CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has decided to postpone the upcoming races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, officials said in a statement.

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The company previously announced Thursday, the upcoming races would continue as planned but will would be closed to fans. 

On Friday, NASCAR said it was in "the best interest of the safety and well-being" of all parties involved to postpone the races.

NASCAR also announced several other policy changes on Wednesday to their race event operations. The following changes will be put into place and remain in effect indefinitely:

• Driver Crew Chief meeting. This meeting will be held in open air locations across all series and attendance will be restricted to drivers, crew chiefs, team owners and select officials and dignitaries. NASCAR Communications will alert you of any updates or driver questions resulting from that meeting, and the driver / crew chief meeting video will be available to view on NASCAR.com.
• Driver at track media availabilities. The informal rotations for all three series will be changed to press conferences on the riser in the media center. Full field driver availabilities during qualifying, infield care center driver availability and post-race bullpen will remain in effect, but with a 6-foot buffer in place. The weekend media availability schedule is attached.
• Track Services meeting. This meeting will be held in open air locations across all series.
• Team haulers. NASCAR recommends that access to team haulers be restricted to necessary personnel at team’s discretion.
• Driver appearances. Should be structured to ensure that drivers are visible to fans in an open-air setting, such as Q&A sessions.
• Driver autographs. Drivers should pre-sign items whenever possible, carry their own Sharpie and hero cards should be the primary form for all autographs.
• Pre-race and post-race activities (driver introductions, grid & victory lane). We will provide a 6-foot buffer around the grid and driver introduction stage.
• Advance in-market driver appearances. All advance appearances will be replaced with remote media activities and/or rescheduled for a later date in coordination with racetracks.  
• At track evaluation process. All individuals coming to the infield care center demonstrating symptoms potentially consistent with coronavirus will be appropriately handled by medical professionals. All facilities have been provided a standard operating process following CDC guidelines.

An infectious disease specialist has also been added to NASCAR's consulting physician group, according to the release, and will help guide the company on future policy and precautions.

NASCAR says they are actively monitoring the situation, and the health and safety of employees and fans remains a top priority.