NC officials say packed Alamance speedway race was only allowed to have 25 spectators
Alamance County officials said they consulted Gov. Roy Cooper’s office before last Saturday’s race at ACE Speedway and created a safety plan with state health officials to protect the heavy crowd.
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, though, maintains it urged the speedway to hold its race without fans, and that the final plans called for a crowd no bigger than 25 with spectators getting health screenings.
Asked about the race that the county said had 2,550 attendants on the speedway’s 50 acres, Cooper said Tuesday in a press briefing he is “considering all options” to stop large gatherings.
In a response to Cooper posted on its website, Alamance County described being “puzzled” by Cooper’s statements about the race.
Phase Two of the governor’s reopening plans restricts crowds to 10 people inside and 25 people outside. At his Tuesday press conference, Cooper said, “It is dangerous and reckless to try and draw a crowd. I hope and pray that no one gets sick or even dies from that gathering that occurred this weekend.”
His warning came as The New York Times published an analysis showing the highest daily growth rate of deaths from the coronavirus, which put Burlington in Alamance County at No. 1 in the country with cases doubling every 6.7 days as of Wednesday morning.
DHHS, Alamance County officials produce precaution document
In its response to Cooper’s statements, Alamance said it first sent the governor’s office a letter April 20 asking for local governments to have more input on restrictions and their effects on county residents. As of Tuesday, it had not received a response, according to the post.
DHHS, though, said Wednesday in an email to The News & Observer, that it had reached out to the county and speedway officials on May 8, responding to its advertisements for the race. At the time, they shared a plan to run the race without fans, Kelly Haight Connor, DHHS spokeswoman, wrote in an email to the N&O.
“Other tracks and NASCAR have partnered with NCDHHS and held successful events without fans and without defying the Executive Order,” she wrote.
On May 11, the Alamance post said, speedway and county officials held a conference call with Matt Gross, the assistant secretary for government affairs at the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
According to Alamance’s post, Gross told them he did not know at the time if Phase Two would begin by May 23, the day of the race at ACE Speedway, but he suspected capacity would come between 25% and 50% of the fire code. Phase Two did start the day before the race, May 22 at 5 p.m.
On May 20, according to DHHS, the groups shared a second set of plans. That list of precautions, produced by both the county and DHHS Wednesday, is topped by the 25-spectator limit and says anyone who enters will be screened and have his or her temperature taken with a touchless thermometer.
The county and speedway had further questions last Thursday, before the race, Alamance County wrote in its online post, and Gross told them someone with the governor’s office would respond. No one did, the post said.
DHHS, though, said it repeatedly told ACE Speedway it needed to stick to the 25-spectator limit during a May 23 call.
Alamance County says it investigated, verified precautions
News & Observer staff members who were at the race said spectators were not screened and temperatures were not taken.
The News & Observer also reported that customers lined up for 700 feet behind the front gate, standing close together. Many cited “freedom” as their motivation for attending.
The 2,550 crowd size was half the speedway’s capacity, Alamance officials said Tuesday. According to News & Observer staff members who were in attendance, there were about 4,000 people at the race and the stands were full.
Alamance County in its website post stated it had “investigated” and “verified” that the speedway provided rosters for contract tracing, recommended masks, social distance and 10 feet between cars in the pit, placed multiple hand sanitizer stations and precaution signs, put up Plexiglas partitions, marked 6 feet of spacing in lines, added one-way arrows for traffic in the restrooms and made public announcements every 30 minutes.
While there were Plexiglass partitions, public announcements and hand sanitizer stations set up, most of the crowd did not adhere to recommendations for wearing face masks and social distancing.
“The health and safety of its residents continues to be the highest priority of Alamance County,” officials said in the county’s response.
Andrew Carter and Robert Willett contributed.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 11:11 AM with the headline "NC officials say packed Alamance speedway race was only allowed to have 25 spectators."