North Carolina's Ace Speedway ordered shut due to large crowds

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The administration of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has ordered the closure of a small stock-car track that's allowed large crowds to gather repeatedly for weekend races, declaring it an "imminent hazard'' for the spread of COVID-19.

The order signed by Cooper's health secretary says Ace Speedway in Alamance County, 65 miles northwest of Raleigh, is violating the governor's executive order limiting outside mass assemblies to 25 people.

Media outlets have reported crowds at the speedway exceeding 2,000 people, including a gathering last Saturday even after the Democratic governor's office wrote a letter stating the speedway's actions were in "open defiance'' of the health…