Is NASCAR A Danger To Government Workers?

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Some NASCAR fans are wondering what a congressional committee could have been thinking when it told committee staffers to get immunizations before attending NASCAR races.

"I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," said North Carolina Congressman Robin Hayes in a letter to the committee.

The committee staff members were assigned to examine mass gatherings with large numbers of people as part of a committee evaluation of preparedness. A committee spokesperson is quoted as saying the shots were recommended because the staff members would also be visiting health clinics and might be put at risk of infection because of visits to those health facilities.

But Congressman Hayes says he has never heard of immunizations being required for travel within the United States and seems to wonder if the NASCAR visits were the triggering events.

"Not that anybody believes there is a problem, we want to point out...that this is a great sport," he said.

In Anne Arundel County, Maryland driver Jimmy Fourcade told 9NEWS NOW "We're in the U.S.A. We're not in a foreign country."

Capitol Raceway owner Kimberly Cunningham said requiring shots for committee staff members before a NASCAR race is "ridiculous, not necessary, weird."