On Thursday, NASCAR finally made official, news that had been highly speculated. The sanctioning body will officially return to Racing Sunday, May 17th at Darlington Raceway.
In all, NASCAR announced seven separate races that will be contested over an 11-day stretch. The two tracks that will host events are Darlington and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Here is the official schedule released by NASCAR on Thursday:
Sunday, May 17: Cup Series at Darlington (400 miles), 3:30 PM ET FOX
Tuesday, May 19: Xfinity Series at Darlington (200 miles), 8:00 PM ET FS1
Wednesday, May 20: Cup Series at Darlington (500 Kilometers), 8:00 PM ET FS1
Sunday, May 24: Cup Series Charlotte Coca-Cola 600 (600 miles), 6:00 PM ET FOX
Monday, May 25: Xfinity Series at Charlotte (300 miles), 7:30 PM ET FS1
Tuesday, May 26: Truck Series at Charlotte (200 miles), 8:00 PM ET FS1
Wednesday, May 27: Cup Series at Charlotte (500 kilometers), 8:00 PM ET FS1
Of all the races scheduled above, only the Coca-Cola 600 will have a qualifying session. The rest of the events listed will be races with no prior qualifying sessions.
None of the races listed will have any practice sessions, as well. No fans will be permitted to be in the stands for the events, and NASCAR will mandate PPE usage, social distancing guidelines and health screenings prior to entry, while in and exiting the facilities.
NASCAR’s strategy is to remain as close to home for the teams as possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No word yet as to which race dates will be replaced by the extra events that will take place in the Carolinas.
