Speedway taking shape as June opening nears

Steve Bailey

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 8:10 a.m.

SPARTA, Ky. - Think of Kentucky, and basketball, bourbon, bluegrass and horse racing come to mind.

Developer Jerry Carroll wants to make auto racing part of the tradition.

Carroll is putting the finishing touches on the 65,989-seat Kentucky Speedway, a $152 million facility on 1,000 acres in the rolling hills of Gallatin County.

He's betting his track - between Cincinnati and Louisville - will become an oasis for fans who find it hard to get tickets to the Brickyard 400 or Indianapolis 500 just 100 miles away.

"We're going to prove that this area is a huge market for motorsports," said Carroll, the track's chairman and co-owner. "There are 52 million people within 275 miles of this facility. We have a good, strong, knowledgeable race fan base here."

How strong, he will learn June 17, when the track opens with a 225-mile NASCAR truck series race. The IRL is to race Aug. 27, but neither trucks nor Indy cars can carry a large track forever.

The real goal is acquiring a NASCAR Winston Cup date, practically a guaranteed sellout in warm weather.

"Some people might say we're too close to Indianapolis," Carroll explained. "But every year, the Brickyard and Indianapolis 500 sell out. If something is sold out, all that tells me as a marketing person is that the demand is there."

Carroll, a former owner of the Turfway Park thoroughbred horse track in Florence, bought the short-track Louisville Motor Speedway nearly three years ago to remove any competition for his new facility just off Interstate 71.

Carroll and engineer Bill Moss, who also designed Talladega Superspeedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, have constructed a state-of-the-art facility.

Like Las Vegas, Kentucky Speedway is a 1 1/2 -mile tri-oval with 14 degrees of banking in the turns and a wider and longer backstretch than most tracks of its size and shape. Built into the ground in bowl fashion, even the speedway's front-row grandstand seats have an unobstructed view of the entire track.

The infield will include garages angled toward the grandstand so fans can watch the teams work on their cars.

"It's got a little bit of everything," Carroll said. "But to me, the most unique aspect is its location. Look at the surrounding area. We tried to make it look like a speedway within a state park."

A second phase of construction, which Carroll has promised if he gets a Winston Cup race, would add 80,000 seats.

Moss believes the track will fast become a favorite of drivers and fans. A great deal of time was spent on details like sight lines from the grandstand, and the racing surface itself got considerable attention.

"We changed the No. 4 turn just a bit so there can be a mad dash to the finish," Moss said. "The drivers who have come up here and tested all told me the track was just awesome."

Several drivers attended an open-testing period in October and November. Since then, the track has been tested at speeds up to 200 mph.

"This is a beautiful setting and a great race track," truck series champion Jack Sprague said. "You're going to see a great race here, and probably see us race three or four wide on a track this size."

IRL ace Scott Goodyear also praised the track, claiming it will provide the setting for exciting, wide-open racing.

"The 14-degree banking will allow us to carry the speeds through the turns, side-by-side, following the guy next to you, sometimes two or three abreast," Goodyear said. "That will put on a great show for the fans."

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On The Net:

Kentucky Speedway: http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com/