Thousands Pack North Carolina Speedway in Defiance of Dem Governor’s Social Distancing Order

Tommy ChristopherMay 26th, 2020, 2:41 pm
 

Thousands of racing fans crowded a speedway in North Carolina over the weekend, in defiance of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s prohibition on gatherings of more than 25 people.

As of Friday, North Carolina entered phase two of Gov. Cooper’s reopening plan, which lifted a statewide stay-at-home order and allowed, among other things, “gatherings of ten people indoors and 25 people outdoors if people are adhering to social distancing guidelines.”

But on Saturday, the ACE Speedway in Elon, NC missed it by THAT much, attracting over 2,500 fans to the track’s season opener. That is half the track’s 5,000 capacity. And according to video posted by ABC13’s Itinease McMiller, the patrons appeared to be practicing whatever the opposite of social distancing is.

Though the governor and health experts have been clear about the importance of social distancing, speedway co-owner Jason Turner cited an apparently higher authority; the “racing community”:

“Not a lot of people showed up with masks on. A lot of people are ready to get back to normal. We spoke and the racing community answered,” Turner explained.

He also told WXII the fans who attended consented to being around others by simply buying a ticket.

“People have the right to choose where they go and what they do. As we reopen, people are trying to have a sense of normalcy and when somebody physically buys a ticket, a general admission ticket, to come to a race, they are in a sense saying that they want to be there… and they got what they paid for.”

The speedway was one of a number of gatherings this past weekend that flouted social distancing guidelines and orders. NASCAR also held its Coca-Cola 600 race this past weekend, but no fans were allowed to attend — although some showed up anyway to enjoy the race outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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