Kentucky Speedway
From The Third Turn, a Wikia wiki
| Location | Sparta, Kentucky |
| |
| Track length | 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) |
| Track shape | Tri-Oval |
| Banking | Turns - 14° Tri-Oval - 8-10° Straight - 4° |
| Major events | NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Indy Racing League |
| Capacity | 66,000 (Stands) |
| Address | 5120 Sparta Pike, Sparta, KY 41086 |
| Owner | |
Kentucky Speedway is a 1.5 mile motor speedway located in north-central Kentucky, near the community of Sparta, Kentucky; approximately halfway between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, and is additionally 70 miles from another fairly sizable market, Lexington, Kentucky. The track was designed to host a NASCAR Sprint Cup races and has hosted NASCAR Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck series races, as well as IRL races. However, NASCAR officals have refused any discussion of a Sprint Cup race being moved there.
In July 2005, Kentucky Speedway filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation, (ISC) claiming that they violated federal antitrust laws by not allowing tracks to bid for NASCAR races, be it they meet the necessary requirements. This lawsuit was filed a year after Francis Ferko, a Speedway Motorsports shareholder, successfully sued NASCAR and ISC, forcing NASCAR to eliminate the prestigious Southern 500 in Darlington, SC, in favour of a second race at Texas Motor Speedway, as demanded by the terms of the lawsuit. Track officials used the Ferko case as precedent for the lawsuit.
NASCAR asked that the suit be dismissed or moved to Florida, home of NASCAR headquarters, but instead the Federal Court decided the case should procede in Kentucky courts. Hearings on the issue are expected in 2006.
There has also been talk that Kentucky Speedway owners might purchase Pocono Raceway and move one of its Sprint Cup races to Kentucky. However, the Mattioli family, which owns Pocono Raceway, also own the South Boston Speedway, and manage the Music City Motorplex, has so far shown no interest in selling that superspeedway.
