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Nascar Will Have Eight Cup Races With Practice And Qualifying This Season

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Nascar officials Friday confirmed the eight Cup Series races that will have practice and qualifying in 2021. As part of the frenzied 2020 Nascar season upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, all races beyond the first four were run without practice and qualifying something that had never been done on a regular basis in the past. In 2021, 28 of the 36 Cup races will be one day shows.

In non-pandemic times, Nascar weekends include several practice sessions and a qualifying session over the course of several days, or at a minimum two days. But, after the sport shut down last March, Nascar developed procedures that allowed racing to resume on track even without fans in attendance. Part of that plan included streamlined events that became one day affairs with no practice or qualifying.

With the pandemic still rampant across the country, most races, at least for the first part of 2021, will have only limited fans with the same procedures still in effect. However, as Nascar showed last year they can, and will, adapt.

When the 2021 Cup Series schedule was released last September, chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell said the sport had a plan to hold practice and qualifying sessions ahead of races at new venues and configurations, as well as at other high-profile events. With new venues this coming season that include several tracks the Cup series hasn’t raced on or have not raced on in the recent past, practice will be crucial.

The eight Cup races that will have practice and qualifying for 2021:

• Feb. 14: Daytona 500

• March 28: Bristol Motor Speedway dirt

• May 23: Circuit of the Americas

• May 30: Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway

• June 20: Nashville Superspeedway

• July 4: Road America

• Aug. 15: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

• Nov. 7: Phoenix Raceway

The eight races will only include the top-tier Cup series. In Friday’s announcement Nascar officials said plans to have practice and/or qualifying at Nascar Xfinity Series or Nascar Camping World Truck Series events will be decided on later as well as details on the qualifying format and the amount of practice time along with weekend schedules.

In 2020 starting lineups for events without qualifying early on were established by a random draw among groups in national series standings. That format was replaced by a performance-metrics formula that combined season-long performance with the previous week’s results to determine the starting lineup. For 2021, officials said the exact format for setting starting lineups at events without qualifying will be announced later.

What is also expected to be announced later is whether fans will be allowed to attend any of the practice and qualifying events prior to the actual race. Each track adheres to local health guidelines which vary across the country. Daytona International Speedway in Florida, for example, has sold tickets for a limited number of fans for the season opening Daytona 500. When fans are present at a track, sponsors normally use the opportunity for marketing through midway displays and hospitality, something that can’t happen with pandemic restrictions in place. Many sponsors however were able to pivot to virtual outreach efforts last season and use branding that gains them more TV exposure and that is expected to continue for at least part of the season.

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