Sunday Showed Everything Can and Will be OK

Amerigo Allegretto
May 18, 2020
2 min read

The fans may not have been at Darlington Raceway to roar in applause as NASCAR made its return Sunday, but the engines were. And for a lot of fans, that’s good enough considering the circumstances.

40 drivers lined up the oddball egg-shaped track, and the racing proceeded as normal: Kevin Harvick won, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked, garbage still covered cars’ noses (please ban vinyl ad banners, NASCAR).

While drivers and pit reporters had to wear masks and the commentating crew had to practice social distancing from each other, the broadcast went smoothly as usual. Ten cautions kept the racing segments shorter than usual, but the drama we crave was still there. Jimmie Johnson crashed while leading in one of his final Darlington races. Ryan Newman finished a respectable 15th after spinning late in his first race back since Daytona. Matt Kenseth was great in his first race since 2018.

Only at the end of the race when Harvick emerged from his parked racecar at the finish line did the reality of the pandemic set in. Only the sounds of Harvick and driver-turned-FOX reporter Reagan Smith could be heard at Darlington. That reality will be a part of every race this season while social distancing measures are in place. It’s weird and unsettling, but I, for one, welcome live racing again. It’s a step toward normalcy.

NASCAR has done a great job maintaining safety for everyone while delivering its product. New viewers craving live sports got their first taste of stock car racing. The ratings are sure to be higher than usual and degenerate gamblers will unload their pockets with weekly betting. Hopefully, those same viewers will be there after other major sports return to the fray. And maybe those other sports can take a page or two out of NASCAR’s handling of this pandemic.

Notes from Darlington:

Matt Kenseth can still win races. He finished in the top 10 in his first race in over a year at one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. Kyle who?
It appears Kyle Busch’s worst enemy is his own garage and pit crew. Two failed tech inspections and a loose wheel near the end of the race plagued Rowdy’s day.
The young guys did well at Darlington, with five of the top 10 being under the age of 30: Alex Bowman (2nd), Chase Elliott (4th), Tyler Reddick (7th), Erik Jones (8th) and John Hunter Nemechek (9th).
Despite running only two races this season, Ryan Newman is still ahead of Christopher Bell, who has run every race this year, in the points standings.