NASCAR: LVMS shouldn’t expect a second Cup date

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 9:20 a.m.

If Las Vegas Motor Speedway wants to host two NASCAR Nextel Cup races each season, track owner Bruton Smith would have to move a date from one of his other tracks, NASCAR chairman Brian France said.

France said Wednesday that awarding LVMS a second annual date is "not in our current plans."

"I know many people from the track and the community have voiced some desire ... of hosting a second date," France said during a media teleconference. "It's certainly a tremendous venue when we go there once a year in March, but right now we're going to remain a one-stop in Las Vegas."

Smith and LVMS general manager Chris Powell have been lobbying NASCAR for a second Cup race since Smith's Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased the track late in 1998. Smith owns six tracks that will host 10 Nextel Cup points races in 2005.

Two other West Coast facilities, California Speedway in Fontana and Phoenix International Raceway, will host two Cup races each next season. International Motorsports Inc., which is controlled by NASCAR's France family and owns both tracks, moved a date from its North Carolina Speedway to give a second race to California Speedway this season and has moved another date from Darlington (S.C.) Raceway to give Phoenix two dates in 2005.

The annual NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas has proven to be one of the more popular stops on the 36-race circuit with fans, drivers and sponsors, and has attracted capacity crowds virtually every year since it staged its inaugural Cup race in 1998. This year's Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway drew an estimated 142,000 fans -- which exceeds the capacity of both California Speedway and PIR.

France said those factors alone are not enough to merit giving LVMS two Cup races each season.

"Number one, we don't just go on attendance -- although that's an important measuring tool," France said. "The market size for both Los Angeles and Phoenix (is) much greater than Las Vegas and we get a better marketing impact going into Southern California than we do either Phoenix or Las Vegas.

"What really happened (with Fontana and Phoenix) was that ISC took advantage of realignment and those were not new, fresh dates awarded on the schedule. The schedule didn't get larger, they just took advantage of realignment and that's available for SMI, who owns (LVMS), at least to have a conversation about that and we probably will in the coming months."

Smith has said in the past that Las Vegas deserves a second Cup race but that he doesn't intend to move a race from one of his other tracks to accomplish that. Smith's SMI also owns Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway in Northern California, Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., and Texas Motor Speedway.