DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Officials from NASCAR have confirmed that the sanctioning body is postponing all national series events through May 3 in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The news comes days after NASCAR made the decision to postpone events at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway as the virus began to spread across the United States.
With the announcement, the next race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is expected to take place at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on May 9.
Among the events that was postponed was the NASCAR weekend that was scheduled for Texas Motor Speedway on March 27-29. Also postponed were events at Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Int’l Speedway.
“Considering the circumstances that NASCAR had no choice but to postpone the race, we obviously support that because public safety comes first,” said Eddie Gossage, Texas Motor Speedway President and General Manager. “As soon as we have information on the rescheduled date, we will share it with our fans but we encourage them to hold onto their tickets and plan to join us for the rescheduled O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. It’s always the right time to do the right thing and we’re going to do right by our fans.”
“We want to thank all of our loyal and devoted fans who were set to join us during our April race weekend,” said Talladega Superspeedway President Brian Crichton. “The health and safety of our guests, NASCAR stakeholders, employees and our community is our number one priority. We appreciate your patience and understanding during these unprecedented times and we look forward to having everyone back in the near future for the greatest racing on the planet.”
In addition to the NASCAR events, all ARCA Menards Series races have also been postponed through May 3.
The decision comes after the announcement from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending the cancellation or postponement of all events or gatherings of 50 or more people for eight weeks.
Below is NASCAR’s full statement:
“The health and safety of our fans, industry and the communities in which we race is our most important priority, so in accordance with recent CDC guidance, NASCAR is currently postponing all race events through May 3, with plans to return racing in Martinsville. We appreciate the patience of our fans and we look forward to returning to the race track. We intend to hold all 36 races this season, with future rescheduling soon to be determined as we continue to monitor this situation closely with public health officials and medical experts. What is important now transcends the world of sports and our focus is on everyone’s safety and well-being as we navigate this challenging time together.”