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CUP: NASCAR May Put Brakes On Bruton
Written by: Tom Jensen   
05/22/2008
Charlotte, N.C.
 
Bruton Smith is trying to get a Sprint Cup race for the newly purchased Kentucky Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Kentuckyspeedway.com) ยป More Photos

A NASCAR spokesman said Thursday that just because Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chairman and CEO O. Bruton Smith wants a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at his newly acquired Kentucky Speedway is no guarantee he’ll get one – in 2009 or after.

Smith announced Thursday that SMI had inked a deal to purchase the speedway, which is located half an hour from Cincinnati, and he expected it would host a Cup race next year.

The purchase price was $78 million, a far cry from the $340 million SMI paid to acquire New Hampshire Motor Speedway last year. The disparity is due to race schedules: NHMS hosts two lucrative Sprint Cup races annually, which each generate tens of millions of dollars in profits, while Kentucky has never even had one Cup race.

And to think that it might in 2009, may be wishful thinking, according to NASCAR Managing Director of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston. “There are certainly some hurdles there,” Poston said of Smith’s hopes to get a Cup date next season.

In the past, NASCAR has refused to grant Kentucky a Cup race, citing, among other factors, its proximity to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Chicago Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.

With the Southeast and Midwest already saturated, NASCAR has said Kentucky holds little appeal for a Cup race.

On top of that, Kentucky isn’t a major
television market. Another obstacle is timing: NASCAR traditionally announces its final schedule in mid-summer and by now is deep into negotiating sanctioning agreements with tracks for next year.

If SMI wants to move a race to Kentucky next year, it must submit a plan to NASCAR saying where it would be willing to give up a race at one of its other tracks.

“I think everyone understands the format for realignment,” Poston said. “At this point, we don’t have a proposal from him (Smith) and it’s certainly very late in the year. The sanctioning process is under way already.”

As for the market itself, Poston said, “That part of the country is very well served with NASCAR racing.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
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