NASCAR fans were on their feet for Darius Rucker's rendition of the National Anthem on Sunday during NASCAR's first race since early March. The sporting event shut down March 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but reopened today with social distancing protocols in place. Although they couldn't be there in person, fans were loving Rucker's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Rucker was right at home as he sang the National Anthem to open the Real Heroes 400 at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina on Sunday. Rucker is a South Carolina-native himself, having formed his iconic band Hootie and the Blowfish there when he was in college. Fans thought he was the perfect person to mark the resuming of the NASCAR season after nearly two months off during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rucker's country music style got the race going in an energetic fashion on Sunday, which fans agreed was much-needed in the nearly-empty stadium. With no fans on hand and team members expected to maintain social distance, Rucker injected excitement into the abbreviated proceedings.
Still, critics of the event were sad to see Rucker out there at an event that many people feel is premature. NASCAR has listed many precautions it is taking in reopening its season this weekend, but the one thing it cannot offer personnel is testing. Critics say it is too great of a risk to be taking with coronavirus cases still on the rise.
Fans were glad to see something familiar at Sunday's race amid all the other changes being made to the sport. Rucker has performed the National Anthem at other NASCAR races before, including the Daytona 500 back in February. Here is a look at what fans were saying about his performance on Sunday afternoon.