At Dover Speedway, all eyes on Darlington as NASCAR restarts its engines without fans

Mike Tatoian, the president and CEO of Dover International Speedway, will be watching Sunday’s NASCAR return like everyone else. Except with more at stake.

“From what I’ve seen, they put in an amazing amount of procedures and protocols to make this go well,” said Tatoian. “We’re just being patient with what’s unfolding with the different states. I think all eyes are going to be on Darlington this weekend as to how effective we as a NASCAR industry will be.”

Dover, which has been opening its NASCAR schedule in May, doesn’t host a NASCAR event until August 21-23, headlined by the Cup Series’ Drydene 400, which ran last year in October. NASCAR and Dover are hoping to reschedule the May races, headlined by the Gander RV 400, but the NASCAR schedule has limited flexibility.

Starting with Darlington on Sunday, the Cup and Xfinity Series races have no longer than an eight-day layoff besides a two-week break after July 19. Tatoian said talks of racing midweek under the lights, during the two-week break or having a six-race weekend have been tentatively discussed, but each option has obstacles. Dover doesn’t have lights, so a midweek night race is out of the question. A six-race weekend may be the best option, since there is more time to plan for it.

Moving Dover’s May races to the August Dover weekend would make for a six-race weekend. Dover has done multiple races in a day due to rain in the past.

“I’m confident we can do it, but it’s going to take some thought process to be able to do that if it becomes a reality,” Tatoian said.

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Dover is hoping to have fans return by August, but the staff is following CDC guidelines and preparing for all scenarios. Revenue will come from the broadcast deal, but without fans, Dover would lose revenue streams from tickets, merchandise, food, sponsors and suite-holders.

“From an emotional perspective, it’s kind of like throwing a birthday party and planning for 50,000 people and nobody shows up,” Tatoian said. “You’re just a little bummed out about it. A lot of revenue streams will be lost out.

“NASCAR and public officials don’t want to press that issue, because the public health is far more important than a situation where we would not have fans,” Tatoian added.

Dover holds about 53,000 fans. Tatoian said there haven’t been any discussions about capping fan attendance at a certain number. The focus right now is on Darlington’s race without fans.

One of the biggest concerns is if fans can’t attend, how will essential staff workers like pit crew members be safe? Once these questions are answered at Darlington, a clearer pathway for Dover and other races will emerge.

“We’re going to rely on the guidance of public health officials, NASCAR, and what we can do to help that,” Tatoian said. “The learning curve that the industry is going to be going through this weekend is going to be extremely helpful.”