TOYOTA OWNERS 400
Sunday, 3 p.m. (FOX)
hard hit by the pandemic, which has claimed more than 561,000 lives in the United States alone.
“I’m not trying to shove it down people’s throats,” Wallace said Friday. “I’m just saying, ‘Hey, I’m comfortable taking this route to get us back to a normal capacity in all aspects of life.’ ”
Wallace’s former boss, retired great Richard Petty, filmed a promotion showing him getting vaccinated, but few others have taken such steps.
“I think it’s a personal decision that everyone has a right to, and so, accordingly, I think once it’s open to everyone, those who feel comfortable getting it should certainly get it if that’s what they want to do,” said Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion. “I haven’t made a decision on what I’m going to do.”
His crew chief has. Jeremy Bullins said: “I don’t have it yet, but I do have an appointment scheduled.”
With talk that NASCAR would like to — local governments permitting — begin increasing the number of fans at races, and perhaps allow sponsor access into the garage, it’s an easy choice, Bullins said.
“I read this weekend they’re going to start letting fans back in,” he said.
“From that regard, I think our sport is not sustainable without fans, and I think the level of access that we’ve always provided is second to none compared to other sports.”
IndyCar is preparing to kick off its season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend and Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp., said “somewhere around 90% of the team personnel will be vaccinated, and I think that’s going to continue to move up.”
IndyCar also is considering regular COVID-19 testing for participants who choose not to receive the vaccine, Miles said.
“I expect it to be very close to 100% by the time we get here to race,” he said, speaking of the Indianapolis 500, which is scheduled for May 30 amid hopes for full attendance of some 400,000 fans.
NASCAR is also eager to have the full return of fans; the biggest turnouts in the past year have been approximately 30,000 at Bristol (twice) and then 30,000 for the season opener at Daytona.
Chase Briscoe also hasn’t said what he plans to do about vaccination, but noted he hopes race weekends get back to normal. He said that last weekend at the race in Martinsville he “probably signed (autographs) for 30 or 40 fans walking in because they’re all standing there.”