Pacific Raceways operator Jason Fiorito said he had been receiving hopeful communications from the NHRA about how—or more like whether—it will resume its 2020 schedule.
And his instincts were right.
The Glendora, California-headquartered NHRA announced Monday that it soon will release a 16-event slate of drag races across America that has been crafted through discussions and co-operation with state and local government officials, teams, and host tracks.
Fiorito’s Northwest Nationals at the facility just south of Seattle is line to be the next race on the schedule, and with fans, on Aug. 1-2.
If government regulations in the individual states permit the NHRA to proceed with its re-revised plan, that would make the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series the first high-profile sport to signal its intention to carry out a significant schedule in a variety of venues with spectators present.
According to the prepared statement, “the revised schedule previously announced is in flux because of the fluid nature of the pandemic situation. At this time, it is certain that the events planned for June and July are postponed.”
Those events are the June 5-7 Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals (Gainesville, Fla.), June 12-14 Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals (Houston), June 19-21 Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol, Tenn.), June 26-28 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals (Norwalk, Ohio), July 9-12 Route 66 Nationals (Chicago), July 17-19 Dodge Mile-High Nationals (Denver), and July 24-26 Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals.
The sanctioning body said, “Tentative schedule announcements for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Series, Mickey Thompson Tires NHRA Top Fuel Harley Series, and SAMtech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown series will be released following the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series announcement.”
Sportsman classes—the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series—will continue to compete at each Mello Yello Series event.
The newest schedule would bring the 2020 season to 18 races, including the two events already completed: the season-opening Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., and the Arizona Nationals at Chandler, Ariz., near Phoenix. Both took place in February.
There is an unofficial, unconfirmed 16-race revised schedule making the rounds, and Autoweek obtained from a team source. It calls for every race except the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis to be two-day affairs, presumably with qualifying the first day and eliminations the next. The sport’s marquee race at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Raceway, customarily a five-day marathon, would cover three days.
That unconfirmed schedule looks like this:
Aug. 1-2 – Seattle
Aug. 8-9 – Denver
Aug. 15-16 – Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 22-23 – Topeka
Aug. 29-30 – Chicago
Sept. 4-7 – Indianapolis
Sept. 12-13 – Reading, Pa.
Sept. 19-20 – Charlotte
Sept. 26-27 – Gainesville, Fla.
Oct. 3-4 – St. Louis
Oct. 10-11 – Bristol, Tenn.
Oct. 17-18 – Dallas
Oct. 24-25 – Houston
Oct. 31-Nov. 1 – Las Vegas
Nov. 7-8 – Sonoma, Calif.
Nov. 14-15 – Pomona, Calif.
Fiorito said last week, “We’re all waiting for our respective governors to tell us what is and isn’t acceptable.”
But even before Washington Gov. Jay Inslee extended stay-at-home orders for his state to May 31 but laid out a cautious timetable for three re-opening phases for businesses, Fiorito said, “We’re forging ahead, knowing that our race is on Fox Network and not FS1. We’re coming up with contingency plans in case there are still social-distancing protocols in place, in terms of shuffling seating arrangements in the grandstands around to accommodate that.
“We don’t expect that we would be even close to a sellout if we’re able to put on the event. So I think we can accommodate social distancing. We’re all cautiously optimistic that by the end of July, the beginning of August, that restrictions will be lifted enough that we can host it.”
He said, “From our interactions with the NHRA, I think the NHRA is willing to be flexible and creative in terms of following an ever-moving target when it comes to state-by-state and nationally what’s going to be allowed.
“But actually, I’ve been pretty impressed. I’ve been pretty frustrated along the way at certain points in time with our sport in general, but I’m relatively impressed with the level of communication and the level of anticipated flexibility and optimism that’s going on in the discussions. Right now, I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to host an event in some way, shape, or form and be able to employ some social distancing.
“Are we going to knock the numbers out of the park on attendance numbers this year? No – from a fear standpoint, a regulatory standpoint, and a socially responsible plan on how we can host that event and continue to flatten the curve (of virus cases),” Fiorito said.
NASCAR last week revealed its plan to return to action on May 16 at Charlotte, N.C., but it will race without fans in the grandstands and with considerable restrictions. Until the NHRA announced its bold plan Monday, NASCAR’s model seemed to be the standard to which other sports might be compared and a proving ground, of sorts, for how the sporting world might be successful at returning to action in the perceptible slowdown of the coronavirus spread.
The NHRA has not shared what its course of action regarding social distancing, public hygiene, or other restrictions might be.
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