Now that Texas is beginning to reopen after the coronavirus pandemic, sports fans might be wondering when their favorite sporting events will be back on. It looks like it will take a while for sporting venues to accommodate large crows due to ongoing social distancing requirements, but in the meantime, there are plans for auto racing to get back to running.
The Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, has announced that IndyCar will run on the track on Saturday, June 6th for the Genesys 300 race. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the racing event will be conducted without fans in attendance. It will be a strictly made-for-TV race on the 1.5-mile oval track.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, practice, qualifying, and race will all take place on the same day. “The June race is on,” said Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage. “While it’s the first live sporting event in the state of Texas, it won’t have fans. Protecting everybody’s health is the top priority.”
The Genesys 300 race will be the season opener for IndyCar, which has been unable to run any races this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The racers will take the green flag at 8:45pm Eastern, and fans will have to tune in to see the race on NBCSN.
“America needs live sports and they are not going to believe what they see when the Genesys 300 storms into their living rooms on TV from Texas,” Gossage said. “One of the world’s greatest sporting events, the Indy 500, has been postponed until August by coronavirus, so all of that pent-up energy, anticipation, frustration, and anxiety will be pounding through the drivers’ nervous systems. Typically, the Genesys 300 results in a 220-mph photo finish.”
There have been a number of steps that will be implemented on race day to keep all the participants in the race safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19. For example, there will be a health screening system administered to all participants, personal protective equipment issued to everyone entering the speedway, and social distancing protocols in place.
It will be a great day for Texas and for sports, as the Genesys 300 will be the first live sporting event to take place in the state since the coronavirus shutdown. It will certainly be a long road before sporting events will be able to accommodate spectators, but this is certainly a step in the right direction! Stick with CDL for all your COVID-19 news and updates.
