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Former NASCAR Venue Breaks State Protocols and Holds a Protest Race With 2000 Attendees

Published 06/09/2020, 12:18 PM EDT

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Recently, Ace Speedway, a former NASCAR venue organized a ‘protest race’ on the track with over 2000 attendees. The race track owners are in violation of the state government’s executive orders banning any mass gatherings.

Reports say that about 2,550 spectators attended a race on May 23. It is more than 100 times the legal limit.

Last week, the governor’s office sent a letter to all county sheriffs asking them to enforce the order strictly. However, after the race, local police authorities said that no actions will be taken against the owners of the track.

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Bob Pockrass of Fox NASCAR reports that the NC state will take action against the Ace Speedway for breaking the COVID-19 lockdown guidelines.

NC Governor Cooper said to the media that if the county doesn’t act soon, his office will. He said, “This is a reckless decision being made by the owners, pulling people together in that way that can cause the spread of the virus,”.

County sheriff Terry Johnson said, “While I am having to make a tough decision on what to do. I want to make it clear to all citizens that this is in no way politically motivated on my part,”.

Johnson added, “I assure you that I respect the Office of the Governor of North Carolina but I have serious reservations on the legality of his order.”

Additionally, many people who attended the race claims that they did it to ‘protest against the governor’s executive order restricting their right to assemble’.

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Former NASCAR venue Ace Speedway owners talk about the ‘Protest Race’

Ace Speedway owner Randy Pettit said that they are in the worst financial trouble of all time. He said, “A lot of folks don`t understand this racetrack as a small business. And with all the COVID-19 situation, a lot of small businesses have been put under a lot of great pressure, and many of them have closed.”

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He added, “This race track has reached a point where they had to race. Or they were going to run out of money and were going to have to close,”

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Mrinal Kuniyal

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Mrinal Kuniyal has been a contributor to EssentiallSports since early 2020 and has focused on Formula 1, NASCAR, and IndyCar. He's a management graduate and his areas of interest include motorsports, marketing, and music.
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