Now that NASCAR has quite successfully pivoted to sim racing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Daytona International Speedway has been repurposed as Volusia County’s first drive-thru COVID-19 testing site, the Florida motorsport venue announced.
As of Friday morning, anyone who meets the CDC’s criteria for testing will be able to get tested at the Speedway without getting out of their vehicle, no doctor’s order required. Daytona says it will be able to administer 500 tests daily and will do so seven days a week starting at 9 o’clock each morning, inadvertently giving “the Daytona 500” a very new meaning. The test apparently involves coughing and spitting into a cup and results are said to be available within two to three days.
Turning the “World Center of Racing” into a test site isn’t the only NASCAR contribution to the fight against COVID-19. Charlotte Motor Speedway is also being used as a drive-thru test center while the stock car racing organization’s research and development center in North Carolina is 3D-printing masks and face shields and donating them to local hospitals.
Like most all other motorsports, NASCAR’s 2020 season has been thoroughly torpedoed by coronavirus, even delaying the reveal of its next-gen, six-speed car to 2022.
As of Saturday evening, the state of Florida is approaching 19,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 446 deaths—193 cases and 7 deaths in Volusia County where Daytona is located—according to the Florida Department of Health.
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