Amid the coronavirus postponements, NASCAR cuts employee salaries; Vacation time to be used as well
NASCAR made moves on Tuesday to adjust during a pending financial crisis in America.
Just a few weeks ago, NASCAR was rolling into their fifth weekend of the 2020 racing season. Just ahead of the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the season was abruptly postponed.
Seven NASCAR races are currently postponed. None of them have been canceled and the series is exploring options for completing the full schedule.
Of those, mid-week races are on the table as well as double-header weekends. Beyond that, NASCAR has two off-weekends scheduled during the Olympics. Those weekends can now be filled with two postponements, or more for a double-header.
Currently, the only thing going on in the NASCAR world are some online races. The first iRacing event was shown on FS1 last week and seen by nearly a million sports fans.
Much of the world has fallen under hard times. Heavily populated areas in America are in quarantine, at home, unsure when or if they will return to work.
A $2-trillion coronavirus bill sits in the Senate. That money is aimed to help Americans get by during the unprecedented time.
The sporting sanction has been forced to make adjustments: NASCAR executives will see their pay cut by 25%. All other NASCAR employees will see their salary cut by 20%.
Employees were also told to use one week of vacation, required in the next 5 weeks.
Additionally, NASCAR has cut the budget for capital improvements as they weather the outbreak.
Steve Phelps letter to NASCAR employees
The following letter was sent to NASCAR employees on Tuesday:
“With the temporary postponement of our season and the impact of the coronavirus is having on every part of our business, we will have to adjust our operations in several significant ways,” NASCAR president Steve Phelps wrote.
“We are trying to minimize expenses until we can get back to doing what we do best — holding great race events for our fans.”
“These decisions are difficult but necessary for the health of our company as we work through this crisis and address the long-term business needs of our sport,” he added.
The letter was sent to the AP by an unknown NASCAR employee.
On Wednesday, NASCAR notified teams that as NASCAR employee has tested positive for Coronavirus. That employee was at Atlanta Motor Speedway, leading up to the postponement
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