When Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc. took over Kentucky Speedway last year the famed NASCAR track owner had grand plans for the Sparta, Ky. Facility. Unfortunately those grand plans had one hitch: until the former owners of the track dropped their lawsuit against NASCAR and parent company International Speedway Corp. there would be no NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 1.5-mile oval located halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati.
Kentucky Speedway has hosted successful Nationwide (Busch) Series and Camping World Truck Series races. When will the Sprint Cup come knocking?
On December 11, 2009, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s judgment in the suit which claimed NASCAR was running a monopoly by choosing where they wanted to run races. Carroll released a statement that read, “I appreciate the continuing opportunity to assist and consult with Bruton Smith and [Kentucky] Gov. Steve Beshear to realize our shared dream of bringing a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to Kentucky.”
Smith hasn’t set a time frame for his decision on when Kentucky’s 2011 race will be, but after the court decision in December he told ESPN.com’s Terry Blount, “It’s not going to be easy, but we have some time to figure it out. We probably have about six months or so to work it out.”
By the mid-summer race fans in Cincinnati and Louisville will know if the sport's biggest attraction--a Sprint Cup race--will be visiting the track nearest them
Among the biggest plans Smith has to work out is his plan to expand seating at Kentucky, which currently seats 66,000 race fans. He has planned to add nearly 50,000 seats at Kentucky, which has seen sweeping changes since it opened in 2001.
Traffic flow in and out of the speedway was horrendous, and that’s being nice, when the facility opened. Since then one lane in both directions on I-71 has been opened and a second exit near the track has allowed overflow parkers a “back way in”.
Behind the main grandstands used to be a large, sloping hill used for parking. After Smith and SMI purchased the facility they made a commitment to filling in the area. Construction crews filled the hill in with millions of cubic tons of dirt and gravel, creating a flat parking area for race fans to enjoy tailgating both before and after races.
The main grandstands are in the background, undershadowed by numerous race fans looking to have a good time before the race.
One of the main theories proposed by fans and media alike is moving a race from a current SMI track to Ketucky. Smith isn’t sure which track he’d take a race from, but would rather purchase one from another track that isn’t owned by SMI.
“I would prefer to buy [a Cup race]. But I promised those people in Kentucky I would get them a Cup date, and I like to keep my promises,” Smith said.
So the NASCAR fanbase in my area of the country should get ready for a race nearby. A track I used to vehemently hate became a track I warmed up to last year when I visited it for the Nationwide (nee Busch) Series race in June and the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA doubleheader in July.
FOX 19's Dan Wood (left), myself and WCPO's Mark Slaughter pose for a quick photo between interviews of Carl Edwards and Joey Logano (NASCAR Media.com)
I still think the facility needs a ton of work before the big time stars arrive, but Kentucky Speedway, with Bruton Smith in charge, is moving in the right direction. And ten years ago I would have been hard pressed to say that about the nearest NASCAR track to my home.
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