NASCAR was the first sport to make its return to the sporting calendar during the current Coronavirus pandemic and has continued to provide fans with entertaining races over the past few months.
The automotive racing sport returned to action in the middle of May, having spent just seven weeks away from the track after they followed every other sport in their decisions to stop their own respective schedules because of the outbreak. The resumption of the sport would certainly have been welcomed by avid users of online sportsbooks as they will have been delighted to place wagers on the action that excites them once again.
Action rescheduled
As have a number of sports, the schedule has been condensed and packed with entertaining meetings, therefore to complete the season as quickly as possible, whilst having a limited impact on the following campaign.
Therefore, NASCAR managed to schedule seven races within 11 days, with meetings having taken place in both North Carolina and South Carolina in order to help keep their own movements restricted as much as possible.
The first event on the revised NASCAR schedule was on May 17 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The Cup Series was the first race event and was then followed by two more events on May 19-20 — split between the Xfinity Series and Cup Series.
NASCAR then went to Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The Cup Series was competed on May 24 and 27. The Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series had their own events on May 25 and 26, respectively.
Rules were put in place
However, NASCAR’s return did come with strict rules that were put in place, with a number of safety precautions having been implemented to ensure that new cases and the potential spread of the virus were kept to a minimum.
NASCAR only allow essential personnel on the track, who are still required to maintain social distance. Team rosters have been limited to 16 people, which includes the driver.
Everyone at the race track is regularly evaluated by temperature and symptom checks. NASCAR had chosen not to test people specifically for COVID-19.
Fans starting to return
Of course, fans have also been banned from attending meetings from the resumption, however it would seem as though those restrictions are starting to be relaxed a little further with each meeting.
For example, the race at Talladega (Ala.) saw up to 5,000 spectators allowed in following the guidelines that had been set out to keep people as safe as possible.
NASCAR’s All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway on 15 July appeared to show that the sport was starting to look for some normality, as it allowed for a maximum of 30,000 spectators to watch the action from the stands. Although official attendance numbers had not been released, it is believed around 20,000 people went to watch the race at the venue in person.
A fair assumption to make would be that this was the biggest attendance of a sporting event since the end of the winter in the United States, perhaps suggesting that change could be on the horizon for other events in the future.
