Five Republican state senators in North Carolina are calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to allow NASCAR races without fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR All-Star Race is scheduled for May 16, and the Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Neither race has been postponed by NASCAR, and the track currently is selling tickets to both events.
Sens. Kathy Harrington, R-Gaston; Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell; and Carl Ford, R-Rowan, said Sunday they want Cooper to partially reopen Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for the Coca-Cola 600.
“People are going stir-crazy with very few live sports underway, and allowing NASCAR racing in Charlotte would be a good first step toward returning to some semblance of normalcy,” Johnson said in a news release. “Gov. Cooper should permit fan-less racing.”
“Other states have already adopted this policy, and Gov. Cooper should allow North Carolina to follow suit,” said Harrington, who was referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to allow professional sports in his state without fans.
DeSantis amended his safer-at-home order to classify professional sports as “essential businesses.”
“We should be looking at every safe example of a way to partially reopen society, and fan-less NASCAR racing seems like a simple step that Gov. Cooper can take right now,” Sawyer said.
NASCAR has postponed races through May 9.
