NASCAR postpones May 8-9 races at Martinsville Speedway

It looks like stock car racing still isn’t ready to return during the nationwide coronavirus quarantine, as NASCAR announced today that the racing weekend planned for Martinsville Speedway in Virginia for the first weekend in May isn’t happening yet.

The official statement from NASCAR is below.

NASCAR is postponing the scheduled events on May 8-9 at Martinsville Speedway. Our intention remains to run all 36 races, with a potential return to racing without fans in attendance in May at a date and location to be determined. The health and safety of our competitors, employees, fans and the communities in which we run continues to be our top priority. We will continue to consult with health experts and local, state and federal officials as we assess future scheduling options.

Hoping to run an entire schedule at this point might be asking a bit much, but we’ll see how they decide to proceed here. And the fact they’re already pointing to not having fans in the stands means it seems likely that our next race will be in front of empty bleachers.

“We want to thank all of our dedicated fans who were set to join us during our May race weekend and our first NASCAR Cup Series race under the lights,” Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell was quoted as saying in a media release. “The well-being and safety of our patrons, NASCAR stakeholders, employees and our community continues to be our number one priority.”

For now, pro racers will still be participating in the iNASCAR series this weekend.