North Carolina’s bullring oval cancels racing season
Bowman Gray Stadium is a 1/4-mile asphalt oval in Winston Salem, NC.
The bullring oval has a nickname ‘The Madhouse’. It’s a name that’s been installed as drivers have been known to loose their tempers.
A lot of times, those moments are encouraged by the crowd. Fans cheer and encourage retaliation, they then film it for the video to go viral.
There’s been no viral videos out of Bowman Gray in 2020. The track hasn’t dropped a green flag.
This week, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper extended Phase 2 of the reopening plan to August 7th. The phase limits gatherings to just 25 people.
North Carolina ranks 11th as far as COVID cases in the states. On Thursday alone, 2,160 new cases of the virus were discovered in the state.
In total, North Carolina has discovered 93,426 cases. 1,588 have passed.
The track is owned by the city of Winston-Salem. Now, as the Governor extends Phase 2, the racetrack has decided to pull the plug.
Bowman Gray Stadium announces cancellation of 2020 season
On Thursday, the track released the following statement:
“On July 14, Governor Cooper extended ‘Phase 2’ of COVID-19 restrictions for another three weeks until August 7. During this phase, events such as the racing at Bowman Gray Stadium are not permitted to have more than 25 spectators.”
“We believe it is highly unlikely that Governor Cooper will significantly relax these restrictions in August or even September.”
“Some professional sporting organizations may be holding events without fans. We, however, have no plans or desire to hold events without our fan base in the stands.”
“This unprecedented situation has unfortunately forced us to cancel any plans for racing during the 2020 season. We have no plans to race in the fall or winter.”
“We do not know how the COVID-19 situation will continue to evolve over the coming months, but we are planning to return to racing in the spring of 2021 – and we are hopeful that we will be able to do so at full capacity.”
“Again, we are thankful for the patience and understanding of our fans, drivers, crew members, sponsors, officials, employees, friends, and family. We hope that everyone stays healthy and well during this time.”
“We look forward to seeing you all again at the Madhouse in the spring of 2021.”
