Cincinnati: Sparta - Kentucky Speedway

[buildingcincinnati]

Not really in Ohio, but in the region and involving some local players....From the 5/16/05 Cincinnati Business Courier:


Owners might sell Ky. Speedway
Lack of Nextel Cup race still frustrating
Lucy May
Courier Senior Staff Reporter

After five years of successful operation, but no Nextel Cup race date, the Kentucky Speedway's owners might sell the $170 million facility, acquire another track or merge to get one of the big-league NASCAR races.

"Our ownership group is getting concerned," said Mark Cassis, the speedway's executive vice president and general manager. "When you're dealing with guys like (Cintas Corp. Chairman) Dick Farmer and (Churchill Downs owner) Dick Duchossois, they don't get mad. They fix it."

It won't be an easy fix...

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/05/16/story1.html

[buildingcincinnati]

I'm no race fan, but even I find this move pretty ballsy.  From the 7/14/05 Enquirer:


PHOTO: Kentucky Speedway chairman Jerry Carroll.  Enquirer file
 
PHOTO: Bill France Jr. was NASCAR chairman for 31 years. He's now vice chairman of NASCAR and chairman of International Speedway Corp. - the two entities sued by Kentucky Speedway.  The Associated Press

Ky. Speedway sues NASCAR
Track demands $400M and a 2006 Nextel Cup race
By Mike Rutledge and Cliff Peale
Enquirer staff writers
 
COVINGTON - Kentucky Speedway's owners are seeking more than $400 million in damages and a 2006 Nextel Cup race in a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp.

Cincinnati lawyer Stan Chesley, representing Kentucky Speedway LLC, said NASCAR and ISC violated federal antitrust laws by restricting which tracks host NASCAR's premier Nextel Cup races.

Chesley said NASCAR officials told the speedway's owners that the Sparta track would not get a Nextel Cup event.

"They literally said ... you're not going to get a race," he said.

The suit also seeks an injunction forcing NASCAR to establish a competitive-bidding process in awarding Nextel Cup races and elimination of some Nextel Cup rules that the speedway calls monopolistic.


E-mail mrutledge@enquirer.com, cpeale@enquirer.com.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050714/BIZ01/507140353/1076/rss01

[Brutus_buckeye]

I think they have a decent case. Too bad it had to come to this

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 7/17/05 Enquirer:


Move is risky; stakes are high
Ky. Speedway facing tough battle vs. NASCAR, ISC
By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer
 
In a matter of 20 pages, Kentucky Speedway began an assault against one of the most powerful entities on the American sports landscape Wednesday.

Out of options for gaining one of the coveted Nextel Cup racing dates, the 5-year-old Sparta track filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and its sister company, International Speedway Corporation, alleging the companies violated federal antitrust laws to horde Cup dates for themselves while squeezing Kentucky Speedway out of consideration in the process.

The speedway is seeking a 2006 Cup date and $400 million in damages, which automatically would be tripled with a court victory. But in filing the 20-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Covington, the speedway's owners, led by Jerry Carroll, could be risking the track's success by betting that they have a strong enough case, either through a court decision or a settlement, to force NASCAR to bring Nextel Cup racing to Kentucky.

Neither NASCAR nor ISC has been willing to comment on the case, but Kentucky Speedway's actions are a clear threat to the way both entities do business.

A Kentucky Speedway court victory would not just bring the most famous racecar drivers in the country to Kentucky, it also would shake up the power structure of NASCAR by striking a blow to the mighty France family, which has controlled NASCAR and decided where it races since its inception more than a half-century ago.

"So what?" asked Cincinnati lawyer Stan Chesley, head of Kentucky Speedway's legal team.

"It may have a profound effect on NASCAR, and it may have profound results on ISC, but as far as Kentucky Speedway investors are concerned, they did everything they could to bring a Nextel Cup race to Kentucky Speedway," Chesley continued. "And the only reason they don't have one is because NASCAR and ISC want the France family to have control."

Kentucky Speedway's owners would not comment on the case, deferring inquiries to Chesley.

A diagram of the power holders at NASCAR and ISC resembles a France family tree. There are Bill France Jr., who is chairman of the board at ISC and vice chairman at NASCAR; James France, who is chief executive officer at ISC and a board member at NASCAR; Lesa France Kennedy, who is president of ISC and a board member at NASCAR; and Brian France, who is a director of ISC and chairman and CEO of NASCAR.

NASCAR, while telling Kentucky Speedway it is not going to get a Nextel Cup race, has awarded 20 of its 38 Cup dates to ISC-owned tracks, with two more ISC dates in the works at tracks to be built in New York City and Seattle.

The companies illegally colluded to "assure that ISC racetracks or racetracks in which ISC has an equity interest are awarded the majority of these (Nextel Cup) races," the suit states, among other allegations.

At first glance, it seems NASCAR and ISC are operating an illegal monopoly in violation of federal antitrust laws, said Samuel Cherry, an Alabama-based lawyer who represented a plaintiff in a similar suit against NASCAR and ISC from 2002-04.

But, Cherry said, it's not that easy to prove. His client, Francis Ferko, a Speedway Motorsports Inc. shareholder, sued NASCAR and ISC in 2001 because Texas Motor Speedway, one of SMI's tracks, had not been awarded a second Cup date that had been promised. The suit alleged antitrust violations, just as Kentucky Speedway's does.

That suit was settled in 2004 when SMI paid $100.4 million to buy out an ISC track in Rockingham, N.C., and transfer Rockingham's Cup race to Texas.

That settlement, Cherry said, was pushed by NASCAR's 1994 promise to award Texas the Cup date, not the antitrust portion of the suit.

"I think Kentucky is going to have a difficult time prevailing," Cherry said. "We made the same antitrust allegations, but I didn't feel very good about them.

"We said there should be competitive bidding for races, but your competitive environment has to pass business sense, and that's where NASCAR has a strong argument, because they've been able to maintain a good business model. The competitive dynamics that at first glance appear to be collusive knock you down, but on closer examination, you appreciate the business logic to that approach."

Cherry said he declined an opportunity to get involved in Kentucky's case because he doesn't believe it to be as strong as SMI's.

There's also a danger, Cherry said, in losing the case or drawing NASCAR's ire and putting the track's other two NASCAR-affiliated races, on the Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, in jeopardy.

"If NASCAR takes away the Busch race, that really doesn't send a good message about what kind of people run NASCAR, does it?" Chesley said.

During the SMI suit, the relationship between NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway was said to be contentious.

Nonetheless, Carroll is demonstrating the magnitude of getting a Nextel Cup date by risking the Busch Series race, the most popular on Kentucky Speedway's schedule.

"(Carroll) must think there's a huge amount at stake, and it must be so important to him that he's willing to jeopardize the Busch Series race and the Craftsman Truck race," said Bruce K. Johnson, a sports economics expert in the area of antitrust law at Centre College in Danville, Ky. "But then, suppose Kentucky Speedway wins and NASCAR and ISC are declared to be illegally restraining trade; the court could impose a remedy that would involve ownership of the NASCAR circuit being separated from any racetracks. The France family might have to sell off one or the other, NASCAR or ISC. That could certainly change the dynamics of the way NASCAR works."

Johnson said an approximate value of a Nextel Cup race to Kentucky Speedway would be similar to the $100.4 million that SMI paid to ISC last year to acquire a second race for Texas Motor Speedway.

"When you consider that Carroll paid $150 million to build Kentucky Speedway," Johnson said, "if he could get something worth $100 million in present value, that would guarantee he's going to make money off that track."


The case

Kentucky Speedway sued NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation last week, alleging that the companies, both controlled by the France family, have illegally conspired to award Nextel Cup races to ISC-owned tracks, preventing Kentucky Speedway from obtaining a coveted Nextel Cup race. Kentucky Speedway is alleging this action is a violation of federal antitrust laws, and it is seeking a 2006 Nextel Cup race, the right to bid on future Nextel Cup races and $400 million in damages, which automatically would be tripled with a court victory.


Historical precedent

In 2002, Francis Ferko, a shareholder at Speedway Motorsports Incorporated filed a similar lawsuit against NASCAR and ISC for violating antitrust laws. In that claim, Ferko was attempting to get a second Cup race for Texas Motorspeedway, a track owned by SMI. The case was settled in 2004 when SMI purchased an ISC track in Rockingham, N.C., for $100.4 million and transferred the Cup race from Rockingham to Texas.

A significant difference in the SMI and Kentucky cases is that SMI had a 1994 promise from NASCAR that Texas Motorspeedway would receive a Cup race. Kentucky has never received such a promise, and in fact has been told by NASCAR that it will not receive a race.


The impact

If the case were to go to trial and Kentucky Speedway were to win, the power structure in NASCAR undoubtedly would be altered. NASCAR no longer would be able to funnel Nextel Cup races to ISC-owned tracks, which essentially are owned by the same family that runs NASCAR.

By filing the lawsuit, Kentucky Speedway has placed itself in a tenuous position with NASCAR, causing a strained relationship that could last the length of the case, which might take years to resolve. NASCAR has not commented on the case nor said if Kentucky's two other NASCAR-affiliated races (Craftsman Trucks and Busch) are in jeopardy, but Kentucky Speedway's lawyer, Stan Chesley, acknowledged that is a possible ramification of filing the lawsuit.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050717/SPT/507170374/-1/back01

[richNcincy]

I'm not sure if a lawsuit is the right way to go.  It will be a tough case to get across.  Good luck though.

[ColonelBlue]

The one in Texas went through. I say why not? They have the facilities for it.

If you were making an argument for location, this isn't the place though. Anybody could drive to Indy, Michigan, Chicago, or even Bristol to get to a race.

[buildingcincinnati]

An editorial from the 7/25/05 Kentucky Post:


Fasten your seatbelts
 
Along with every other red-blooded resident of Greater Cincinnati, we'd like to see Jerry Carroll bring a NASCAR Nextel Cup race to the Kentucky Speedway.

We'd also like to see Major League Baseball give Cincinnati the next available All-Star game, the NFL bring the Super Bowl to Paul Brown Stadium and the PGA bring the U.S. Open to the Queen City.

We can't tell you if Carroll's approach - filing an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR - is going to work. But keep your seatbelt on. This is the start of what promises to be a bumper-on-bumper encounter.

At first glance, Carroll's gambit might seem to be a remake of the "Build it, and they will come'' mantra in the baseball movie "Field of Dreams.'' Carroll and his partners built it, but NASCAR didn't come - at least not with the races he wants. Carroll, it would appear, is saying, "Build it, and they must come.''

By all accounts, Carroll has built a first-rate racetrack. Located off I-71 in Sparta, midway between Cincinnati and Louisville, the privately-financed $150 million Kentucky Speedway is a 1.5-mile tri-oval that seats about 70,000. According to Carroll, it could readily be expanded to hold 100,000 fans.

Since it opened five years ago, the track has hosted NASCAR-sanctioned Busch and Craftsman Truck races, along with races sanctioned by other organizations, team testing, driver schools, concerts and other events. But the Kentucky Speedway has never been awarded one of NASCAR's top-tier Nextel Cup stock car races. They're the granddaddy of the circuit, bringing enormous prestige - and profit - to host tracks.

Carroll's lawsuit nicely describes the mystique of top-tier NASCAR racing. The series now known as the Nextel Cup dates to a stock car race at the Charlotte, N.C., Fairgrounds in 1949. From that rose a racing empire that stands as the most popular spectator sport in the United States and which is behind only the NFL in its television viewership. NASCAR, founded and still controlled by the France family of Daytona Beach, Fla., will likely generate $3.6 billion in revenue next year, according to the lawsuit.

At present NASCAR sanctions 36 Nextel races a year. Of those, 19 are at tracks controlled by the International Speedway Corp., which is partially owned by the France family. According to the lawsuit and a variety of published reports, NASCAR officials have indicated they don't plan to expand the number of Nextel racing dates, and reports in the racing press suggest that while the organization might authorize races in new locations (notably New York and the Pacific Northwest), they will be at the expense of tracks that are currently hosting one or more of the races now.

NASCAR officials have repeatedly said that Carroll knew when he built the Kentucky Speedway that it would not be in line for Nextel Cup racing.

"You've got the guy whining over there who was told years ago when he built the place there wasn't a cup race in his future. Yet he's down there crying wolf. I guess that's what life is. That's the America we all know and love,'' retired NASCAR president Bill France Jr. told the Associated Press last month.

Carroll, for his part, claims in his lawsuit that NASCAR's control over the top-tier stock car races, coupled with the ISC's hold on many of the tracks that host such races, constitutes an abuse of monopoly power.

A similar lawsuit - but one that included a specific breach of contract allegation - was recently brought against NASCAR by the owners of a racetrack in Fort Worth, Texas; it was settled last year. The litigation didn't produce a verdict on antitrust claims, but it did set in motion a series of events that saw the Texas track wind up with a second Nextel Cup race date.

Carroll might be hoping for a similar outcome with his lawsuit. It's obvious, in any event, that he figures he's got nothing to lose by taking on NASCAR directly. In his complaint he seeks, in addition to $400 million in damages (which his attorney says could be tripled if the suit is successful), a court order requiring NASCAR to set up a competitive bidding system for races.

NASCAR didn't get to be the powerhouse it is today though competitive bidding or by ceding its decision-making prerogatives to the courts. So it's reasonable to think its lawyers will get the green flag to mount an all-out defense.

But Carroll, even if he is the rookie, if you will, on this particular track, has a pretty credible team in his pit. His lead attorney is Cincinnati's own Stan Chesley, who has been putting some paint on the walls of big-time sports lately with his lawsuit against the Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL alleging similar abusive monopolistic practices.

It would be foolish to try to predict the outcome of the contest between Carroll and NASCAR. But it should be quite a ride.

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050725/NEWS02/507250354/1011/RSS02

[unusualfire]

It's too cold here for the superbowl. The allstar game though, is way long over due.

[buildingcincinnati]

It was a tongue-in-cheek comment.

[cincybearcat]

There is doubt in my mind that Kentucky could handle a Nextel race.  I know I would go!  NASCAR better not win this thing, otherwise I will end up driving to Indy a lot.

[buildingcincinnati]

I don't follow racing, but from what I gather the drivers really love the track and thing it's Nextel ready.  Hell, they test their cars on the track all the time.

And there's no question that the fans would show up.

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 9/14/05 Kentucky Post:


NASCAR: Boot Speedway suit
By Bob Driehaus
Post staff reporter
 
NASCAR wants a federal court to throw out Kentucky Speedway's anti-trust lawsuit on the grounds that the race track has no standing on a claim that has no merit.

Kentucky Speedway, the Sparta race track that opened in 2000, is seeking to force its way onto the coveted NASCAR Nextel Cup Series circuit through an antitrust lawsuit filed in federal court in Covington in July.

The track has tried unsuccessfully to attract a Nextel Cup race since it opened in 2000, and attorneys for the speedway argue that NASCAR has a monopoly on elite races that it has abused by refusing to award the track a Cup race.

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050914/NEWS02/509140373/1014

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 12/1/05 Enquirer:


Arguments open in Ky. Speedway case
Its attorneys want hearing in Covington; NASCAR demurs
By Patrick Crowley
Enquirer staff writer
 
COVINGTON - Who wouldn't want to take a business trip to Florida?

Attorneys for the Kentucky Speedway, that's who.

The opening round of legal arguments in the Gallatin County race track's lawsuit against NASCAR focused on the speedway's attorneys trying to keep the case in U.S. District Court in Covington, where the lawsuit was filed in July.

The team of lawyers from NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. argued before federal judge William Bertlesman that the case should be heard in Florida, where the professional auto racing sanctioning body is headquartered.


The Associated Press contributed. E-mail pcrowley@nky.com

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051201/NEWS0103/512010399/1059/rss13

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 12/25/05 NKY Sunday Challenger:


Ky. Speedway Suit vs. NASCAR Stays Local

COVINGTON - Kentucky Speedway's lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. will be heard in Kentucky, not Florida.

U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman ruled last week that "there exists a strong public interest in having this controversy adjudicated locally."

The Kentucky Speedway filed a $400 million antitrust case against NASCAR on July 13 in U.S. District Court in Covington, alleging the company has denied the speedway from hosting a prominent Nextel Cup race. NASCAR argues its contract with the Kentucky Speedway maintains all disputes are to be litigated in Florida courts.
 
The lawsuit contends that NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. are abusing their monopoly powers on the primetime Nextel Cup races. International Speedway manages 12 of the 22 tracks across the country that host Cup races.

International Speedway's defense team argues the Kentucky Speedway is too inexperienced to sponsor a Cup race. Other critics note the lack of business and retail development surrounding the track.

The Kentucky Speedway seeks $400 million dollars in damages, a 2006 Nextel cup race and to require NASCAR to impose a competitive bidding process for all future races. When the 2006 Nextel Cup schedule was released, the Kentucky Speedway was one of several hopeful tracks not listed as a venue for the upcoming season.

The $150 million speedway, located in Sparta, currently hosts NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck series races.
 
-- Jeff Fichner, jfichner@challengernky.com

http://www.challengernky.com/articles/2005/12/25/around_nky/doc43aad1d0d7ff0715829947.txt

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 1/13/06 Enquirer:


PHOTO: Jerry Carroll, chairman of Kentucky Speedway, and his associates are awaiting a ruling on a motion to dismiss a $400 million antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.  Enquirer file

Ruling on speedway suit coming
Lawyers flock to court to hear antitrust action
By Patrick Crowley
Enquirer staff writer
 
COVINGTON - A federal judge said Thursday that he would rule "as quick as I can" on a motion to dismiss the Kentucky Speedway's $400 million antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp.

U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman heard about two hours of testimony from a roomful of lawyers representing both sides but gave no indication as to how he might rule.

"I know everyone wants a decision," Bertelsman said as he gathered up a high stack of cases, rulings, briefs and documents at the end of the hearing.

"I'll make it as quick as I can," he said.

Operators of the 5-year-old Speedway have gone to court to land a Nextel Cup auto race.

No less than seven lawyers testified and answered questions from Bertelsman during the hearing.

At least twice as many were in the packed third-floor hearing room at the federal courthouse in Covington.

The large turnout of lawyers shows the Kentucky Speedway, NASCAR and its affiliated International Speedway Corp. appear willing to spend whatever it takes to win the legal battle.

ISC's lawyers have argued six similar cases in which antitrust arguments were made that have been dismissed by other courts.

ISC is also arguing that it shouldn't be involved in a federal court in Kentucky because the company doesn't do business here.

"They're NASCAR's rules," ISC lawyer Jack Donson said. "They're not International Speedway Corporation's rules. There is zero necessity for NASCAR to conspire to adopt those rules."

But Cincinnati lawyer Stan Chesley, one of the lawyers representing the speedway, said that Thursday morning, speedway general manager Mark Cassis bought NASCAR merchandise through ISC's Web site.

"You can be in Kentucky and buy tickets, merchandise, even get a credit card from the ISC Web site," Chesley said. "They're doing business in Kentucky."

Kentucky Speedway filed suit July 13 against NASCAR and ISC, both of which are controlled by the France family, alleging that the companies violated federal antitrust laws by illegally restricting the awarding of Nextel Cup races and attempting to "monopolize the market for hosting premium stock car racing events."

"The (speedway's) complaint alleges that, as a result of antitrust violations, including an unlawful conspiracy between the defendants, plaintiff has been wrongfully denied a Nextel Cup Series race," according to court records.

In filings, NASCAR and ISC deny the antitrust allegations.

NASCAR's lawyer said Thursday that the speedway had no standing to sue because its goal was not to assure competition, as antitrust law guarantees, but to become part of the monopoly the track said it wants to bring down.

"These are people who are trying to get the benefits of the very antitrust, anticompetitive conduct they're attacking," NASCAR lawyer Stuart Singer said.

The speedway, which is in Gallatin County 35 miles southwest of Covington, is seeking $400 million in damages.

The Speedway's lawyers want the case to continue so they can get access to financial and other records of NASCAR and ISC through the discovery process. They also want to take depositions from the organization's executives and employees.

"Some items ... you can only get through discovery," said Houston lawyer Steve Susman, an antitrust expert who representing the speedway.

The Associated Press contributed. E-mail pcrowley@nky.com

GET UP TO SPEED
The issue: In its quest for a coveted Nextel Cup auto race, the Kentucky Speedway in Gallatin County has filed a $400 million antitrust suit against NASCAR, the Florida sanctioning body of the Nextel Cup series, and International Speedway Corp., a publicly traded corporation that owns racetracks throughout the country. The France family controls both. The speedway alleges that NASCAR and ISC operate as a monopoly; NASCAR and ISC have denied the claims.

The impact: If the speedway wins the suit, it could land a Nextel Cup race, the premier event in professional auto racing. If it loses, it's likely the track will never get a race.

What's next: U.S. District Judge William O. Bertlesman will rule on the motion to dismiss the case by NASCAR and ISC. He has not indicated when the ruling will be made.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/NEWS0103/601130452/1059/rss13

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 1/28/06 Enquirer:


Speedway wins latest legal round
Judge allows NASCAR case to go on
BY PATRICK CROWLEY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The Kentucky Speedway has won another key victory in its multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit against one of professional auto racing's most powerful governing bodies.

U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman has refused a request by NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. to dismiss the speedway's lawsuit.

Both sides have about a year to conduct discovery, the process lawyers use to gather information for their case. In an order issued Friday, Bertelsman set a Feb. 1, 2007, deadline for discovery to be completed. The case would be heard in court later that year.


E-mail pcrowley@nky.com

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS0103/601280439/1059/rss13

[oakiehigh]

This could be what finally brings KY Speedway a Nascar race......


Speedway Motorsports to buy Kentucky SpeedwayBusiness Courier of Cincinnati
http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/05/19/daily44.html?surround=lfn

Speedway Motorsports Inc. is expected to announce Thursday afternoon its purchase of Kentucky Speedway, according to NASCAR Scene, a sister publication of the Business Journal of the Greater Triad, a Business Courier sister paper in Greensboro/Winston-Salem, N.C.

Sources familiar with the deal say Concord, N.C.-based SMI (NYSE: TRK) will purchase the 1.5-mile oval in Sparta, Ky., that opened in 2000.

[oakiehigh]

This makes it official.  Whether you like this sport or not this will huge for the region.   110,000 seat venue with national exposure to a VERY loyal crowd.    This would be the perfect time to advertise those "Visit Cincinnati and Ohio"  commercials.    I will be in attendence and I would recommend it to anyone who has never been.   It makes Bengals/Browns/Buckeye tailgates seem like childs play.

Speedway to expand with purchase
New owner plans 50,000 more seats and Sprint Cup race
BY KEVIN KELLY AND PATRICK CROWLEY | KKELLY@NKY.COM AND PCROWLEY@NKY.COM
http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080522/SPT/805220329


The new owner of Kentucky Speedway said he wants to bring a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to Gallatin County and add as many as 50,000 new seats.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. founder and chairman Bruton Smith announced today the purchase of the speedway in a deal expected to close in October.

[Sherman Cahal]

Can the thread title be changed to "Sparta: Kentucky Speedway news"?

And yes, this is huge news. While it may not be in NKY or Ohio, it's very large national draw certainly boosts the economies of NKY/Cincinnati and that of other cities. I've been up there a few times, but have not attended any races so far.

[UncleRando]

I've only ever been to one race, and it was a truck series race at the Kentucky Speedway (free tickets).  Honestly, I didn't care for it at all...I also didn't appreciate having to pee into a trough with scores of other men.  The tailgating is fine, but the types of people aren't necessarily my type...plus it is a traffic nightmare leaving those races (especially if the ground is wet).

With that said, a Sprint Cup race would be a HUGE draw for the region...and I would welcome it with open arms.  It's not my cup of tea, but I know a hell of a lot of people like NASCAR so who am I to tell them not to come and spend their money in our region.

[oakiehigh]

Yea traffic sucks, but that is why you get there early to tailgate for 5-6 hours before the race and stay late after tailgating until traffic dies down. 

Race fans know this is big
Speedway's purchase means major sporting like we haven't seen here
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/COL03/805230344

As soon as the report was leaked Wednesday that Bruton Smith would be buying Kentucky Speedway, you knew a Sprint Cup race would follow. You could almost hear an engine whine. Smith, the 81-year-old billionaire owner of seven racetracks, wasn't buying the place to race horses or go-karts.

Still, nothing was certain until halfway through a news conference Thursday afternoon, when someone asked this:

"Do you expect to have a (Sprint) Cup race there next year?"


 "Yes. Next year, yessir," Smith answered.

You might not know a lug wrench from a 9-iron. You might think that "drafting" means taking Carson Palmer for your fantasy team and "getting loose" is what you do after midnight on Saturday.

Wasn't this called the Winston Cup Series a few days ago? Wasn't it the Nextel Cup last night? Yeah, as a matter of fact. It doesn't matter. Know this:

This is big.

This is more than 100,000 race fans jammed around a track that Smith says will need to be expanded - "a few seats," he allowed, "maybe 50,000." That's 120,000 people about an hour from downtown, some of whom will need places to sleep and eat. That's two-and-a-half Bengals sellouts. It's a Reds homestand.

Take the biggest convention Cincinnati hosts and multiply it by, oh, 30. It's that big.

Funny. I was talking Thursday to someone formerly prominent in bringing big sporting events to town. We bemoaned that, for a decade, Cincinnati has had nothing of consequence grace its stadiums and arenas. Indianapolis has spent 30 years successfully cultivating its rep as a sports destination. It has had the Pan Am Games and the Final Four. Now, the former Naptown has the 2012 Super Bowl.

Cincinnati has nothing. Not even a baseball All-Star Game for its semi-new ballpark. Riverfront Stadium hosted the 1988 game. Pittsburgh, ground zero for terrible baseball, has hosted two All-Star Games since.

Leave it to Jerry Carroll and a big-bucks ol' boy from North Carolina to bring the big time back to the area. "It's a hotbed of racing," Smith decided. "No doubt about that."

Of course, there is the little matter of Carroll's antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. Carroll, who owns Kentucky Speedway, and his investors claimed the two companies conspired to keep big-time racing off the Sparta track.

A district court judge ruled against the speedway. An appeal is pending. When asked about the suit, Smith sidestepped it as quickly as a pit crewman changing a tire. "We have nothing to do with the lawsuit," he said.

Carroll was at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday, with Smith, during the press conference. Carroll didn't build Kentucky Speedway at a cost of $152 million in 2000 as a test track for Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup teams. He didn't build it to run Busch/Nationwide Series races, or to race trucks.

Carroll, who thinks bigger than anyone around here, wanted his track to host one of NASCAR's big events. He was confident that once he showed the sport's ruling France family how well-run and well-attended his races were, they'd give him a key to their castle.It never happened.

Now, it will, but not with Carroll in the saddle. It must be bittersweet.

Who knows what role Carroll's lawsuit had in any of this? You can't sue to get a Cup race. You can sue claiming an antitrust violation and ask for more than $200 million in damages, which Carroll has done. Now that his track will get a Cup race, he can't argue anti-trust. As for the damages? We'll see.

Smith said he "got an agreement out of (Carroll) that he would stay." Carroll's ownership stake, if any, is unknown. Nor is it known which Sprint Cup race Kentucky Speedway will get. Smith will take a date from one of his other tracks.

None of this matters to race fans here. They'll recall this day the way Bengals fans recall 1967. The road trips to Talladega and Daytona might still be made. But now, a much easier roadie also will be on the list.

"We expect to do great things there," Smith announced.

[moonloop]

Can the thread title be changed to "Sparta: Kentucky Speedway news"?

And yes, this is huge news. While it may not be in NKY or Ohio, it's very large national draw certainly boosts the economies of NKY/Cincinnati and that of other cities. I've been up there a few times, but have not attended any races so far.

I think it should be changed to Cincinnati Speedway. Every article I've read about the sale mentions it being close to Cincinnati. Sparta is just another Cincy hood. Louisville get the occasional mention.

It should be great for the region and Cincy will benefit so I'm all for it.

The economics of a single race must be unreal. How one weekend of a NASCAR race generates enough money to justify the 100s milliions spent by the track owners etc is amazing.

[oakiehigh]

^ Here is where the many hotels downtown will come into play.   Many of the 110,000 people travel, especially for the first couple years.

[dmerkow]

Just think of how much the strippers in Sparta will be able to make. Not that I've ever been there of course.

[oakiehigh]

^It'll be like Christmas Morning for them!!!

[Sherman Cahal]

Bad news guys. NASCAR isn't endorsing the current proposal.

NASCAR: Too late to add Cup race to Kentucky
The Associated Press | Herald-Leader, May 23, 2008

SPARTA, Ky. --
Kentucky Speedway will not have a NASCAR Sprint Cup race in 2009, despite a change in ownership to Bruton Smith.

Smith, the Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner, announced Thursday that he had purchased the Kentucky track, located halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville, with the intention of having a Cup race there next season.

[oakiehigh]

^ Polotics!!    This is why I haven't been able to keep up with this sport like I did in the 90's.     They suck!

I still bet they work it into the schedule.    We won't hear about it (official date) until later this summer.

[Time]

It has been interesting over the years to see how the different races & tracks have changed. One of my favorite 'old school' tracks was north wilkesboro. Bruton Smith & a partner also purchased that track and moved both nascar races, one race moved to new hampshire and the other to texas. Looks like this could be a case of 'what comes around' as new hampshire could lose a race to kentucky speedway. At one time or another I have been to martinsville, rockingham, north wilkesboro, darlington, bristol, charlotte, talladega & pocono. I haven't been to a race for years and probably won't ever attend another nascar race. The worse thing about nascar races are the particular people who go to them. The hardcore fans follow the series around from race to race and are knowledgeable about racing & usually arrive at the track days before the race & don't leave the track until after its over, because they usually have some type of RV. Those fans don't really cause any problems. Then you have the sunday afternoon armchair driver/pit crew leader who thinks they know everything but really don't know much at all except who drives what car. These are the ones who cause most all the problems, They heckle drivers using profane language with total disregard for other spectators among some of the other classless acts they are capable of. I have witnessed a lot of fights & alcohol abuse at nascar races over the years. The other group of fans would be the family type who have never been to a nascar race and are taking the kids for their first event. I have heard some of those people say they won't go back because the atmosphere is so primitive. I would think some of the newer tracks such as chicago would attract a much more civilized crowd. I don't like to label people, but I would have to say from all my experiences a lot of rednecks & hillbillies go to nascar races, especially in the south. I have lost interest in nascar with all the template changing & restrictor plate limits among other rule changes that have occurred. The days of who can engineer the best chassis & build the best engine are over, now it's all about leveling the playing field. These days you can't even tell what model a car is when its coming down the straightaway until you actually see whats written on the bumper because they are all the same. I am glad the kentucky speedway is finally getting a nascar race and I hope it turns out to be a respectable event. However, If you enjoy the smell of 110 octane sunoco racing fuel pumping through a carbureted small block cranking out 800 HP while propelling a 3400 pound car around the track at speeds upward of 200 MPH, then you would probably have fun regardless...


Ladies & gentlemen, welcome to Cincinnati International Speedway...  Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!...

[Time]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTAn-lsHyCc

[oakiehigh]

Ladies & gentlemen, welcome to Cincinnati International Speedway...  Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!...

That has a good ring to it!!