NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Bold Moves For NASCAR
NASCAR’s 2011 schedule will be vastly different than this year’s schedule...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 11, 2010   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France promised radical changes to the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France likes to invoke sports metaphors when talking about stock-car racing, as he did last month at Indianapolis, when he told reporters, “Every commissioner would say they want great playoff events, Game 7s, NCAA tournament final or Super Bowl.

“They want an action-packed close game with great storylines. We're no different.”

With that in mind, there’s no question that NASCAR’s radically retooled 2011 schedule is the first step in helping create some real playoff buzz in the wake of Jimmie Johnson's four-year-long dominance of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But it also represents much more, including the introduction of Kentucky Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule for the first time, a second date for Kansas Speedway and the admission that Atlanta and Southern California couldn’t support two Cup dates. And it hints that more change is to come.

More importantly, perhaps, is the timing: There’s no question that attendance and television ratings have been down this season, but there is some optimism that the bottom may have been hit, and that the timing is right for change.

“NASCAR is just so strong,” said team owner and former track operator Roger Penske. “People talk about that it’s off a little bit, but I can tell you we’ll have more (fans) than the Super Bowl every weekend at the tracks that we run at. I think business is pretty good.”

Here’s what’s known for sure about the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, which will be released in full on Aug. 18.
Chicagoland Speedway is one of several 1.5-mile venues in the Chase. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

• The 2011 season will open Feb. 20 with the Daytona 500, as always. But the following week, the Sprint Cup Series will race at Phoenix International Raceway. The SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 will be shortened by 100 kilometers and take place on a Sunday afternoon, instead of a Saturday night.

• Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., loses its date in the Chase and will host only one Cup race, March 27.

• Kansas Speedway adds a Cup race June 5, and will also host the fourth race in the Chase Oct. 9. Kansas picks up the extra date at the expense of Auto Club Speedway, both tracks being owned by International Speedway Corp. Although Kansas is installing lights, both of its races will be daytime events.

“We believe the region is more than capable of successfully sustaining two Cup events,” said Lesa France Kennedy, CEO of ISC and sister of Brian France. “The second Cup date at Kansas Speedway also will be great for the sport. The Kansas City region is an important one for the NASCAR race teams and our partners.”


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