The Latest: NASCAR goes green, resumes racing at Darlington

Names of health care workers across the country have been substituted for the drivers’ name above car doors.___3:30 p.m.John Holland might have traveled the farthest to not watch a NASCAR race.Holland flew in from Chicago to tailgate with friends from Darlington. “Let’s go racing.”___2:40 p.m.Kyle Busch’s car failed inspection twice before Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway and the reigning Cup champion will drop to the back of the field at the start.Busch is planning to run the first seven of NASCAR’s races resumed schedule over the next 11 days. Busch is winless in Cup through the first four events held before the season was suspended March 13.His only victory of the season was a Truck Series race at Las Vegas the second week of the season.___2:30 p.m.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster gave a brief welcome over video to NASCAR in a virtual version of the traditional pre-race driver meeting.The meeting was streamed on NASCAR.com, and McMasters thanked the stock car series for coming to Darlington for its restart.McMasters said he was disappointed not to be at the track but vowed to be at Darlington’s first race with fans.“I love ‘The Lady in Black,’” McMasters said. Newman, wearing a camouflage face mask, was cleared to enter the track to prepare for his first race since he suffered a head injury on Feb. 16 in the season-opening Daytona 500.___12:30 p.m.Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp says he’s amazed at how quickly every part of NASCAR came together to bring back the sport.NASCAR’s top Cup series returns to the track later Sunday after 10 weeks off because of the coronavirus pandemic.Tharp was visiting the Raceway Grill outside Turn 2, where team owners were setting up for a watch party. The Real Heroes 400 begins at 3 p.m.___11 a.m.NASCAR President Steve Phelps is promising “the best race and racing experience possible every time we hit the racetrack.”Phelps released a letter to NASCAR fans Sunday, hours before the racing series returns to the track for the first time in more than two months.“Our drivers, race teams and officials have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to get back to the race track and we want to assure you that we have taken the return to racing very seriously,” Phelps wrote.NASCAR chose Darlington, the oldest speedway on the Cup circuit, as the safest place to restart the season after eight events were postponed and the series sat idle for 10 weeks amid the global coronavirus pandemic.