Kentucky Speedway’s Quaker State 400 is changing date, will be run without fans
As part of a revised schedule caused by the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR announced Thursday that the 2020 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway is moving to Sunday, July 12, at 2:30 p.m. and will be run without fans in the stands.
The 10th renewal of the Cup Series event was originally slated to run on Saturday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m.
FS1 will telecast the 2020 Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart.
In a virtual news conference Thursday, Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger said “this is a good day for us.”
However, Simendinger lamented having to race without fans in the stands, particularly since this is the 10-year anniversary of Cup Series racing at Kentucky Speedway.
“It’s a decision we hate to have to make,” Simendinger said. “But we worked really hard on this plan with NASCAR and the state (government of Kentucky) and the first thing we wanted to make sure was, we can conduct the races (at all), get back to business.”
In addition to moving the Cup race, NASCAR has added a second Xfinity Series event at Kentucky Speedway. The Sparta track will now host races over four days from July 9-12.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off the race weekend with back-to-back races scheduled for Thursday and Friday nights, July 9 and 10. The Kentucky 200 will run on Thursday, while the Alsco 300 will be on Friday. Both races will start at 8 p.m. and be telecast by FS1.
Meanwhile, the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will move to Saturday, July 11, at 1 p.m. The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will also be broadcast on FS1.
All four races at Kentucky Speedway, Simendinger said, are expected to be one-day shows with no qualifying or practice. “I believe they are all ‘show up, crank it up and go,’” he said.
Simendinger says Kentucky Speedway had some preliminary discussions with the administration of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear about racing with spectators present, but those talks did not go far.
“I don’t think we ever had serious discussions,” Simendinger said. “The way we went about doing it, we submitted a detailed plan (for how to hold races amid the coronavirus pandemic). We never submitted a detailed plan for fans in the stands because we never got that far.”
With the Kentucky Speedway races not slated to run until the second week of July, Simendinger was asked why not wait a few more weeks before deciding not to have fans in case the pandemic-containment situation improved in that time.
“It was something we thought about, but we really felt like we were out of time,” Simendinger says. “I get calls from fans who make their vacation plans (around attending NASCAR races at Kentucky Speedway), they plan on being here to camp all week. It was pretty obvious in our discussion with the governor’s office that (no fans) was going to be the way that we were going to be proceeding.”
Ticket holders for the 2020 NASCAR races at Kentucky Speedway can seek refunds or receive a race credit of 120 percent of what they paid. That credit can be rolled over to next year’s races at Sparta or used at another track owned by Speedway Motorsports for either 2020 (if fans are allowed to attend races at that time) or 2021.
Those who choose the credit can apply it toward any admissions, including, but not limited to, grandstand seating, suite and premium tickets, camping, fan hospitality and pit passes.
Fans are advised to keep their current tickets and asked to complete an exchange request form at www.kentuckyspeedway.com to start the process. Ticket office representatives will follow up with fans within four weeks regarding the status of their request. For questions, email tickets@kentuckyspeedway.com or call (859) 578-2300.
Shipping, handling and services fees will not be included in event credits or refunds. Ticketholders have 30 days to request a refund; those who do not request a refund will automatically receive the 120 percent credit.
NASCAR at Kentucky Speedway
Thursday, July 9: Xfinity Series Kentucky 200 (8 p.m.)
Friday, July 10: Xfinity Series Alsco 300 (8 p.m.)
Saturday, July 11: Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 (1 p.m.)
Sunday, July 12: Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart (2:30 p.m.)
TV: All races will be telecast by FS1
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 3:46 PM.
