Say Good-bye to the Single-Track Teams

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Reports out of Charlotte have Speedway Motorsports Inc. buying Kentucky Speedway.

Amy Henderson at The Frontstretch reports that Bruton Smith, has said he will have a Cup date at the track in northern Kentucky in the 2009 season. Next year? A Cup race? Where will that Cup race come from? Smith’s company has recently purchased New Hampshire Speedway from the Bahre family and taking a race from there is a possibility.

There is still the nagging lawsuit that is hanging over NASCAR and Kentucky Speedway. Could that lawsuit result in SMI wrestling a date away from NASCAR owned International Speedway Corp.? The ISC track that should lose a date would be California, but don’t look for NASCAR to pull out of that TV market no matter how pathetic the attendance is. NASCAR wants big TV markets and their aren’t many bigger than the LA area.

Its time for NASCAR to take a hard look at their schedule and determine where the best 36 places are to hold their premier events. Take races from venues that cannot support them and move them to locales that have and will drive butts into seats and in front of TV sets. Henderson speculates that the purchase of Pocono by SMI could pave the way for a date to be moved from that track to Kentucky. Pocono has more of a problem holding exciting races than filling the grandstands. Drivers and teams could get behind going to Pocono only once during the year.

As much of a burr under NASCAR’s saddle as the previous ownership at Kentucky has been can you imagine what adding the SMI /ISC dynamic will bring to the table? Look for a quick solution to the problem though. NASCAR doesn’t like doing battle with Smith because they know it is a lose-lose situation. Smith has a way of getting what he wants at NASCAR’s expense. For the fans of northern Kentucky this could be the best thing ever to bring them a long sought after Cup event.

At the same time it would eliminate the racetrack from much of the testing that Cup teams do at the track. Without having a Cup date currently, it is open for testing whenever teams want to use it. So would one Cup race a year bring a larger financial impact than many open testing sessions? By most accounts one date on the schedule could make the year financially. While hosting Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series races are currently the highlight of Kentucky’s season, they pale in comparison to what a Cup event could bring.

Let the wrangling begin. This should be fun to watch.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media