Two of the state's racetracks will be hosting races this weekend in front of a large, but limited crowd. The Park Jefferson International Speedway sold all 700 tickets for its race on Saturday night in the venue that typically holds 4,000. The New Raceway Park sold 500 tickets for its Sunday night race. That venue usually holds 1,800 fans.
Sporting events across the nation have been shut down over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. South Dakota is one of the few states that did not issue a stay-at-home order. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem urged South Dakotans not to attend events with more than 10 people, but she has said she would not shut down the races scheduled for this weekend.
Dennis Moore, the man organizing the race for Sunday night, told people concerned about the event to stay home. He noted that he believes the state must begin to return to normal, adding, "This country’s going to be on its butt if we don’t open this up."
Terry McCarl, the organizer for the race at Park Jefferson International Speedway, said the track plans to abide by social distancing guidelines. He told KELO, "The way we figured it, we could probably have a little over 900 people with 6 feet apart between each person, and we’re actually only selling 700 seats, not even 900, we actually went way less than that just to give people more room."