NASCAR: Pennsylvania ruling could have huge schedule implications

Only Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf did not initially approve of NASCAR’s return to racing. But a recent PA ruling could change that.

NASCAR has released two installments of the return to racing schedule in recent weeks, and that schedule currently extends through Sunday, June 21.

These two installments included nine Cup Series races in the 36-day span from Sunday, May 17 to Sunday, June 21. Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled to host a race on the latter.

On the initial schedule, Pocono Raceway was scheduled to host a doubleheader, with one race on Saturday, June 27 and another race on Sunday, June 28.

But when they released the second installment of the return to racing schedule, NASCAR was unable to confirm that this would still be the case, as Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) declined to give the green light to NASCAR competing in his state, even without fans in attendance at the Tricky Triangle.

The reasoning for this is because of the nature of Pennsylvania’s reopening plan amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pocono Raceway is located in an area that is still in the red phase.

However, a recent development could change this.

All of Pennsylvania is slated to be at least in the yellow phase by this Friday, June 5, which is more than three weeks before the sport is set to travel to the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) tri-oval in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

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NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell has already said that they are “close” to releasing a full 36-race schedule for the season, despite the fact that the race at Talladega Superspeedway is only the 13th on the schedule.

It is believed that Wolf’s refusal to approve racing a Pocono Raceway was the key road block, especially given the fact that the new schedule stops right before that weekend and the fact that he was reportedly the lone governor of a state with a race on the schedule who did not give the all-clear.

Unsurprisingly, shortly after the announcement about the transition of Pennsylvania’s red phase counties to yellow phase, NASCAR president Steve Phelps stated that there are slated to be more schedule developments announced in the near future.

Here is what Phelps had to say about the matter on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio a few days ago.

"“We’re working hard on it. We’ve got to make sure the state and local governments are good to go for us, and whether it’s racing with fans or racing without fans. So, as we get those yeses, those dominoes fall, we’ll get that announced. Whether we’ll announce the full balance of the season or another series of races, as we’ve done a couple of times…remains to be seen. But I would say it’s pretty close. We should see something in the next week or two.”"

NASCAR is set to release more race dates this week, and Pocono Raceway is believed to be on the updated schedule with its original two dates, according to the Pocono Record. Additionally, the Truck Series is set to race at the track on Saturday, June 27, and the Xfinity Series is set to race there on Sunday, June 28. Fans won’t be allowed in attendance for any of these races.

This would not be the first time Wolf has changed his mind about something, so all hope is not lost. He had initially blocked a company that makes American flags from operating during the pandemic, but he reversed that ruling prior to Memorial Day.

There are still four tracks seeking replacement dates already, with those tracks being Texas Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Michigan International Speedway.

A cancellation of the Pocono Raceway weekend would be an even bigger headache for NASCAR, given that this would result in two Cup Series races to reschedule instead of only one. Fortunately, that is not expected.