The NASCAR Cup Series schedule for the 2020 season will not remain as is. But we don’t yet know what will change, and there is no sense in speculating.
At this point, it almost goes without saying that the coronavirus pandemic is uncharted territory for everybody. Nobody has been here before. That includes the sports world, it includes the motorsports world, and it includes NASCAR.
Right now, nobody knows anything, aside of the fact that there has been change, and there will continue to be change.
So far, NASCAR has run four of the 36 scheduled Cup Series races, four of the 33 scheduled Xfinity Series races and two of the 23 scheduled Truck Series races. The next seven Cup Series races, the next six Xfinity Series races and the next five Truck Series races were postponed, but not yet rescheduled.
Cup Series action is tentatively scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 9 at Martinsville Speedway, although this could change due to a recent stay at home order in the state of Virginia.
Xfinity Series action is tentatively scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 23 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Truck Series action is tentatively scheduled to resume on Friday, May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The key words here are “tentatively scheduled”.
Yes, NASCAR did recently reveal a “best-case” scenario schedule, one which included several changes, all 36 Cup Series races taking place and the season ending as scheduled, to select sources, but even this schedule is one of several — and by several, we’re talking literally hundreds, if not thousands — of possibilities that remain at this point.
The key thing to grasp here is the fact that the sources which confirmed this “best-case” scenario have made this point especially clear. This is a rapidly changing environment, not just in NASCAR but throughout the world. Until NASCAR confirms anything, we still won’t know. Nobody will know. NASCAR won’t even know.
NASCAR has made clear that there are several options on the table, including but not limited to running faces without fans in the stands, creating additional doubleheaders and running mid-week races between race weekends.
But until NASCAR confirms any changes, there is no sense in speculating, and there certainly no sense getting caught up in absolutely baseless social media rumors along the lines that officials are preparing to cancel the season. Things are still in progress, and there is no telling when anything will be made official.
Change is coming to the 2020 NASCAR schedule. We just don’t know to what extent, and at this point, neither does NASCAR. For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.
