As the first major sport to return following coronavirus shutdowns,NASCAR is expanding its partnership with Clean Harbors, North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services, for infectious disease prevention and decontamination needs.Clean Harbors is currently disinfecting and decontaminating Darlington Raceway to ensure the safety of all drivers, crew and personnel for upcoming races.
“As NASCAR returns to racing, it’s essential that our drivers, teams and staff are safe at the track,” said John Bobo , NASCAR’s vice president of racing operations. “We appreciate the expanded partnership with Clean Harbors during these unprecedented times, as they will play a critical role in the ongoing disinfection of our facilities leading into and during race weekends.”
Decontamination work began this week at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina in preparation for the first race back on Sunday, May 17. Local crews from a Clean Harbors South Carolina branch will continue to deep clean all key sections of the Darlington Raceway, as well as all inbound trailers and equipment involved in Sunday’s race, as well as the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Tuesday, May 19 and the second NASCAR Cup Series event at the facility on Wednesday, May 20.
Founded in 1980 with hundreds of locations across the country, Clean Harbors is the industry leader in decontamination and hazardous waste disposal. The company has previously responded to swine flu and avian flu, including the H1N1 outbreak, as well as decontamination efforts around Ground Zero following 9/11. Since the coronavirus outbreak, and in addition to NASCAR corporate, track and team facilities, Clean Harbors has deep cleaned IndyCar and NHRA tracks, sports arenas, mass transit, schools, government buildings, warehouses, retail businesses and a variety of other facilities.
“At our core, we are an emergency response company. Our teams have frequently been there in times of national need, whether that has been 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf oil spill and many more. Our assets and highly trained experts are unmatched in this field,” said Clean Harbors Chairman and CEO Alan S. McKim . “Our NASCAR relationship goes back many years through Safety-Kleen and we’re happy to expand it with these services for as long as NASCAR needs. Given the amount of COVID-19 decontamination work we have done to date, we’re confident that we’re well positioned to help NASCAR move forward as they resume their racing schedule.”
Following the Darlington Raceway events, Clean Harbors crews out of one of its North Carolina branches will begin decontaminating Charlotte Motor Speedway for the next NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series races, as well as the return of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
— NASCAR —
