Kevin Harvick seals 50th NASCAR win at 'dead silent' Darlington Raceway

NASCAR returned behind closed doors on Sunday with Kevin Harvick taking his 50th career Cup Series victory.

But after celebrating with a series of smoke-filled donuts at Darlington Raceway, the 44-year-old admitted the celebrations were muted the moment he stepped out of the car.

“Dead silence,” he said of the lack of crowds for Nascar’s first event in 71 days. “It is weird just because there’s nobody up there.”

Harvick moved into the lead following a restart and pulled clear for the remaining 30 laps with Alex Bowman taking the runners-up sport.

For Harvick, it continued his consistency in 2020 as the only driver to finish in the top 10 of every race so far this season.

But the fifth race of the season was unlike those before it, drivers wearing maskes, social distancing adhered to and broadcasting done remotely as well as no spectators inside the venue.