alex Bowman to win NASCAR’s first race back, a spectacle closely watched to see if the largest racing series in the United States could successfully resume work.
“I just want to thank everybody from NASCAR and all the teams for letting us do what we do,” Harvick said. “I didn’t think it was going to be that different, but it’s dead silent out here. We miss the fans.”
It was a crucial gamble for NASCAR, which had to get back to the track to stave off financial ruin. With races on hold, no money was coming into the sport whatsoever and the NASCAR business model can not sustain the lack of revenue.
NASCAR developed a health plan approved by officials in both South Carolina and North Carolina and scheduled seven races over the next 11 days at two tracks. As other states began to open, the series tacked more races to fill the calendar with 20 events across seven Southern states between now and June 21. There will be no spectators at least through that date.
This first event was called the “The Real Heroes 400” and dedicated to health care workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The names of health care workers across the country were substituted for the drivers’ name above the door on each of the 40 cars.
The health care workers then virtually gave 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.
“Our drivers, race teams and officials have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to get back to the race track and we want to assure you that we have taken the return to racing very seriously.”
The industry had to be extremely careful because to even get to the Coca-Cola 600 next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR had to get it right at Darlington.
Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president of NASCAR, was pleased with the collective effort from the industry.
“We didn’t have to tell anyone or remind anyone to wear a mask,” O’Donnell said. “It felt a little odd with the garage area because it was scaled down in terms of personnel, but all in all I think it went really well.”