NASCAR to return to racing on May 17 at Darlington Raceway

DARLINGTON, S.C. (WMBF) – NASCAR announced on Thursday it will start its engines back up, and it will all begin at the Darlington Raceway.

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, which have been delayed since mid-March due to the coronavirus, will resume in May at the Darlington Raceway.

The NASCAR Cup Series will race on Sunday, May 17 and the Xfinity Series will be two days later on Tuesday, May 19. The track will also host an additional Cup Series event on Wednesday, May 20.

“It’s an honor for Darlington Raceway to resume the 2020 NASCAR season in just a few short weeks with three races in four days. Darlington is one of the most iconic and historic tracks in the sport and will be a tremendous backdrop when NASCAR returns to racing. We certainly appreciate the support from our state’s leadership in working with NASCAR to allow us to host these events,” said Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp.

As our nation restarts, I can think of no better place for NASCAR to drop the green flag than at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. (1/2) https://t.co/ef8r7nle2j
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) April 30, 2020

Unfortunately, fans will not be able to attend these race events. They will be able to follow along on all Darlington Raceway’s social channels for minute-by-minute event information and action.

“We’d love to have the fans here because we’re all about the fans but we are not at that point yet. NASCAR knows for us to get going again in the right direction. They want to try to get every points race in and in order for that to happen they need to get going,” Tharp said.

Tharp added that with an empty infield they will be able to space out race teams to practice social distancing.

There also won’t be any practice laps or qualifying race like on a normal race weekend. Essentially, the cars will come off the hauler and onto the track ready to roll.

The track’s traditional Southern 500 race weekend is still scheduled for September 4-6 and will feature a throwback theme.

Here is how fans can watch the races in May:

The Cup Series May 17 race will start at 3 p.m. ET live on FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. It will be 400 miles.
The Xfinity Series event on May 19 at Darlington will start at 8 p.m. ET and be live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. It will be 200 miles.
The Cup Series May 20 race will start at 7:30 p.m. ET and be live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. It will be 500 kilometers.

Watch the full interview below with Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp:

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