Concern over the Coronavirus has hit the dirt-track racing world and has started to alter Sprint Car schedules in California.
Thunderbowl Raceway has canceled its first two racing programs, including the April 3-4 World of Outlaws weekend. The Kings County Health Department and State of California has also postponed this week’s action at Keller Auto Speedway (New Kings Speedway-Hanford).
As for Saturday night’s King of the West Series opener at Kern County Raceway Park, the racing program is a go … for now.
“Kern County is privately owned, and as of now, we are going full speed ahead,” KWS official Jim Allen said. “We are monitoring the situation closely.”
On Wednesday, California governor Gavin Newsom recommended that all gatherings of 250-or-more people should be canceled. There is a chance that a stricter policy could be mandated in the next 48 hours.
If a mandate is instituted, it still could alter the series’ plans at Kern County and for next week’s race at the Stockton Dirt Track.
“Next week, we race at Stockton, which is a fairgournds,” Allen said. “So, that one … I can’t speak so highly for, but we are going to move forward like there is nothing that is going to prevent that event from happening.
“We’re going to market, accordingly, as is the racetrack promoter. We have to at least give it our full effort to make it happen.”
Continued Allen, “I think the next 48 hours are going to be critical. If the governor comes out and makes it a state mandate, then, obviously, we will pull the plug, say we are sorry and go home and look through SpeedShiftTV for some Hugo race in Czechoslovakia because it’s the only thing going. We’re going to address this as normal until someone says we can’t.”