Speedway owner calls order to limit crowds 'a death wish for our company'

Turner, co-owner of Ace Speedway in Elon, went on to question the state's contention that Alamance County is a coronavirus hot spot.

"Alamance County is one of the counties with one of the most troubling data indicative of COVID-19 spread," Andrew Casper, a lawyer for the state, told the court.

"There's been no confirmed links to the race track," Turner countered.

The track is loud, so people are usually yelling and spitting on each other, which increases the spread of the virus, Casper said.

After Thursday morning's ruling, Turner must reconfigure races to allow no more than 25 spectators or work out another safe alternative.

He balked at what he calls "a one fits all" approach.

"You know, they don't understand our business," Turner said. "We don't have a first quarter. We don't start business until April and then we have business from April until early October. We can't make it up in the fourth quarter because we're shut down in the fourth quarter.

The speedway canceled early-season events, but the losses piled up.

"At some point, your checkbook has to tell you that you can't go no further, that you got to open," Turner said. "Or you just roll over and die as a company, and we're not gonna do that."

Attorney for the speedway Chuck Kitchen said the track will not hold any races until the next hearing, which is set for June 19 at 9:30 a.m.

"The state nor the legislature has the power to keep a citizen from pursuing their own vocation on their own property by their own means," Kitchen said in court, arguing that the state's actions violate labor laws, equal protection laws and free speech.

He said the state is "coming after the speedway," noting that there are nine to 12 other speedways operating in North Carolina.

Outside of the Alamance County Commissioners building, where the hearing took place, residents held a poster that said "let Ace race."

Turner said he trusts race fans to make safe choices and needs a full house to turn a profit.

"The problem is, it takes a thousand people in the stands for us to even think about breaking even," he said. "All our competitors get paid to race, so it's a big deal.

"People are not gonna spend their money and feel like they're unsafe. They're paying money because they choose to be there."

State officials said they talked to five other speedways in North Carolina. Some owners decided to ask guests to stay in their cars and watch the race, others decided to hold races with no guests, and some racetrack owners complied with the governor's request and allowed only 25 guests to come to their races.