NASCAR makes May 17th return official

NASCAR announced on Thursday that the sport will return with a 400-mile race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17. The race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This will mark the first race since the sport shut down in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. NASCAR has been running virtual racing through iRacing, but May 17th will mark the first of seven races over the course of 11 days.

Sunday, May 17: 400-mile Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway
Tuesday, May 19: 200-mile Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway
Wednesday, May 20: 500-kilometers Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway
Sunday, May 24: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Monday, May 25: 300-mile Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Tuesday, May 26: 200-mile Gander Trucks race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Wednesday, May 27: 500-kilometers Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Prior to the suspension of the 2020 season, Kevin Harvick held a one point lead over Joey Logano in the Cup Series standings. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five. Logano leads the Series with two wins, while Bowman and Denny Hamlin each have one win. Harvick leads with top ten finishes in all four races this season.