Eastern Maine Sports

Last weekend MMA returned to action and became the first sport to do so with UFC 249 since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. This Sunday, NASCAR is set to do the same when the engines roar back up without any fans in attendance for the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

The sport returns for the first time since March 8 when Joey Logano won in Phoenix. The season has been on hold for the last 10 weeks due to COVID-19, but the race Sunday will be the first of seven in 11 days. The seven races will all take place at either Darlington or Charlotte. NASCAR also announced a second set of dates that begins May 30 and goes until June 21 and includes tracks in Bristol, Atlanta, Martinsville, Miami, and Talladega. The race Sunday also sees the return of Ryan Newman, who was involved in a horrific last lap crash at the Daytona 500 on February 17. Newman was put into a medically induced coma after suffering a brain bruise, and then walked out of the hospital less than 48 hours later. “Doctors said based off my scans that it looked like I had no signs of lack of oxygen to my brain, which was a great piece of news and feedback, but I couldn’t tell you if that was because of what they did inside the car, if it was because of how I was hit, or the quality of safety equipment or what,” Newman said Thursday about his survival and recovery in his first full news conference since the accident. “I don’t have all those answers and I don’t think that will ever exist”. Newman is slated to start 21st when the green flag drops in Darlington Sunday.

Here is the starting grid for Sundays 3:30 p.m. Real Heroes 400. There are no practice rounds or qualifiers to limit team members and officials exposure to others, as the grid  was decided off team points and a lottery. The only time a qualifier will be held is for the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. Sundays race from Darlington can be seen live on FOX.