NASCAR arrives at TMS as virus cases surge
FORT WORTH, Texas — Eddie Gossage doesn't expect many spectators to be visible on television during Sunday' s NASCAR Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.
The TMS president knows plenty of fans will be in the stands for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500. But not many will be down low, where TV cameras will catch them.
“It' s going to be very, very hot ,” Gos sage said with a laugh .“Most of the fans will move up under the shade in the grandstands.”
Texas Motor Speedway hosts all three NASCAR national series, beginning with the Xfinity My Bariatric Solutions 300 at 2 p.m. Saturday. But f ans won't be allowed in the gates until Sunday's Cup race, making it the first major sporting event
in Texas with spectators since the corona virus pandemic shutdown the sports world in March. It will be the second time this week the Cup Series has competed in front of fans, after Bristol Motor Speedway had about 20,000 fans for Wednesday's All-Star Race.
State guidelines allow for 50% capacity, which means 67,500 fans could attend the O' Reilly 500 at 2 p.m. Sunday. Gossage doesn't expect to reach that number, but he and his staff have been working tirelessly since the race was re scheduled from late March to accommodate anyone who wants to attend.
“We didn' t expect to set any records for attendance ,” G os sage said. “We just wanted to make it available and give fans an option.”
For fans who had tickets for the race in March, they had three options: attend the race on Sunday with a digital ticket; get a full refund; or get a 120% track credit toward the purchase of tickets for a future event.
“Depending on circumstances and personal desires, people are doing all of the above,”
Gossage said.
The challenges have been unceasing since NASCAR announced the rescheduled date of the Cup race.
“It' s been extremely challenging ,” G os sage said. “I haven't been to the office in over a week. Our staff is working from home. It' s a lot harder to do this from home to get prepared for an event, but that's the way a lot of us are working these days.”
TMS switched to fully digital ticketing and cash-free concessions. Social distancing has been implemented everywhere from the parking lots to the rest rooms, and 2,000 pieces of signage have been added around the complex to remind fans of social distancing protocols.
Masks are required for every person over 10 years of age whenever it is not possible to maintain 6 feet of distance from another person not in the same household.
And for the first time in TMS history, outside coolers will not be allowed in the gates. Fans can carry in food and drink items in clear bags no larger than 14-by-14-by-14 inches.
Aside from all the unique changes designed to protect fans amid the corona virus pandemic (Texas reported 174 deaths Friday for a third consecutive daily high), Gossage expects a fun race on Sunday.
This will be the first summer Cup race ever at TMS, and the heat — while it's not great for fans in the stands — will be pleasing to the drivers.
“The race car drivers like a hot, gr easy, slick racetrack,” Gossage said. “It's counterintuitive to us folks who don't do that for a living, but they tell me it'll be a better race. It' ll be more suited to these cars. It'll come down to who handles that the best, but I think you'll see a different kind of race.
“They tell me it' ll be a much closer race, and that's a good thing.”