RALEIGH, N.C. — Governor Roy Cooper issued anabatement orderon Ace Speedway to immediately close the racetrack, according to a release from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
In the release, NCDHHS officials said, "The Speedway’s recent actions constitute an imminent hazard for the spread of COVID-19, an acute threat to North Carolinians which must not continue."
The order follows a letter sent Thursday by Cooper's office alerting ACE Speedway that their actions were in "open defiance" of his Phase 2 executive order, which limits mass gatherings to no more than 25 people. In the letter, Cooper requested for Alamance CountySheriff Terry Johnsonto enforce the order. However, Johnson did not require the racetrack to close. Two days later, Ace Speedway held a race event with thousands of spectators, calling it a "peaceful protest of injustice and inequality everywhere."
An Abatement Order halts operations, but still allows Ace Speedway to come up with a plan to have races, as long as restrictions on mass gathering numbers are adhered to and social distancing precautions are in place. At the race on Saturday, Ace Speedway was checking temperatures at the gate.
NCDHHS officials said Alamance County has had an increasing trend in number of cases since the start of the pandemic with larger increases in the number of cases since the last week of April.