NASCAR’s return is scheduled for the state of Virginia; There’s now a strictly enforced stay at home order in place
Seven NASCAR races have been postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Currently, none of those have been rescheduled. None of them have been canceled either.
Things continue to change at a rapid rate. Thus, the sporting world is waiting to see what happens before they re-schedule events.
Drivers have turned to the digital iRacing world. Weekly online races are shown on LIVE tv to give avid racing fans their fix.
NASCAR is currently postponed in the real world until May. The stock car racing sanction is tentatively scheduled to resume on May 9, 2020 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
However, now even those plans could soon be altered.
Virginia stay at home order
On Monday, March 30, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued a stay-at-home order. It’s strict and it’s long.
That requires Virginians to stay home. The exceptions: getting food, home supplies, medical care, work and exercise.
The Virgina stay at home order is schedule to last through June 10. It’s only of the longest stay at home orders in the United States.
In other words, you can’t do anything in Virginia, for a long time. And, unlike some areas, it’s going to be enforced.
“This is not a time when we are looking to put people in jail, but it is a time when I expect all Virginians to comply.” Northam said. “If we see people gathered any place in Virginia, especially in parks and beaches.”
The state previously issued guidelines similar to those above. Now, it’s has been upgraded to an order.
Violation of the stay at home order is a Class I misdemeanor in VA. That could bring a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail.
State beaches are closed. Nonessential stores are allowed to be open but they can’t have more than 10 people in a store at once.
Worldwide, there has been 797,490 recorded cases of the outbreak. 161,542 have recovered while 38,540 have died.
The United States as a whole has recoreded 164,406 cases of COVID-19. 3,172 of those have resulted in death.
Virginia is on the rise. The state now has 1,020 cases of the outbreak. The state added nearly 300 on Monday.
NASCAR comments on the Virginia state at home order
The sanctioning body issued the following statement on Monday:
“NASCAR is aware of the stay-at-home order issued for Virginia. We will continue discussions with public health officials and medical experts as we assess rescheduling options.”
It appears the Martinsville race will almost certainly have to be postponed as well.
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