NASCAR will not race for at least the next two weeks, postpoing this weekend's events at Atlanta Motor Speedway as well as next weekends races at Homestead-Miami Speedway amid coronavirus concerns.
The sport originally announced on Thursday it would run both races without fans but has since changed its policy.
Below is the full statement from NASCAR:
"NASCAR has decided to postpone the race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend. We believe this decision is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our fans, competitors, officials and everyone associated with our sport. We will continue to monitor this dynamic situation as we assess future race events."
Early Friday morning, NASCAR officials weighed potential options such as moving the Cup Series race up to Saturday in an effort to get teams home faster, though they ultimately came upon the decision to postpone.
NASCAR joins nearly every other sports leagues by putting their action on hiatus.
The sport, which races almost every weekend of its season, has little wiggle room for rescheduling races. The next open weekend for the sport would be Easter (April 10th through 12th). After that, there are two open weekends -- July 24th through 26th as well as July 31st through August 2nd -- that they could potentially move the races to.
Current and former drivers weighed in following the news on social media.
We want to race as much as you want us to race but this is the right decision. This is so much bigger than sports right now and the health and safety of our fans, industry members and the overall public is top priority.
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) March 13, 2020
Damn it!!!!!!!!
— Clint Bowyer (@ClintBowyer) March 13, 2020
Decisions change as more information is gathered. I trust the leadership of @NASCAR They have more knowledge of what’s best for the sport than most all of us. I support their decision. Be safe and be kind to everyone. 🙏
— Michael Waltrip (@MW55) March 13, 2020
The coronavirus has led to many countries shutting down operations in an effort to prevent the spread of it to its citizens. Keep track of all the latest sports updates here.