NASCAR schedule is still not done being changed

NASCAR’s 2020 schedule has been adjusted several times due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the changes may not be done yet.

Aside of the occasional rain delay, the first four race weekends of the 2020 NASCAR season went off without a hitch.

Cup Series races and Xfinity Series races were contested at Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway and Truck Series races were contested at Daytona International Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway as scheduled.

But as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been no action since Sunday, March 8 when Team Penske’s Joey Logano won the Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

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The next race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was scheduled to include races for all three series, was scheduled to go on without fans in attendance, but it ended up being put on hold indefinitely.

Then NASCAR made the same decision for the following race weekend, which was also scheduled to include races for all three series, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This preceded the decision to postpone all races through the race weekend at Dover International Speedway in early May.

NASCAR postponements: TRACKER

None of the seven postponed Cup Series races, six postponed Xfinity Series races or five postponed Truck Series races have been rescheduled. So the 36-race Cup Series schedule now effectively includes 29 races while the 33-race Xfinity Series schedule now includes 27 races and the 23-race Truck Series schedule now includes 18 races.

But there are still plans to get the full season in, specifically as it pertains to the Cup Series, indicating that the schedule will change at some point when more is known about the current situation.

More changes, however, could be in store in the form of postponements, or at least empty grandstands.

In response to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issuing a “stay at home” order for the state of Virginia that runs through Wednesday, June 10, NASCAR released the following statement.

The season is currently scheduled to resume with the Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia on Saturday, May 9, which is more than one month before this order is set to expire.

This order could be extended or rescinded by another executive order, but among the recreational and entertainment businesses which much remain closed during its duration are race tracks. Any gatherings of 10 or more people are prohibited.

NASCAR is open to the idea of running races without fans, and that has been recently discussed as a possibility for the upcoming race at Martinsville Speedway, but even a race without fans involves well over 10 people.

Additionally, if the track is closed, the track is closed.

The next race on the schedule after this race is the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Saturday, May 16. The next points-paying race is the Coca-Cola 600 at the same track on Sunday, May 24.

IndyCar and Formula 1 have already postponed or canceled their respective Memorial Day Sunday events, the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Nothing has been confirmed yet about the 2020 NASCAR schedule beyond the postponements through Sunday, May 3, and there is no sense in speculating given how fluid the situation is. But NASCAR might unfortunately be backed into a corner and forced to further alter the calendar in the near future. For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.