Editorial: Sprucing up the speedway

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 | 12:33 p.m.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith has announced he will invest $300 million to turn the facility into one that reflects the world-class nature of the city it represents.

In a Las Vegas Sun story Tuesday, Smith's said that Las Vegas "is the entertainment capital of the world" and that its speedway "should be the number-one speedway in the world."

Smith's road to No. 1 calls for razing the speedway's infield following the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 race in March, to make room for a new Nextel Cup garage and interactive area for fans. A 52,000-square-foot deck will allow fans to look down into individual stalls to watch teams work on the cars. Windows at ground level will afford a different view of the garage action.

The infield fan area also will include new concession stands and areas for performances by live bands and entertainment.

Improvements to the actual 1.5-mile track include adding banking to the corners and narrowing the racing groove, which will increase the speeds that the Nextel Cup and Busch Series cars can obtain. NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, a Las Vegas native, has told the Sun that such changes could increase racing speeds to 190 mph or more - the levels achieved on tracks in Texas and Georgia.

While leaders in the valley's public and private sectors court major-league sports teams to move to Las Vegas, a nationally popular sport is expanding right under their noses. The speedway's annual NASCAR weekend alone attracts more than 200,000 fans over a three-day period. A world-class sporting event with a huge following already exists here.