Kentucky Speedway Desperate For Cup Date
If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em. That seems to be the strategy of Kentucky Speedway’s ownership group, which is led by former Nashvillian Jerry Carroll. Frustrated by NASCAR’s refusal to award their 5-year-old, $170 million track a Nextel Cup race, Carroll says the track’s owners will go on the offensive to land one of the coveted dates. Last week he told the Louisville Courier-Journal that one option is to purchase a track that currently has two Nextel Cup races and moving one of the events to the Sparta, Ky., raceway. Among the possible targets are Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Dover Downs. The latter two have local connections. Pocono is owned by Dr. Joseph Mattioli, father of Music City Motorplex President Joe Mattioli. Dover Downs is the parent company of Nashville Superspeedway. Carroll denied reports that Kentucky Speedway is for sale. Similar rumors have swirled about NSS, which also appears to be shut out of Nextel Cup. “I hate the word try,” Carroll told the Courier-Journal. “You either do it or you don’t do it. And over the next 30, 40, 50 days, the owners of this track are going to get together and just figure out a way to get it done.” Kentucky Speedway’s ownership group includes Outback Steakhouse founder Chris Sullivan, Cintas Corporation chairman Dick Farmer, Churchill Downs majority owner Dick Duchossois and John Lindahl, owner of Nashville-based State Industries.(nashvillecitypaper.com)
KAT SAYS TAKE POCONO!!! Let Martinsville and Dover be! JMO & 2 cents and your cents may vary.
If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em. That seems to be the strategy of Kentucky Speedway’s ownership group, which is led by former Nashvillian Jerry Carroll. Frustrated by NASCAR’s refusal to award their 5-year-old, $170 million track a Nextel Cup race, Carroll says the track’s owners will go on the offensive to land one of the coveted dates. Last week he told the Louisville Courier-Journal that one option is to purchase a track that currently has two Nextel Cup races and moving one of the events to the Sparta, Ky., raceway. Among the possible targets are Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Dover Downs. The latter two have local connections. Pocono is owned by Dr. Joseph Mattioli, father of Music City Motorplex President Joe Mattioli. Dover Downs is the parent company of Nashville Superspeedway. Carroll denied reports that Kentucky Speedway is for sale. Similar rumors have swirled about NSS, which also appears to be shut out of Nextel Cup. “I hate the word try,” Carroll told the Courier-Journal. “You either do it or you don’t do it. And over the next 30, 40, 50 days, the owners of this track are going to get together and just figure out a way to get it done.” Kentucky Speedway’s ownership group includes Outback Steakhouse founder Chris Sullivan, Cintas Corporation chairman Dick Farmer, Churchill Downs majority owner Dick Duchossois and John Lindahl, owner of Nashville-based State Industries.(nashvillecitypaper.com)
KAT SAYS TAKE POCONO!!! Let Martinsville and Dover be! JMO & 2 cents and your cents may vary.
