Kemp gives go-ahead for June NASCAR weekend

Officials flesh out schedule, announce races at Homestead, Bristol, Martinsville, Talladega.

The postponed Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway has been rescheduled for June 7.

The NASCAR race will be run without spectators.

In addition, the Xfinity Series EchoPark 250 and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Vet Tix/Camping World 200 will be run June 6, also without spectators.

On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp gave the green light for the race, which was originally scheduled for March 15 but postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. NASCAR has been on hiatus since the postponement.

“I want to thank our partners with

NASCAR and Atlanta Motor Speedway for adapting to protect public health throughout our fight with COVID-19,” Kemp said in a statement announcing the rescheduled race. “As we continue the measured process of reopening our state, I am confident in their plan to return to racing safely, and I’m excited to join with patrons across the country in celebrating the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 come June.”

The QuikTrip 500 will be televised at 3 p.m. June 7 on Fox. The Truck Series will be begin at 1 p.m. June 6 on FS1 and

the Xfinity Series will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Fox.

NASCAR is returning to racing with events this month, kicking off with a Cup Series race Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. An abbreviated schedule was previously released for May, which also includes races in Charlotte. In all, there will be four races in 11 days between the two tracks.

In addition to the AMS races, the newly announced NASCAR schedule will include racing May 30-31 at Bristol, June 10 at Martinsville, June 13-14 at Homestead-Miami

and June 20-21 at Talledega.

Autoweek reported in April that the AMS race would be rescheduled for June 7.

“I’d like to thank Governor Brian Kemp and every one of the state and local health officials that we’ve worked with to develop a plan to get back to racing,” AMS general manager Brandon Hutchison said in a statement. “When NASCAR comes to Atlanta Motor Speedway, the eyes of the entire sports world will be on Georgia for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, and we intend to put on a great show.”

NASCAR ran the Daytona 500, the Penzoil 500 in Las Vegas and the FanShield 500 in Phoenix to start the season, before postponing the schedule days before the race in Atlanta in March.

Because there will be no spectators, weekend ticket-holders for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 may choose to receive an event credit for the full amount paid plus an additional 20%, or choose to receive a full refund of their purchase price. The event credit can be applied toward any admissions, including, but not limited to, grandstand seating, infield tickets, camping, fan hospitality and pit passes.

The 120% event credit can be used during the remaining 2020 season or the 2021 season for a NASCAR sanctioned event.