If NASCAR drivers are so worried about COVID-19 protocols and missing a race, they should just get vaccinated

Joey Logano explained why he got the COVID-19 vaccine, but not every driver shares his approach.

With the NASCAR Cup Series’ 10-race playoffs set to begin in September, one of the 16 drivers in championship contention could be eliminated if he has to miss a race this fall because of COVID-19 protocols. And with that on the line, 2018 Cup Series champion Joey Logano said he recently decided to get vaccinated.

“There’s one thing I learned when we won [the championship]: it affects so many people’s lives with bonuses and other stuff,” Logano said, via the Associated Press. “So if I get COVID and miss the race, then I’m taking away food from other people’s families.”

But not every driver seems to share Logano’s approach. He, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, William Byron and Tyler Reddick are the only top-tier drivers to publicly confirm they’ve been vaccinated, per NBC Sports, and several other drivers expressed feeling conflicted about the uncertainty of the situation, even when the best-possible solution is staring them in the face.

Get vaccinated.

Aside from those with specific situations preventing them from getting the COVID-19 vaccine, those who can do it should do it to protect their own health and lives, their loved ones and their communities — along with their seasons and championship hopes. It’s the responsible and decent thing to do, if you are able to, and one of many things people do to participate in society, including doing your day job.

NASCAR — like in other professional sports — has different rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated athletes based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines. And as the highly contagious Delta variant continues spreading around the country with deadly consequences, the governing body has been tightening its rules.

Currently, unvaccinated drivers who have close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 have to quarantine for seven days, produce a negative test five days after exposure and have no symptoms before returning to the NASCAR garage. If they don’t have symptoms and don’t want to take a COVID-19 test, they can also quarantine for 10 days.

If a vaccinated driver is exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, that driver can doesn’t have to quarantine but must produce a negative test from three-to-five days after the close contact. If a driver is vaccinated and still tests positive, that person has to quarantine for 10 days.

So vaccinated drivers could be exposed to COVID-19, but that wouldn’t necessarily prevent them from racing. If drivers won’t get vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones, their teams or society at large, they could do it to protect their seasons and championship hopes — especially since NASCAR isn’t regularly testing its athletes.

Corey LaJoie is the latest NASCAR driver to face the consequences of the sport’s COVID-19 protocols, which included him missing Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. He came in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, and he had a mandatory seven-day quarantine.

And as the Associated Press reported about the Michigan race, Kyle Busch competed without his usual spotter, while Hamlin and Brad Keselowski were both without a tire changer all because of positive tests or NASCAR protocols.

“I don’t know what you do about it,” 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott said, via NBC Sports. “Some things you can’t control. You can be smart about what you do and where you go, but that still doesn’t guarantee it’s not going to happen to you, so it’s a tricky situation is the best way for me to put it without getting political. I feel like it’s just tricky. Especially for our situation this time of year. You can’t really afford to miss a race. Especially once the playoffs start.”

The world is still suffocating because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Elliott is right that there are some things that will still be out of everyone’s control. Nothing is guaranteed when a driver could still miss a race regardless of vaccination status.

But if drivers are worried about being sidelined and ruining their championship runs, getting vaccinated is the best option for working to ensure that doesn’t happen — in addition to protecting their own lives and health and that of those around them and in their communities.

“There’s no real facts that say vaccinating or unvaccinated is really any different these days,” Martin Truex Jr. said, via NBC Sports. “I’m really happy that they haven’t went down the mandatory road (of vaccinations) because I don’t think that’s fair from any perspective at all. I just don’t think it’s fair you can force someone to do something that they don’t want to do. If they want to take the chance, they take the chance.

“We see other sports leagues doing that. You can’t play if you don’t get vaccinated. So it’s a controversial subject obviously. I’m happy with the route NASCAR is taking.”

Truex’s first sentence in that quote is decidedly inaccurate because there is an abundance of evidence pointing to the potentially life-saving health benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to the CDC, vaccines are “highly effective” in preventing the contraction, spread and symptoms of COVID-19, including the Delta variant. It notes that “the greatest risk of transmission is among unvaccinated people who are much more likely to contract, and therefore transmit the virus.”

As a CDC study released Tuesday explained, compared with vaccinated people, those who are unvaccinated are about 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and are about five times more likely to be infected. And as the Delta variant surges, particularly among the unvaccinated, hospitals and healthcare resources nationwide are strained in crisis.

Additionally, the American Medical Association explains that breakthrough COVID-19 infections among vaccinated people are not common and most are mild in terms of symptoms, and it still recommends getting vaccinated.

So rather than misguidedly labeling the COVID-19 vaccination as a “personal” choice and claiming HIPAA violations where there are none, drivers should recognize that choice has the potential to severely impact others, and they should listen to the scientists and doctors who study viruses and medicine for a living.

NASCAR isn’t requiring vaccinations — though it should — but president Steve Phelps has encouraged drivers and their teams to do so. And if they don’t, as Truex said, they’re taking a chance and are aware of the risks. No one is forced to get vaccinated, but that can come with the terms of participating in some elements of society, like attending a public school.

So while drivers have the option to forgo a shot or two, they’re fully aware of the risks of their decisions and the possible severe consequences they could face, threatening their seasons as well as the lives of those they come in contact with.

The easy solution? Just get vaccinated.