North Carolina governor expects Coca-Cola 600 to run on Memorial Day weekend

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that NASCAR is expected to return on Memorial Day weekend with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway unless public health conditions deteriorate.

"We believe that unless the health conditions go down that we can have the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte," Cooper said, according to Alex Andrejev of The Charlotte Observer.

He added: "I think that NASCAR will be making that announcement. We believe that’s what will happen."

Cooper said fans will not be in attendance, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.

The Coca-Cola 600 was originally scheduled to take place Sunday, May 24 - the day before Memorial Day - so it's likely NASCAR would proceed with that date.

It's unclear whether ensuing races would also take place as previously scheduled. The Kansas 400, originally set for May 31 at Kansas Speedway, is the next event on the calendar, with the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway and the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway to follow.

NASCAR has been shut down since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, suspending operations shortly after the FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 8. Kevin Harvick sits first in the standings through four Cup Series races, with Joey Logano one point behind.