No razzle-dazzle for NASCAR season start

Article posted by Coliseum, December 9^th, 2020

Image: NASCAR & autosport.com

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) will begin its 2021 season in a low-key manner just like the way it ended the 2020 season. Limited fans will grace the event as the United States is still facing the coronavirus heat.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing.

As COVID-19 still has the US in its veritable death trap, the Daytona International Speedway announced recently that the track will host fans in restricted numbers for the 63^rd annual Daytona 500, the season-opener of the NASCAR Cup Series (top racing series of NASCAR) season scheduled for February 14^th, 2021. The Daytona 500 is a key fixture on the NASCAR calendar each year. Limited spectators attending the spectacle mean ending a five-year sellout streak for the race.

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The track did not provide the exact figure of fans that will be able to attend the racing showpiece but said it would work to accommodate fans that have already purchased tickets for the event.

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, US. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event.

To make certain that social distancing is being maintained between groups who will be in attendance, many fans will be reseated in new locations. The reseating process is expected to be completed by early January.

Remarked Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile, “The Daytona 500 is one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports, and fans from all over the world converge in Daytona Beach to be a part of motorsport’s biggest day. While we won’t be able to have a capacity crowd here in February, we are excited that we can host the Daytona 500 with those in attendance, as well as for the millions who will tune in live on Fox.”

“The ‘Great American Race’ will once again have the aura and atmosphere that fans have come to know and love. From the pageantry of our pre-race festivities to the rumble of 40 engines roaring around the high banks, it’s the biggest stage in motorsports,” Wile added.

All guests will be screened before entering the facility and masks have been made mandatory while maintaining six feet social distancing throughout their visit.

The exact capacity for the upcoming race has not yet been set and will be determined in consultations with local and State health officials in Florida. Daytona International Speedway normally can seat 101,500 in the grandstands and hold thousands more in the infield.

The race will be held a week after the National Football League’s (NFL’s) Super Bowl LV, set for February 7^th across the State of Florida in Tampa, and it’s likely that event will also feature limited onlookers.

The Super Bowl LV, the 55^th Super Bowl and the 51^st modern-era National Football League (NFL) championship game, will decide the league champion for the 2020 NFL season.

The news of the 2021 Daytona 500 arrives as the property was able to successfully complete its 2020 season despite huge disruptions caused by the fatal respiratory disease and a series of disparate events and one such involving Kyle Larson.

American race car driver Kyle Larson was suspended for his use of racial slur during an iRacing event.

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