NASCAR driver tests positive for COVID-19, will miss Michigan race

by: Taylor DesOrmeau | tdesorme@mlive.com

Posted: Aug 7, 2020 / 12:02 PM EDT / Updated: Aug 7, 2020 / 12:03 PM EDT

CONCORD, NC – JANUARY 22: A general view of the NASCAR logo displayed during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe’s Motor Speedway at the NASCAR Research and Development Center January 22, 2009 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

BROOKLYN, MI – NASCAR Truck Series driver Spencer Davis won’t be racing at Michigan International Speedway this weekend as planned, as the 21-year-old driver has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Dawsonville, Georgia native is the second NASCAR driver forced to miss a race due to the virus. Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was sidelined for the Brickyard 400 in July after testing positive for COVID-19. He returned to the track the next week after testing negative twice.

Davis started his own Truck Series team this year and ranks 18th in points. He raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2018 and has a career best finish of seventh.

“We have been taking all the proper steps during traveling for races and at the events,” Davis said on Twitter. “This week, I had to go take tests and one positive test result is keeping us from racing Michigan.”

The Henry Ford Health System 200 Truck Series race at MIS starts at 6 p.m. on Friday and will be televised on FS1. The Cup Series races at MIS on Saturday and Sunday – although none of the events allow for fans, due to the pandemic.

NASCAR does not test drivers and other employees for COVID-19. Everybody at the track goes through pre-screening for symptoms or exposure prior to the event and does a temperature screening at the track. Drivers are isolated from everybody else before and after the race.

Starting lineup set based on random draw

There is no qualifying or practice this weekend at MIS, so the Cup Series race for Saturday has been set by random draw.

Sunday’s lineup will be determined by Saturday’s results – with the top 20 finishers being inverted to set the lineup, meaning the 20th-place driver will start first, the 19th-place driver will start second and so on.

Here are the top 10 starters for Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, which starts at 4 p.m. on NBCSN.