North Carolina Race Track Opens Amid Virus Lockdown Claiming Peaceful Protest

In a move that some will definitely see as controversial, Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina, has reopened its doors. The state still remains in its second stage of coronavirus reopening, but the race track’s owners are claiming their decision is a peaceful protest.

Governor Roy Cooper’s second stage of reopening only allows businesses to allow a dozen people per thousand square-feet. Bars and gyms still haven’t been allowed to open.

However, over Memorial Day weekend, Ace Speedway opened its doors. They took temperatures of about 2,000 guests, and made a list of names and contact information in case the health department needed to trace a virus outbreak.

The track’s owner, Robert Turner, made a pretty determined case to the news after reopening. He claimed that none of the track’s guest cared about the virus, and that he had bills to pay

When I can’t run my business and I can’t go to my job and make a full paycheck, I’m in jail already. So, getting behind bars does not scare me. People are not scared of something that ain’t killing nobody. It may kill .03%, but we deal with more than that every day, and I’m not buying it no more.

Terry Johnson, the County Sheriff, has butt heads with the Governor’s office over his refusal to close down the speedway or make arrests. He says that the order would violate the constitution, which he took an oath to uphold.

The track has been opened now for a couple of weeks, but since the protests around the nation have gained momentum, they have somewhat re-branded. Now they hold Unity Races, which are meant to show solidarity with other Americans.

Now the Governor has ordered the track shut down, and it doesn’t seem like either side will back down before their next June 19 race.