In fact, NASCAR will just about be the only show in town, with the NBA and NHL, which would in the thick of the playoffs at this point of the season, and MLB all on the sidelines muddling through various return to play scenarios.

Kevin Harvick and NASCAR both celebrated victories on Sunday as the stock car series returned to live racing from a two-month novel coronavirus forced hiatus at an empty Darlington Raceway. While the day unfolded with none of the bells and whistles that have made NASCAR North America's most popular motor sport, on the track the race delivered as promised with plenty of bumper-to-bumper action.

A tie-break win for World number one Rory McIlroy and teammate Dustin Johnson at the Driving Relief two-on-two charity skins match Sunday injected suspense to a course absent of fans and applause in the coronavirus era. Wearing microphones that captured their smack talk and frustrations, caddie-less competitors McIlroy and Johnson faced off against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff, carrying their own clubs and adhering to social distancing procedures after undergoing a battery of tests and screenings.

NASCAR will be the first major sport in the United States to return to action amid the coronavirus pandemic after the organisers of the popular racing series said on Thursday that the season will resume without fans in mid-May. NASCAR, which postponed racing in mid-March due to concerns over the novel coronavirus, said its season will resume on May 17 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.