[Quality88]

Kentucky Speedway not likely to receive its worth

By Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM
December 12, 2006
03:57 PM EST (20:57 GMT)

A handful of NASCAR teams -- Evernham Motorsports chief among them -- will be at Kentucky Speedway this week and next testing for the upcoming season.

For that matter, Nextel Cup drivers have booked the track throughout the rest of the year, according to Mark Cassis, Kentucky Speedway executive vice president and general manager.
Despite its popularity among drivers and new-age ammenities, Kentucky Speedway remains on the outside of NASCAR's "good ol' boys network." So much so, Kentucky Speedway has an antitrust lawsuit pending against NASCAR.



According to Cassis, Kentucky Speedway has done everything asked of it, annually plays to large crowds and has sold out all six of the Busch Series races it has hosted, yet cannot a secure a spot on NASCAR's Cup schedule.
"It's disappointing," Cassis said. "We're the largest [racing venue] in the country without a [Cup] date."
The big fish in the small pond, as it were. Kentucky Speedway has a grandstand capacity of 66,089. Small by today's world-wide NASCAR standards.
California Speedway, which has come under fire from critics and purists alike for being unable to sell out after receiving a second Cup date, has 92,000-plus. Unfilled or no, that's more than 25,000 additional seats to be had by paying consumers.
But Cassis said Kentucky Speedway has the infrastructure in place to expand the seating capacity to 100,000.
"It's just not about the seats," he contended. "Those seats would be in tomorrow [if NASCAR wanted them]. It would be silly now [to add seats] without a Cup date."
Kentucky in some aspects can be compared to North Carolina Speedway and Darlington Raceway, both of which lost races after the 2004 season to Texas and Phoenix.
Rockingham and Darlington are considered small market. So, too, then would be Kentucky Speedway, located in tiny Sparta, Ky. But unlike Rockingham, which was stripped of its lone date, Sparta has untapped areas from which to pull.
Kentucky Speedway is 35 miles south of Cincinnati, 45 miles west of Lexington, Ky., and 65 miles north of Louisville, Ky. It is estimated that about 7 million people are within 130 miles of the track. Cassis said Kentucky's fan base spreads across "eight to 10 states," including Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia, all of which have Nextel Cup racing.
"We have the drawing power, it should happen," Cassis said. "We have facilities [such as hotels and restuarants] nearby. All of those things are here. It works for the NFL. It can work for NASCAR."

Cassis points out that few tracks are built in metropolises. Too much land is needed and there isn't any to be had in the big cities. Even though NASCAR dearly wants a track in the New York City area, its recently discarded Staten Island project is proof that it isn't quite feasible.
"It sounds good on paper, but it's unrealistic," Cassis said. "They need to look at venues [that are already in place]."
NASCAR's eagerness to expand to the larger cities is also what is hurting the smaller tracks -- most of them with much more tradition than Kentucky.
California's second date replaced a holiday staple of NASCAR, the Labor Day Southern 500 at Darlington. The Fontana track's existing date was moved to the second week of the season, formerly occupied by Rockingham.
Despite California's struggles to attract a loyal fan base, the track's proximity to Los Angeles and Hollywood combined with NASCAR's continuing reach for diversity -- California Speedway has several Hispanic programs in place -- makes it idealistic.
Darlington, which expanded its grandstand capacity to 62,000 in 2006, feels good about its place on the schedule. Its new Mother's Day weekend event has sold out both years, and is on pace to do so again in '07.
"It's a good testimony [that fans] like coming to races here," Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning said. "We've got to foucs on things we can control. NASCAR wants to expand and rightfully so, but there's still a place for Darlington on the schedule."
Martinsville Speedway serves as the smallest track, in terms of seating, which still hosts two Cup races a year. While expansion is in the works, Martinsville is looking at giving its 64,000 fans a better view, thus adding tower seats between Turns 1 and 2 to replace existing ones.
NASCAR has been racing at Darlington since 1950. It first came to Martinsville in '49. Both tracks are unique in its configuration. Their race fans knowledeable.
"I have no fears at all about losing one of our dates," Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell said. "If you look at the criteria put out there to us, we've been growing along with the sport.

Campbell, like Cassis, doesn't buy into the small seating capacity. The Staten Island project had a proposed grandstand capacity of no more than 85,000.
"We're not that far off," said Campbell, who also has drawing power from places like Roanoke, Va., and Greensboro, N.C. "Martinsville is a small market, [but we have] a good geographical area to draw from."
Campbell instead turns his attentions to keeping the track up-to-date for both fans and drivers, "We address areas we need to address."
And that has been a point of contention for Cassis all along. Kentucky Speedway was built to meet the demands the growing sport requires.
"Here is a venue that is new, fresh and what fans and corporate sponsors want," Cassis said. "We never stop spending on this venue. Everyone is so committed to it."
Kentucky Speedway is a good little track. And that is its biggest problem. It doesn't have the history of a Martinsville or Darlington, or the big-city appeal of a Los Angeles, New York or even Seattle.
Which means Kentucky Speedway is destined to remain Busch league.
"It's unfortunate," Cassis said. "We believe we deserve it. We have overachieved. We can't seem to get over that last hurdle.
"We're the poster child for what's wrong in NASCAR."

I like the last Quote.