Late-May NASCAR race postponed at Kansas Speedway. New date will be announced later
The May 30-31 NASCAR race weekend at Kansas Speedway has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be rescheduled for a later date, track officials confirmed.
NASCAR unveiled a new spring lineup Thursday that includes plans to reschedule race events in not only Kansas but also at Michigan, Mid-Ohio and Texas. All racing that had been set for Iowa has been, or will be, reassigned to other venues.
Per the revised schedule, the May 31 race that had been slated for Kansas will now take place in Bristol, Tennessee, followed by a June 7 race in Atlanta, June 10 race at Martinsville, June 14 race in Miami and June 21 race at Talladega. No fans will be allowed to attend any of those races.
The rest of the schedule for 2020, including racing at Kansas Speedway, will be announced at a later time, according to NASCAR officials.
“We are eager to expand our schedule while continuing to work closely with the local governments in each of the areas we will visit,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president. “We thank the many government officials for their guidance, as we share the same goal in our return — the safety for our competitors and the communities in which we race.”
Kansas Speedway issued the following statement Thursday afternoon: “We will continue to work closely with NASCAR officials while monitoring the ongoing coronavirus epidemic through updates from local and federal government and health officials.”
NASCAR races are taking place without fans in attendance this month at tracks near most of the teams’ garage headquarters in and around Charlotte, N.C. Seven races are scheduled over an 11-day span in Charlotte and Darlington, S.C., starting Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway.
Kansas Speedway’s annual spring weekend was to be the first racing to follow that revised series in the Carolinas. As recently as last week, a Kansas track spokesperson had said the track was still planning to play host to live NASCAR racing this month.
Kansas Speedway president Patrick Warren thanked fans for their patience during this time of unknowns.
“NASCAR is working extremely hard on a schedule for the remainder of the year,” Warren said in a news release, “and I look forward to seeing cars back on track very soon.”
Four NASCAR Cup series races were held this spring before the pandemic hit.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:16 PM.
