Posted March 12, 2020 by Jonathan Fjeld Cup

NASCAR teams restricting public access to shops amid COVID-19 pandemic

Joe Gibbs Racing announced March 12 that the team would be closing the shop to the public in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

JGR made the announcement on their website Thursday morning, stating the following:

“JGR is taking safety precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by temporarily closing our facility to visitors. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Miami-Dade County has already announced the cancellation of mass gatherings which includes the March 20-22 Dixie Vodka 400 NASCAR race weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR is set to announce their plans for the near future at 1pm EST Thursday.

JGR fields Toyota Camrys for no. 11 Denny Hamlin, no. 18 Kyle Busch, no. 19 Martin Truex Jr and no. 20 Erik Jones in the Cup Series and Toyota Supras for no. 18 Riley Herbst, no. 19 Brandon Jones and no. 20 Harrison Burton in the Xfinity Series.

UPDATE (12:59pm EST):
Stewart-Haas Racing has announced on Twitter that they will be closing their shop to the public as well:

Update from #SHRacing: pic.twitter.com/pEcvDLzRwg

— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) March 12, 2020

UPDATE (1:11pm EST):
Leavine Family Racing has also announced they will be closing their shop to the public:

The LFR shop will temporarily be closed to visitors as a safety precaution to help prevent the spread of covid-19. We apologize for this inconvenience.

— LeavineFamilyRacing (@LFR95) March 12, 2020