NASCAR’s Kyle Busch advocates wearing masks after seeing race fans not social distance

Seeing Kyle Busch win a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway? That’s not unusual. He’s done it more often than anyone else ever has.

But seeing it happen in Monday night’s circumstances, with no fans, hardly any celebration and then Busch doubling down afterward as a strong advocate of mask-wearing? That’s downright odd.

Busch won the Alsco 300 Xfinity race Monday night, dominating the way that he so often does at every level of racing while driving a Toyota (and later wearing a mask) dedicated to the Appalachian State Class of 2020.

Even a late penalty for speeding on pit road couldn’t slow Busch, who won all three stages of the race while taking his 97th career win in the Xfinity Series.

Busch is also a two-time NASCAR Cup champion. So Busch driving in the Xfinity or the Gander Truck series is like Patrick Mahomes going back to Texas Tech to play another year of quarterback. He’s not going to win every time, but if things are anywhere close to equal, he is.

Busch has won 18 different races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, eight more than any other driver ever. Mark Martin is second with 10. A Busch victory at CMS fits in with both the “old normal” and the “new normal.”

But not hearing Busch get booed in the driver introductions? Not seeing Rowdy gleefully bow to the fans after winning? That’s strange. We’re all getting used to all that as we settle deep into the “fan-less” portion of our COVID-19 sports calendar, including Busch.

“The fans — whether they’re cheering, whether they’re booing, it’s always fun to see the reactions and give them a bow,” Busch said of his muted post-race celebration, in which he stood alone in Victory Lane per the new NASCAR rules. “I hope to see the fans back as soon as possible. Felt a little odd. I guess I could have bowed to the camera. Everyone is on the other side of that camera.”

Busch and mask-wearing

As for Busch’s side of the mask-wearing debate:

Sunday, Busch said he saw several photos on social media from rural racetracks that had allowed fans in over the Memorial Day weekend. In many cases, those photos showed little social distancing and few masks among those fans.

On Twitter, Busch applauded fans supporting their local tracks, but also wrote: “I do think healthier practices should (be) used. Mandatory mask for admission.”

Busch explained those comments further Monday. He said that while he understood there was some debate as to the effectiveness of a mask or face covering, he felt they were a “common courtesy” needed in these times.

“I still think there’s a sense of human hygiene and taking care of your neighbor,” Busch said in his post-race interview. “There’s something to that. If you go to a racetrack and just cough … or sneeze, at least you keep some of that to yourself instead of just spraying it.

“Obviously I know the masks aren’t going to cover up any virus,” Busch continued. “But we’re all doing what we can as far as social-distancing. And if you can’t do that, you try to wear a mask. I saw grandstands (at the small-town tracks) packed and I thought, ‘Hey, you know, we can all take care of our neighbor. ... It’s arguable whether or not they (the masks) really work. So I just think it’s common courtesy.”

The oddity of sports without fans

It’s one thing to watch a sporting event on TV and know that there aren’t any fans there. You’re removed from the action, too, when you’re on your own couch. So a lack of fans isn’t that obvious.

But to attend an event and to see the stands utterly deserted — that’s yet another moment of weirdness among all those we are all having these days.

There have been a handful of these NASCAR races now, starting last week at Darlington. But this was the first one I got to witness in person. Only four members of the print media have been allowed to cover each NASCAR race due to social-distancing restrictions. The Xfinity race was my turn.

I drove to the speedway and marveled at the lack of traffic. I picked up my credential and got my temperature checked by some efficient health-care workers. I walked by a sign that said: ‘Event closed to the public. NO ACCESS.”

As mandated, I wore a mask in the press box, getting a 10-seat area all to myself.

All of it was fine. Everyone was nice. And none of it seemed quite right.

Spectator sports, by definition, are supposed to have spectators. These races do have fans, but only on television. Many other pro sports are likely going to follow NASCAR’s lead soon, because it’s so much easier to control the situation if you can take fans out of the equation.

That comes at a severe cost, though. Sports without fans feels like a meal without a main course. You can fill up on appetizers if you have to, but you don’t want to do it all the time.

At this point, though, we’re all hungry, and we’ll happily eat the appetizers.

Monday night, Busch was serving up another win, including a last-lap pass of Austin Cindric in overtime that never seemed in much doubt. Cindric ran well, but Busch is just too good.

Then Busch stepped out of his racecar, in front of 100,000 empty seats, put on a mask and tried to figure out the new normal, just like the rest of us.