NASCAR returns after coronavirus pause with empty stands, masks on pit crews and drivers covering up – The Sun

NASCAR returned on Sunday after a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic — and it was “weird” without fans in the stands, according to winner Kevin Harvick.

The race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina happened 71 days after the series’ last event.

Harvick, who won his 50th career Cup Series, told The Associated Press his victory felt a lot like his previous ones, but still, a little strange.

“Dead silence,” he said of the empty stands where fans would normally be cheering. “It is weird just because there’s nobody up there.”

“I just want to thank everybody from NASCAR and all the teams for letting us do what we do,” he added.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that different, then we won and it’s dead silent out here. We miss the fans.”

During the race, Harvick took the lead in his No 4 Ford from Alex Bowman on a late restart — and pulled away over the final 30 laps.

Bowman finished in second place, followed by Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin.

Harvick is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in each of the Cup Series’ five races this season.

The race was unlike any other from NASCAR: masks, social distancing, remote broadcasting, and a speedway without any fans were among the most noticeable differences in the series’ return.

Upon his victory, Harvick came out of his car in the victory lane while wearing a black face mask.

NASCAR chose the oldest speedway on the Cup circuit as the safest place to restart its season after eight events were postponed amid the pandemic.

NASCAR had been facing a financial collapse if races didn’t resume on national television.

Sunday’s race was the first of 20 races across seven southern states between now and June 21.

Darlington Raceway will host two more NASCAR races over the next three days.

The first race back was deemed The Real Heroes 400 and was dedicated to healthcare workers who are combatting the coronavirus outbreak on the front lines.

The names of healthcare workers across the country were put in place of the drivers’ names above each of the 40 racecar doors.

Harvick’s car honored Dr Joshua Hughes, an emergency medicine physician in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.

“Josh is one of my really good friends, I spend a lot of time talking to him through this pandemic and really have heard how those doctors are affected with everything they have going on with their personal life and whether they’re sick, not sick, how they should treat people,” Harvick told the AP.

“I’m just really honored and really thankful for all of our front line workers, not only our doctors, but grocery stores, truck drivers, fire fighters, police departments — you name it.
“All of you front line workers are the reason that we’re here today and our country is actually still running.”

At the race, the healthcare workers virtually gave the command to start the engines.

“Our drivers, race teams and officials have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to get back to the race track and we want to assure you that we have taken the return to racing very seriously,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps wrote in a letter to fans released on Sunday morning.

Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president of NASCAR, said he was pleased the racing series “didn’t have to tell anyone or remind anyone to wear a mask.”

“It felt a little odd with the garage area because it was scaled down in terms of personnel, but all in all I think it went really well,” O’Donnell said.

Source: Read Full Article