Will NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 go on? NC senators want reopening with no fans in Charlotte
Five Republican state senators from the Charlotte area are calling on North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to amend his stay-at-home order and partially reopen Charlotte Motor Speedway.
They want the NASCAR track in Concord reopened — without fans — for the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24, the weekend of Memorial Day.
Cooper’s stay-at-home order, issued on March 27, closed non-essential businesses in North Carolina in response to the coronavirus. NASCAR has suspended its season until further notice although the Associated Press reported Friday that NASCAR has “privately given teams a revised schedule in which racing would return with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”
The senators requesting that the speedway reopen are:
▪ Sen. Kathy Harrington (R-Gaston)
▪ Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus)
▪ Sen. Todd Johnson (R-Union)
▪ Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell)
▪ Sen. Carl Ford (R-Rowan)
The senators’ press release on Sunday notes Florida has already adopted similar policy for NASCAR races to be run without fans in attendance.
“We should be looking at every safe example of a way to partially reopen society, and fan-less NASCAR racing seems like a simple step that Gov. Cooper can take right now,” Sawyer said in a statement.
Said Harrington in the statement: “Other states have already adopted this policy, and Gov. Cooper should allow North Carolina to follow suit.”
Tickets for the May 24th race remain on sale online.
NASCAR layoffs
The Observer previously reported nearly 15% of staff at Charlotte Motor Speedway and seven other NASCAR tracks have been laid off. Affected employees in Charlotte include workers in Public Relations, Marketing, Ticket Office, Operations, Corporate Sales and Events.
This story was originally published April 19, 2020 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Will NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 go on? NC senators want reopening with no fans in Charlotte."
