NASCAR’s return paved the way for other sports
This is the second of a series counting down the top five NASCAR Cup Series races of 2020. This week, No. 4:
After months of reruns, flashbacks, nostalgic documentaries, and iRacing, NASCAR set the stage for the return of live sports amid the coronavirus pandemic.
After two months off, NASCAR became one of the first major sports to resume the season, returning to historic Darlington Raceway on May 17, without fans, for the first of four Cup races in 11 days.
“I think everybody in this garage is so excited to be here,” Kevin Harvick said. “I was up this morning at 6 a.m., pacing around my porch trying to decide when I was going to leave. I was excited to get back in the car. Today was just a well executed day.”
Harvick would go on to win the race, dubbed The Real Heroes 400, defeating Alex Bowman for his first of nine wins in 2020. The return to the track gave NASCAR the chance to implement its COVID-19 protocols, which included no fans, temperature checks, a limit on number of team members and social
distancing.
It was Harvick’s 50th win of his career, tying him with Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett.
“This was not easy, but everybody came together in a real spirit of collaboration,” said NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell. “You certainly miss the fans, that vibe, that energy.
“I think the participants were able to create their own positive vibe knowing this was a big day for the sport, knowing it was a day we could showcase
the sport to a live television audience and hopefully give some people a little bit of joy to watch them race.”
It wasn’t easy to pull off, but the TV audience certainly made it worthwhile. The return at Darlington was the highest rated and most-watched Cup race outside the Daytona 500 since 2017, averaging a 3.7 rating and 6.32 million viewers. It was the most-watched Darlington race since 2011.
NASCAR’s return and Harvick’s win weren’t the only storylines, either.
Ryan Newman returned to the car for the first time since his Daytona 500 crash, finishing 15th, while Matt Kenseth made his first Cup start since 2018, replacing Kyle Larson in the No. 42 car after Larson was fired in April for using a racial slur during an iRacing event.
In true Kenseth fashion, he brought home a 10th-place finish.
“Here’s the thing about Matt Kenseth, he should have never quit,” Harvick said after the race.
“It was great to be back in the race car,” Newman added. “Proud of how everybody worked, not just our team, but everyone in NASCAR to break the ice on getting the world back in motion.”
Other race highlights included Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning on the opening lap, and Jimmie Johnson wrecking from the lead just before the end of Stage1.
While those two didn’t exactly leave the track happy, one thing was clear when the dust settled: everyone was just happy to be back.
“As far as the vibe in the garage area, I think everyone’s spirits were really, really high,” O’Donnell added. “They all knew the effort that this took collectively to pull this off.”