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NASCAR decided to run this weekend's races at Charlotte Motor Speedway following Kyle Busch's death after "minimal conversations" with Busch's family, Richard Childress Racing and internally, CEO Steve O'Donnell said on May 22.
All three national series will race this weekend as planned, including the Coca-Cola 600 Cup Series race on May 24. The Craftsman Truck Series race is scheduled for May 22, weather permitting, with Corey Day on the pole in the No. 7 truck originally entered for Busch. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race is scheduled for May 23.
"It was — Kyle Busch would probably be pretty pissed off if we didn’t race," O'Donnell said. "So we're going to honor his memory and make sure people know what he was all about.”
O'Donnell said that NASCAR is working through a list of possible ways to honor Busch this weekend and through the rest of the season, noting that teams and drivers will have their individual ways to honor him as well.
The decision echoes NASCAR's decision 25 years ago to race the week after Dale Earnhardt's death at the 2001 Daytona 500, with the context that Earnhardt's death happened a full week prior to the next event and that his son was a full-time driver in the field at the time.
Busch died on May 21 after being hospitalized the previous day. Busch was coughing up blood and had shortness of breath when emergency responders were called to the General Motors facility in Concord, North Carolina on May 20 to assist him, according to the 911 call obtained by USA Today.
Austin Hill will race in Busch's car in the Coca-Cola 600, with the number switched from No. 8 to the No. 33.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why NASCAR did not postpone Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte race weekend after Kyle Busch's death
Continue reading...
All three national series will race this weekend as planned, including the Coca-Cola 600 Cup Series race on May 24. The Craftsman Truck Series race is scheduled for May 22, weather permitting, with Corey Day on the pole in the No. 7 truck originally entered for Busch. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race is scheduled for May 23.
"It was — Kyle Busch would probably be pretty pissed off if we didn’t race," O'Donnell said. "So we're going to honor his memory and make sure people know what he was all about.”
O'Donnell said that NASCAR is working through a list of possible ways to honor Busch this weekend and through the rest of the season, noting that teams and drivers will have their individual ways to honor him as well.
The decision echoes NASCAR's decision 25 years ago to race the week after Dale Earnhardt's death at the 2001 Daytona 500, with the context that Earnhardt's death happened a full week prior to the next event and that his son was a full-time driver in the field at the time.
Busch died on May 21 after being hospitalized the previous day. Busch was coughing up blood and had shortness of breath when emergency responders were called to the General Motors facility in Concord, North Carolina on May 20 to assist him, according to the 911 call obtained by USA Today.
Austin Hill will race in Busch's car in the Coca-Cola 600, with the number switched from No. 8 to the No. 33.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why NASCAR did not postpone Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte race weekend after Kyle Busch's death
Continue reading...
