Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sells Out March 7 NASCAR Event At 12,500 Under COVID Capacity Restrictions

February 25, 2021February 25, 2021 Alan Snel Bill Foley, Chris Powell

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

NASCAR fans hungry to watch the Big Boys of Car Racing wasted no time in buying out an estimated 12,500 tickets for the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR race event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 7.

“Due to a limited-capacity requirement imposed by the Southern Nevada Health District, the speedway has reached its allowable threshold and no longer can sell tickets to the NASCAR Cup Series event,” the Speedway said in a statement Thursday.

Under Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 directive, large event gatherings can have up to 20 percent of attendance capacity. But local county health officials did not give the Speedway the 20 percent capacity.

“This is the first time I can ever remember being disappointed to announce a sellout,” LVMS President Chris Powell said in the release. “While we appreciate that Gov. Sisolak has provided sports and entertainment venues an opportunity to get fans back in the stands, we’re disappointed that the local health district has not allowed us to reach the 20-percent capacity recommended by the governor.

It’s likely the Speedway got permission for 15 percent attendance capacity — the same percentage capacity allowed for seven Vegas Golden Knights games in the month of March. VGK owner Bill Foley was also disappointed his sports organization did not get the 20 percent capacity approval for T-Mobile Arena just off the Strip.

The Speedway’s capacity is a little more than 80,000 if 15 percent attendance capacity allows for about 12,500 on March 7.

The Speedway said tickets remain for both the Alsco Uniforms 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Saturday, March 6 as well as the Bucked Up 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, March 5. Saturday tickets are $29, while Friday tickets are $19. Kids 12 and under are free on both Friday and Saturday. Visit www.lvms.com for tickets, RV camping and race weekend information.