NASCAR wraps up span not seen since 1971-1972
By Asher Fair
It’s now been more than one year since NASCAR returned from its unexpected hiatus, and 45 races were contested during that one-year span.
One year ago yesterday, NASCAR returned from the unexpected 10-week hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic with a Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway.
By Sunday, May 17, 2020, there were originally scheduled to have been 12 points-paying races completed in the 2020 season, one-third of the races on the schedule.
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Instead, there had only been four, all from mid-February to early March. The first of two previously unscheduled Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway during the week of NASCAR’s return was just the fifth event contested in 2020.
This past Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway was the 13th race of the season and the 45th race contested since that hiatus.
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NASCAR hadn’t seen 45 Cup Series races contested in one-year span at any point since 1972, nearly five decades ago, and that happened because the 1971 season featured 48 races. No single season since then has featured more than 36 races.
Following NASCAR’s return to action last May, there was a 98-day span that originally featured 12 scheduled points-paying Cup Series races. But in that 14-week span, NASCAR managed to fit in 20 races, including some that weren’t even on the initial 2020 schedule to make up for some of those that were canceled altogether, to get back on schedule by August.
The final 12 races of the season, including the 10 playoff races, were all run as scheduled, giving the Cup Series its 20th consecutive 36-race season.
While 45 races in a one-year span certainly provided fans with plenty of excitement, let’s hope we are never again in a situation where that many races in a one-year span are needed to make up for lost ground.
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Circuit of the Americas is scheduled to host its inaugural Cup Series this Sunday, May 23. The EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, the 14th of 36 races on the 2021 calendar, is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.