NASCAR Race Teams declared an essential business; Race announcement pending

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was also approached with a plan from NASCAR for returning to the track

NASCAR has been looking to restart their 2020 racing season. However, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper couple have prevented that.

He recently extended North Carolina’s stay at home order through May 8th. The previous stay at home order was set to expire on April 29th.

NASCAR is looking to restart their season with support from President Donald Trump. The previous stay at home order in North Carolina forced all NASCAR teams in the state to close the doors and go home.

Now, they are allowed to return to work…

“From the information that I have now, already under our state executive order, they could begin working in their garages as an essential business defined under our executive order,” Roy Cooper said. “They are still in contact with local health departments that local governments may have some different health restrictions.”

That is crucial. Teams can now get to their shops and begin prepping cars for the upcoming event.

Charlotte Motor Speedway event

But, where will NASCAR be racing? That’s still unclear.

Currently, 8 NASCAR races have been postponed, just four races into their schedule. The sanction still intends to complete the full schedule per the most recent announcement.

Weeks ago, NASCAR posted an announcement that they had plans to return to the track in mid-May. However, no official track or start date was announced.

Texas and Florida governors have both pitched in, asking NASCAR to come to their state. They want the series there, hosting events without fans. South Carolina and Georgia have also been reducing restrictions, open the door for a possible return to those states.

Before the pandemic, NASCAR was scheduled to visit Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Coca-Cola 600 is a crown-jewel currently scheduled for May 24th.

Currently, the next race listed on the NASCAR schedule is the All-Star Open. That event is scheduled for Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 16th, 2020.

Cooper says he has been approached by the industry with plans for proceeding with that event.

“We are the home of NASCAR, and I’m so grateful for this amazing sport that is in our state that not only provides people with a lot of entertainment, but also has an amazing economic engine for our state,” Cooper said.

“I’ve been in contact with NASCAR officials, track owners, team owners. They have come forward with a plan to try and protect their employees. So we’ll be coming forward with an announcement on that pretty soon,” Cooper concluded.

All the dots are aligning for NASCAR to drop the green flag.

Links

NC Governor | NASCAR | Charlotte Motor Speedway

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