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Greenville Business Magazine

NASCAR Expands Partnership to Protect Personnel, Drivers and Crews from Coronavirus

May 18, 2020 11:56AM ● By David Dykes

By David Dykes

NASCAR has expanded its partnership with Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH), a North American provider of environmental and industrial services, to disinfect and decontaminate Darlington Raceway to ensure the safety of all drivers, crew and personnel for upcoming races.

“As NASCAR returns to racing, it’s essential that our drivers, teams and staff are safe at the track,” said John Bobo, NASCAR’s vice president of racing operations. “We appreciate the expanded partnership with Clean Harbors during these unprecedented times, as they will play a critical role in the ongoing disinfection of our facilities leading into and during race weekends.”

Decontamination work began last week at the Darlington Raceway to prepare for the first race back on Sunday, May 17. 

Local crews from a Clean Harbors South Carolina branch were to deep clean all key sections of the raceway, as well as all inbound trailers and equipment involved in Sunday’s race, as well as the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Tuesday, May 19 and the second NASCAR Cup Series event at the facility on Wednesday, May 20.

Founded in 1980, and based in Massachusetts, Clean Harbors is an industry leader in decontamination and hazardous waste disposal. The company previously has responded to swine flu and avian flu, including the H1N1 outbreak, as well as decontamination efforts around Ground Zero following 9/11. 

Since the coronavirus outbreak, and in addition to NASCAR corporate, track and team facilities, Clean Harbors has deep cleaned IndyCar and NHRA tracks, sports arenas, mass transit, schools, government buildings, warehouses, retail businesses and a variety of other facilities.

“At our core, we are an emergency response company. Our teams have frequently been there in times of national need, whether that has been 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf oil spill and many more. Our assets and highly trained experts are unmatched in this field,” said Clean Harbors Chairman and CEO Alan S. McKim. “Our NASCAR relationship goes back many years through Safety-Kleen and we’re happy to expand it with these services for as long as NASCAR needs. Given the amount of COVID-19 decontamination work we have done to date, we’re confident that we’re well positioned to help NASCAR move forward as they resume their racing schedule.”

Following the Darlington Raceway events, Clean Harbors crews out of North Carolina will begin decontaminating Charlotte Motor Speedway for the next NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series races, as well as the return of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. 

The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Clean Harbors' customer base spans a number of industries, including chemical, energy and manufacturing, as well as numerous government agencies. 

Through its Safety-Kleen subsidiary, Clean Harbors also is North America’s largest re-refiner and recycler of used oil and a leading provider of parts washers and environmental services to commercial, industrial and automotive customers. 

Clean Harbors operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India.