Charlie Harville’s Racing Roundup for a Saturday Night:25 Fans is the New Norm at 311 Motor Speedway and the Crowd has Plenty of Room to Move Around

Time again for Charlie Harville’s Saturday night Racing Roundup, and we bring this to you in honor of Charlie Harville, the former WFMY NEWS 2 and WGHP Channel 8 Sports Director, and we are here early for you this evening, and hope to be adding more to Charlie’s honorary post here later on tonight….
(Hope to get some Amanda Ferguson(WFMY NEWS 2), FOX 8 and WXII perspectives, and maybe a look into John Dell’s notebook, from the WS Journal and from the News and Record.)

But the word is coming in from the “Daytona of Dirt”, up in Madison, N.C., and the word is/are words like small, quiet, plenty of room, lack of crowds, and everybody stayed home….

Not much of a crowd at all tonight up at the 311 Motor Speedway, in Madison, and from we what are reading, Governor Roy Cooper would be giving the “Daytona of Dirt” a ‘thumbs up’, as they had to count the crowd twice, and maybe even three times, and they still came up with less than 25 people, at 311 Motor Speedway on this Saturday night…

Our Charlie Harville’s Racing Roundup for this Saturday night says “Quiet on the Home Front”, and the roar of the engines at 311, could be heard all the way down to an empty Ace Speedway in Alamance County

It looks like Governor Roy Cooper’s plan is working and not sure how Charlie Harville would wrap up this opening here early on this Saturday night Sports Report, but we will send it over to Josh Shaffer, and get his details on what was happening at 311 Motor Speedway this evening(not much), and we will also get a look at what was not happening at the Ace Speedway tonight….

There is news, and this is how it goes for this Saturday night, as we bring you Charlie Harville’s Racing Roundup

**********At a speedway protest over NC’s COVID-19 crowd limits, the crowd doesn’t show**********
from Josh Shaffer, with the News and Observer in RaleighCLICK HERE for the full/entire post access….

Stock car racing has turned into the state’s leading battleground over COVID-19 restrictions, with track owners taking their fights to reopen into courtrooms and the streets.

But on a beautiful Saturday, as 311 Speedway in Stokes County called for a protest over crowd limits, the crowds mostly took a pass.

Despite a live band and a free cheeseburger and fries with a ticket purchase, so few people came out that the demonstration was legal under Gov. Roy Cooper’s guidelines, which limit outdoor gatherings to 25 people.

Counting the band and racetrack staff, the daytime headcount occasionally flirted with 25.

Even as the race began around 7 p.m. at the speedway north of Winston-Salem, the stands sat largely empty. Families clustered together, but the concrete risers and wooden bleachers showed wide gaps.

Those who brought masks to wear largely set them on the ground, being too far away from their neighbors to need them.

The events at 311 stood in stark contrast to recent races at Ace Speedway in Alamance County, which saw spectators lined up by the hundreds, close together, drinking beer and cheering in the packed stands.

Throughout its legal battles, Ace has been accused of failing to cooperate with DHHS to guarantee fans’ safety.

A crew member for one of the racing teams that participated in last week’s event at Ace Speedway has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Saturday report from Short Track Scene’s Matt Weaver.

+++++We have heard it said more than once over the years, “Seek and ye shall find”….Here is Amanda Ferguson, from WFMY NEWS 2 Sports on the Ace Speedway details this week, from Twitter….+++++
(Click On Below)

+++++from Michelle Wolf at FOX 8 NEWS and www.myfox8.com:
(Michelle Wolf with news and comments on the 311 Speedway in Madison, Ace Speedway in Alamance County, and on the Piedmont Dragway in Guilford County….Very good coverage here by/from Michelle Wolf.)

STOKES COUNTY, N.C. — Race track owners are revving up their efforts to protest Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order limiting fans in their stands.

Mike Fulp, owner of 311 Speedway in Stokes County, recently announced a protest race this weekend on the track’s Facebook page.

“I’ve had to struggle just to get it right where I’m at right now,” Fulp said.

With a can of spray paint, he marked off every other row in the grandstand Friday to enforce social distancing and prepare for Saturday’s race.

“The last three races we did, we ran without fans,” Fulp said.

Fulp is running out of options to keep his track and his livelihood running.

“I’ve lost about $20,000 a month and $5,000 a race,” Fulp said.

Fulp plans to follow most CDC recommendations in terms of social distancing, sanitation and face coverings, but he will not limit the crowds.

“We’d just like to get people out in protest to open this country back up,” he said.

He expects 400 fans to fill the stands Saturday which is a direct violation of the state’s executive order.

“We just hope that we can have a voice and express our feelings,” Fulp said.

No one at the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office or the Health Department has contacted Fulp since he announced this weekend’s race.

He realizes there’s a good chance of getting shut down but he’s not giving up without a fight.

“We just have to keep on trying,” Fulp said.

Piedmont Dragway is also planning on racing this weekend. FOX8 spoke to the general manager of the track Friday and when we asked if they were doing anything differently since ACE was shut down, we were told, “No comment.”