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NASCAR Gives Sports Fans Reason To Celebrate

Finally, a reason to cheer.

We'll take it.

Even from afar.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: NASCAR team spotters look on from the grandstands during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

No doubt, it was downright eerie when Fox came on the air Sunday afternoon for NASCAR's return to racing, a camera hovering over tens of thousands of empty seats at the enormous, iconic speedway in the backwoods of Darlington, South Carolina.

This is the way it has to be until we get to a place — still difficult to see in the age of coronavirus — when it will again be safe to pack our stadiums and arenas and racetracks.

The broadcast team of Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon wasn't even at NASCAR's oldest superspeedway. They were watching the network-televised restart of American sports from the haven of a Fox studio, about 100 miles up the road in Charlotte.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Cars race during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

They were essentially like the rest of us, settling into our recliners, remote controls in hand.

"All other sports are watching NASCAR," said Regan Smith, the lone Fox reporter who was actually at the track, sending dispatches from pit road with his face covered like a Wild West bandit. "They've all been in contact with NASCAR to see how they're making it work."

Then, the green flag waved.

And something strange happened.

Normality.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford, races during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Yep, it was just another day at the races. The incessant roar of the engines. The squeal of the tires. The crunch of metal when a car slammed into the wall.

If you're a fan of the good ol' boys, it was good ol' fun.

There were plenty of boneheaded moves, like Ricky Stenhouse losing control of his machine on the very first lap.

After waiting 10 weeks for the season to resume, his day lasted less than a minute.

"Pretty embarrassing for myself, our team, our crew guys," he said. "I feel awful for them. They put a lot of hard work into getting our cars ready."

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, is involved in an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Jimmie Johnson had his own cringe-worthy moment. Looking like a rookie instead of a seven-time Cup champion, he plowed into the back of another car like a distracted driver, ending his day when he was on the verge of winning the first stage.

"Gosh, what I would do to get that corner back to do it over again," Johnson moaned.

There was even a bit of unexpected drama at the Track Too Tough To Tame when a sponsorship sign attached to the outside wall was rubbed loose by Kyle Busch, shredding debris into the grill of Denny Hamlin's car.

With his Toyota on the verge of overheating, Hamlin managed to slide in behind another car, a nifty bit of impromptu aerodynamics that caused the flapping piece of vinyl to rip loose, though a yellow flag was needed so workers could repair the wall.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Finally, in a rather anti-climatic finish, Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag with no one else in sight for the 50th Cup victory of his career.

"Great job! Great car!" Harvick screamed to his scaled-back crew over the radio. "Thank you, guys. Awesome job! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!"

Harvick celebrated with a customary spin of his tires at the start-finish line, smoking up the track before he climbed out his No. 4 car.

It was a routine he'd done many times before.

Until Harvick realized it wasn't routine at all.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: <> during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

"I just want to thank everybody from NASCAR and all the teams for letting us do what we do," Harvick told Smith. "I didn't think it was gonna be that much different. Then we won the race and it's dead silent out there. We miss the fans."

This was a day when everyone should call themselves a stock car fan, even those who aren't least bit interested in a bunch of noisy cars going round and round an egg-shaped oval for 400 miles.

These guys who like to go fast are setting the pace for everyone else in the U.S. to get back in the game.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Cars race during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

For now, we'll have to settle for these made-for-TV spectacles, put on solely by leagues and organizations that can make it work financially because of hefty broadcast fees, who can get by in the short term without generating a nickel off pricey tickets or overpriced concessions or ridiculous parking fees.

The PGA Tour is set to return next month (and gave us a preview Sunday with a charity skins game televised by NBC). IndyCar hopes to hold its first race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in a few weeks. Major League Baseball is pushing a plan to get started on an abbreviated season around the Fourth of July. The NBA, NHL, and Major League Soccer are sorting through various scenarios that would allow their safe return.

NASCAR is making its return at warp speed, with Sunday's race the first of four Cup events to be held over 11 days at Darlington and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 17: Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, prepares to drive during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Assuming they don't have a wave of positive tests, this will undoubtedly be the template that others will look to follow in the days and weeks and months to come.

Hopefully, we'll have more to cheer about.

Even if no one can hear us.

© 2020 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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