NASCAR still planning to run all 36 races in 2020

Even with seven races already knocked off the calendar, NASCAR is still planning to run all 36 races on the 2020 Cup Series schedule.

Just four of the 36 races on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule had been contested when the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a screeching halt prior to this past weekend’s scheduled event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway before Team Penske’s Joey Logano won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman won at Auto Club Speedway. Logano then won at Phoenix Raceway.

As for who the next race winner will be — as well as when and where the next race will take place — nobody knows.

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One thing is for sure; it won’t be in March or April.

After NASCAR had intended to run the race weekends at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway without fans, the threat of COVID-19 ultimately led to the postponements of both.

A few days later, NASCAR postponed all races through early May, bringing the total number of postponements all the way up to seven. Race weekends at Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway were scrapped.

Keep up to date with all postponements and cancellations: TRACKER

As of now, the season is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 9 at Martinsville Speedway, but once again, that is subject to change.

Keep up to date with which race is the next non-postponed/canceled race: TRACKER

But despite the fact that there are now officially only 25 scheduled races remaining on a 29-race schedule this year, NASCAR still plans to run all 36 scheduled events at some point this year.

Current schedule: TRACKER

“Most importantly we intend to race all our 36 points races as well as the All‑Star event,” stated NASCAR president Steve Phelps in a teleconference. “What those look like at this particular point we’re looking broadly about what our options are. At this particular point we would like to finish the season at Phoenix [as scheduled] and keep the playoff portion intact. With that said, it will require a lot of different opportunities for us to look at. We’re in the process of doing that.”

NASCAR would like to fit all of the postponed races into the regular season so that the playoffs remain unaffected, and they believe that they have a number of different options to make that happen.

“No specifics around midweek races. I’ve heard about doubleheaders, different things,” he continued. “At this particular point a lot of things on the table for us to look at, working with our race teams, working with our racetracks to make sure the things that we’re putting on the table are feasible for us to do.”

The playoffs are scheduled to begin on Sunday, September 6 and the season is scheduled to end on Sunday, November 8. There is a two-week hiatus during the summer since TV partner NBC has the rights to the 2020 Summer Olympics, which are scheduled to take place during that break, so those dates could potentially serve as replacement dates for races, if need be.

But as Phelps stated, all options are still on the table, and it is believed that NASCAR will announce an officially revised 2020 schedule at some point. That schedule, of course, would still be subject to change.

NASCAR would still consider holding races without fans in attendance as well.

“Would we consider racing without fans at some point to get back racing more quickly? That’s in the consideration set. I don’t know,” Phelps stated. “It’s changing so rapidly and what it means for mass gatherings and what is that number. We’ll work with our health officials and we’re working with a number of infectious disease professionals that are going to help us through what that looks like and whether it makes sense to race without fans or have our first race be back with fans.”

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.