🏎️ NASCAR Leads The Way Back

It’s official: NASCAR is back! And its jam-packed schedule with 7 races in 11 days could be a look at what to expect in other sports. [View in browser]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider: NASCAR is officially back, and looks to set an example for what other sports will look like when they return ... it seems like the Patriots have their quarterback for the 2020 season ... and “The Last Dance” returns, featuring an appearance from Kobe Bryant and the Dream Team. For a brief moment, as NASCAR announced its imminent, flurried and action-laden restart on Thursday, it seemed like it might be overdoing it. Seven races in 11 days, beginning on May 17, four of them in the Cup Series. Too much of a good thing, perhaps? Nope, not even close. [STORY IMAGE 1] As sports takes its tentative initial steps back towards active competition, the concept of too much no longer exists. We have been without sports, essentially, for nearly eight weeks, a barren period in athletics of unparalleled precedent. It is time to play catch up, and while NASCAR is leading the opening surge with Cup doubleheaders at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, it won’t be alone. When sports gets back into full flow, the appetite will be like nothing we have seen before. We are hungry already, as evidenced by the swell of interest in not just the NFL Draft but every minute part of it, from office décor to family dogs to Roger Goodell’s attire. And by the fact that the few remaining things to watch, like Nicaraguan soccer and Taiwanese baseball and yes, even marble racing, have never had so many viewers. [STORY IMAGE 2] We like to see competition, and athletes crave to compete, which is why in NASCAR, even the virtual series of races was treated with utmost seriousness, barring a couple of unfortunate interruptions. Truly though, we are ready for the real thing. And we are going to get a lot of it. Forget for a while all of the traditions and customs of the sporting calendar that you have grown up with. It is going to be different. With appropriate deference to the progression of the coronavirus and whatever restrictive measures remain, the strong likelihood is that the back end of this year could become extraordinarily laden with sports activity. NASCAR is going to try to complete all 36 Cup series races, despite having lost two months to the shutdown. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been battling to put on events throughout, and finally looks set to get one off the ground, with UFC 249 due to be held in Jacksonville next weekend. Not content with that, UFC president Dana White is planning on an opening burst of three events in a week and expects to roll out more shows with increased regularity. [STORY IMAGE 3] In boxing, the barren calendar has left a number of intriguing fights waiting to be made and an appetite to schedule the biggest ones possible. Tyson Fury v. Anthony Joshua, a heavyweight scrap that would be a true blockbuster, is now reportedly in talks. If and when the NBA returns, while concessions will be made for player health, don’t expect to see too many rest days. Major League Baseball remains in flux, but virtually every viable solution that has been mentioned in the media has involved the use of double-headers to make up for lost time. In the closing months of this wild and tumultuous 2020, when the NFL is hopefully back underway, there will also be other events sandwiched in that typically take place at other times. The French Open tennis tournament moved itself to September and October from its usual slot in the spring. Organizers of the Masters are seeking to stage golf’s grandest spectacle in mid-November. [STORY IMAGE 4] There are going to be some packed weekends. Just when we are going to be wanting to get out of the house again, there will be all kinds of reasons to plunk ourselves in front of the television. We are going to be busy. Sports was taken from us for all this time. Now, as administrators try to achieve the combined goals of restoring revenue and providing national entertainment, we are going to be bombarded with it. There will be conflicts of timing, the need to channel surf at great speed and the real possibility that if we’re not careful, the whole day could go by and we’re still there, on the couch. Sports overload on a grand scale. Here’s hoping. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice-President: “NASCAR and its teams are eager and excited to return to racing, and have great respect for the responsibility that comes with a return to competition. ... I think [being a model for other sports to return is] a big factor in terms of getting it right. We realize up front it’s a huge responsibility for us as a sport. But I’m also confident in the group we’ve gathered to put this plan together. Our entire industry has come together to believe in the plan we’ve put together. We’re certainly going to learn as we go. But the process we put in place I think gives the industry the confidence that we can be first, we can do this in Darlington.” Ty Dillon, NASCAR driver: “I think a lot of it was to just wait and see what direction this virus was going to go in, just like everyone else in the country. Our thoughts and prayers have been with everyone that’s been affected and lost friends and loved ones by this virus. I think [NASCAR is] taking really great precautions based on state and local guidelines and advice as well on how to bring our sport back. I think we’re going to do it in a really safe way and hopefully lead by example for other sports on how they can come back as well.” Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN: “In a scenario where the NBA played eight games per day — using two courts to host concurrent games akin to summer league — the regular season could be completed in 33 days with almost no back-to-backs. A full four-round postseason, with minimal days off, would take a maximum of 55 days to complete. An alternative framework could shorten this timeline and reduce the number of people needed to finish the season by skipping directly to the playoffs using the current standings. Bringing in 16 teams rather than 30 would cut the number of people in the bubble roughly in half and potentially cut time away from home by more than a month.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Last year’s controversial Kentucky Derby champion ran a rare course, straight from the winner’s circle to pasture. On what would have been race week, [Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde asks:]( What the heck happened to Country House? - He’s become something of a punchline, but you might want to save the jokes. [At Bleacher Report, Matt Miller makes the case]( that Jarrett Stidham truly is the reason the Patriots didn’t draft a QB this year. - In November of 2018, Redskins QB Alex Smith suffered a catastrophic compound fracture in his right leg. [Now, Smith’s wife, Elizabeth, gives]( a first-person account of the fight to save Alex’s leg — and life — to ESPN’s Stephania Bell. (WARNING: This story contains graphic images.) [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Earlier this week, we shared the story of Chiefs lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who is putting his doctorate in medicine to use in the fight against the coronavirus just months after winning the Super Bowl. On Friday, Duvernay-Tardif joined a Zoom call with media members during a break in one of his shifts to answer questions and share his experience — oh, and mention that he’s simultaneously preparing for the upcoming NFL season. So to anyone who says superheros aren’t real, well ... you know. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) The Mandy Rose-Otis saga takes another in-ring turn, as the former takes on Carmella and the later faces Dolph Ziggler in respective Money in the Bank Qualifying Matches. Plus, Daniel Bryan looks for retribution as he battles King Corbin. NFL’s Greatest Games: Super Bowl LIV (FOX, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET) This year’s Super Bowl clash between the Chiefs and 49ers was one for the ages — and this weekend, you can relive Kansas City’s epic comeback, led by Patrick Mahomes. Check your local listings. NASCAR iRacing: Dover (FOX, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) Sunday’s iRacing broadcast is going to be a party, as Blake Shelton will give the command to start engines and David Hasselhoff will perform the national anthem before the virtual racing action heats up at Dover. “The Last Dance” Episodes 5 & 6 (ESPN, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET) Kobe Bryant and the The Dream Team? Night Three of the docuseries on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls promises to continue to enthrall and delight. Get your popcorn ready. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Andy Dalton’s team for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season New England Patriots: -125 Jacksonville Jaguars: +140 Pittsburgh Steelers: +700 Washington Redskins: +2800 Las Vegas Raiders: +3500 The market for Andy Dalton seems to tilt toward New England, but the former Bengals QB’s future could be cloudier than many think. As we mentioned above, it seems like the Patriots really like the signal-caller they have in the fold, which might mean Bill Belichick’s a little less inclined to kick the tires on a reclamation project. Meanwhile, Jacksonville could still use a quarterback, right? A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss.” — Doug Williams [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Amazon, Fire, and all related marks are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. 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