Speedway, health district trading paint over Pennzoil 400 attendance amid pandemic

Richard Petty vs. David Pearson.

Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon.

Ford vs. Chevrolet.

Cale Yarborough vs. Bobby and Donnie Allison.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway vs. the Southern Nevada Health District.

If there’s anything NASCAR and its fans appreciate it is a fierce rivalry. LVMS and the local health district were added to the list ahead of the Pennzoil 400 weekend after the speedway’s plan to welcome back fans at 20 percent of its capacity amid the pandemic was rejected.

LVMS will be limited to 15 percent capacity — around 12,500 daily spectators — for Truck and Xfinity Series races on Friday and Saturday and Sunday’s Cup Series main event.

Health department officials said they consider NASCAR Weekend and Golden Knights’ games at T-Mobile Arena as “test runs” for welcoming back fans to large-scale sporting events and want to proceed gradually.

“We’ve conducted events since the pandemic began. We have followed every protocol that has been set forth by the governmental agencies, and we will continue to do that,” LVMS president Chris Powell said. “(But) given the decrease in COVID-19 cases, I think it’s time we start getting people back to work, getting people back to enjoyable events and doing it in a safe manner.

“I feel very comfortable that we could have done that at a 20 percent capacity as drawn up by Gov. (Steve) Sisolak.”

Despite having reduced seating capacity to around 70,000, LVMS is built on a 130,000-spectator footprint. Powell said the health district should have considered that, and also that the race will be outdoors where the virus is less contagious.

“When you do the math, it’s 17,000 people spread out over three-quarters of a mile,” Powell said about LVMS’ sprawling main grandstand and 20 percent capacity, “and I think it’s fairly simple to physically distance 6 feet (between spectators), if not even more.”

On the plus side, the rain that postponed last year’s Xfinity Series race at LVMS until Sunday night is not expected to be a factor. The National Weather Service is predicting sunny and mostly clear skies for all three race days with high temperatures in the mid-70s.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.