NASCAR postpones Martinsville races

The NASCAR races originally scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend at Martinsville Speedway have officially been postponed, the sanctioning body announced Friday (April 17).

“NASCAR is postponing the scheduled events on May 8-9 at Martinsville Speedway,” the sanctioning body said in a statement. “Our intention remains to run all 36 races with a potential return to racing without fans in attendance in May at a date and location to be determined.”

The sanctioning body said in the statement that the health and safety of individuals who work in the sport, fans and the communities hosting NASCAR races are “top priority.”

“We will continue to consult with health experts and local, state and federal officials as we assess future scheduling options,” NASCAR said.

The now-postponed Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 is the eighth race weekend to be postponed in 2020 amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We want to thank all of our dedicated fans who were set to join us during our May race weekend and our first NASCAR Cup Series under the lights,” said Clay Campbell, President of Martinsville Speedway.

“The well-being and safety of our patrons, NASCAR stakeholders, employees and our community continues to be our number one prioirity.

NASCAR has held four points-awarding races this year with the most recent race held at Phoenix Raceway March 15.

Race winners this season are Denny Hamlin (Daytona), Joey Logano (Las Vegas and Phoenix) and Alex Bowman (Fontana).

Since the 2001 season, the NASCAR Cup Series has sanctioned 36-points awarding races.