Aaron Reutzel was the 2019 All Star Circuit of Champions points champion
As was clearly seen on Memorial Day weekend, Tennessee has allowed its race tracks to re-open for business. That lifting of previous restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic resulted in huge crowds streaming through the gates of area racing facilities to take in a night filled with the action they had been missing for the past couple of months. Shutdowns began to be imposed in mid-March of 2020.
Like the Volunteer State, other states, primarily in the South, have also begun to allow race tracks to operate. However, a number of states are still imposing restrictions that either won’t allow tracks to open at all or only with strict safeguards in place that only allow for partial filling of grandstands and limited numbers of crew members for each team.
Tennessee has now started to see benefits from their own actions as well as from the limitations put in place by other states.
For example, it has just been announced on the Volunteer Speedway website that former NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will race at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. on June 27th and 28th in the ‘Tennessee Sprint Car Nationals presented by Food City’. The two day event will feature the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series.
Further, tracks in the area have already reaped other benefits from the shutdowns imposed by other states. Jimmy Owens raced and won at 411 Motor Speedway back on May 16th in an event that was broadcast on a pay-per-view basis by DirtonDirt.com. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series regular was supposed to have been taking part in a double-header weekend with that series in Iowa and Minnesota had the schedule not been interrupted.
That is just one example. Drivers and fans have traveled long distances to get away from strict social distancing policies and to tracks that are open for business. Indiana racer Kent Robinson and West Virginia’s Colten Burdette are among those who have recently made rare appearances in Tennessee.
It is for each state to decide how it wants to handle this current situation. If these rules remain in place in other states such as Illinois and Ohio(just two examples), then other racers, series, and fans will likely start searching for places where they can either watch racing or participate in racing and Tennessee is one of their possible options.
Obviously, no one wants to see COVID-19 spread any further than it already has. But apparently racers and race fans are willing to take the chance that the worst is behind us. And Tennessee race tracks are, at least for now, benefiting from those choices.
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