INDIANAPOLIS — The racing world is starting to show signs of life again. In what was looking like a great 2020 season in motorsports, March came around and halted things before we really even got going.

NASCAR hosted four races before COVID-19 caused them to stop in place. That was the same week that the NTT IndyCar Series and F1 was supposed to get started too. All three as well as every other sporting league around this planet had to take a hiatus until the coronavirus was contained.

While the novel virus is far from contained, the racing world is just adapting and gearing up to start going again. Drastic measures have been taken by each series to get back going again, or for some to start going, and a common denominator in every decision by each one is to conduct races without fans in the stands.

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The most effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is social distancing. That’s a proven fact. So, how can you stage races with thousands of people in one venue?

That’s why as these updates schedules are being released, fans aren’t part of the equation. I don’t see any way fans are going to be able to sit in grandstands any time soon. It may be July at the very earliest.

I mean, just look at what’s happening. NASCAR has scheduled races though June 21 for all three national divisions. They’ll go from Darlington (South Carolina), Charlotte (North Carolina), Bristol (Tennessee), Atlanta (Georgia), Martinsville (Virginia), Homestead (Florida) and Talladega (Alabama) and host races start Sunday through late June. None of those races will have fans in them.

F1’s slate is starting to take shape and their first four races appear to be a doubleheader in Austria (July 5, July 12) and England (July 26, Aug. 2). Belgium got the green light to race on Aug. 30 but without fans too. That means the soonest we can have fans at an F1 race is August 9 and the soonest for NASCAR June 28. But, if those European races all appear to be taking place without fans, why would any of them on that continent do so? In turn, it could be until late September that fans are allowed back in for F1 events.

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For IndyCar, their revised schedule that was released in early April is still in tact. We know they’ll start their season in Texas on June 6. They’ll end on Oct. 25 in St. Pete. Their other two June races are at Road America (June 21) and Richmond (June 27). We know for a fact Richmond can’t host a race next month with fans. NASCAR is racing in the same state at Martinsville without fans and even canceled their spring visit to Richmond. So, if Richmond stays put, it will be run without fans there. Road America is tricky as Wisconsin’s supreme court over ruled their governor’s phases to reopen. They’re open for business right now. If that race was to take place this weekend, fans could technically go. But, that race is still a full month away as I sense that could be changed again.

NHRA has already postponed their season until August and IMSA is delaying now until the Fourth of July weekend. Even the revised IMSA schedule won’t have fans at their races until Road America at the soonest which that is now Aug. 2.

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So, if you’re looking at attending a major league racing event before the month of July, it appears that you can’t.

Now, the best option is still the Fourth of July weekend here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. July 4 is the final phase of reopening Indiana and that’s the time all restrictions will be lifted. That track is big enough to host IndyCar and the NASCAR Xfintiy Series on the road course on July 4 with fans distanced apart as well as the Brickyard 400 on the oval for the Cup Series with fans spread out as well.

This is the best option of getting fans back in the stands again. From there though, IndyCar is supposed to go to Toronto which all signs are pointing to a cancellation there. Then it’s to Iowa which absolutely needs fans in the stands. Every other racing weekend for the Iowa Speedway has been canceled for 2020. IndyCar is the last stand. It would be hard to conduct that race weekend without fans.