A North Carolina speedway drew a crowd of more than 2,000 spectators Saturday in defiance of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions after declaring the race a “protest.”
The office of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned Ace Speedway in Altamahaw earlier last week that a crowd of more than 25 would violate the state’s Phase 2 restrictions, imposed to curb the spread of the deadly bug.
Yet Cooper has also exempted “activities constituting the exercise of First Amendment rights” from all the requirements of his executive order, which appears to give the speedway legal cover to operate.
“This is totally politically motivated,” Johnson told the Charlotte Observer in an interview, “and I don’t like that one doggone bit.”
Johnson earlier objected to calls to prevent Ace Speedway from holding its 2020 season opener on May 23.
Ace Speedway has now allowed thousands of fans to attend three races at the track.
Following the season opener, Cooper expressed his disapproval.
The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office said it is “evaluating the events” surrounding the holding of the race this Saturday.
Johnson earlier said that he believes the exemptions in Cooper’s executive order make a strong case to allow people to attend races at the Altamahaw track.
“People have a right to assemble, the way this order reads, at the raceway or anywhere else,” Johnson told the Charlotte Observer.
“Ace Speedway has continuously and flagrantly violated the plain and unambiguous language of the Phase 2 order,” the letter from Cooper’s office said, as cited in the report. “Those violations pose a serious risk to the health and people of Alamance County and throughout the state.”
Johnson suggested Cooper’s own behavior reflects a double standard. The sheriff said the governor took part in a recent demonstration in which “he marched in the streets in Wake County in Raleigh with 2,000 people side-by-side with no mask on his face.”
Ahead of the season opener at Ace Speedway, the Alamance County government released a statement saying it would not block the event and listed steps the race organizers had taken to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Ace plans to implement several precautions, including screening attendees and providing rosters to the Health Department to facilitate contact tracing,” it said.
Other steps include maintaining 10 feet distance between each car in the pit area, marking off areas in the stands to support social distancing, recommending masks for crews, and providing hand sanitizer at a minimum of 10 stations.
