NASCAR pulls Chicagoland, Richmond, Sonoma from 2020 race calendar

With NASCAR set to resume racing with four Cup Series events later this month, officials announced Friday three races at other tracks that were being replaced in the 2020 schedule.

Races at Chicagoland Speedway and Sonoma Raceway and Richmond Raceway's spring event are off the calendar for 2020.

"Due to the current pandemic, NASCAR has faced several difficult decisions, including realigning race dates from several race tracks," NASCAR said in a statement. "These decisions were made following thorough collaboration with local and state government officials from across the country, including the areas of the affected race tracks. We thank all our fans for their support, and we look forward to our return to racing."

The Chicagoland race, set for June 21, was reassigned to Darlington on May 17; the Richmond spring race on April 19 will be replaced by the May 20 Darlington race; and the June 14 Sonoma race is now the May 27 Charlotte race. The Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 at Charlotte is keeping its traditional spot on Memorial Day weekend.

The May 17 Darlington race is set to kick off a two-week schedule that includes four Cup races, two Xfinity races and one Trucks race. All seven events are set for either Darlington or Charlotte.

None of the May events will include race fans.

NASCAR has said it still plans to run a full 36-race Cup Series season in 2020, and there has been a tentative schedule plan for June and beyond, made up primarily of classic Southeastern racetracks that are within easy driving distance of most teams' headquarters in the Charlotte area.

On Friday, NASCAR said more schedule adjustments would be announced in the near future.

The canceling of the Chicago race is an ominous sign for workers at the track in Joliet, Illinois. The track staff was hit this week with a second round of layoffs by NASCAR since the coronavirus pandemic.

Information from ESPN's Ryan McGee and The Associated Press was used in this report.