(By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service)
Posted: Thursday,January 26th, 2012
CONCORD, N.C. — During a morning stop on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway made a promise that fans who attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in June won’t face the sort of traffic issues that clogged all major arteries to the track last year.
Kentucky Speedway general manager Mark Simendinger acknowledged that, among the many positives of the inaugural Cup race at the 1.5-mile track, “we had a very large negative.”
The theme was evident during the Kentucky Speedway presentation. (Photo: Greg Engle)
“We are here to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Simendinger added. “We are committed to doing everything we can possibly do.”
Last year’s traffic problem was a massive failure with many causes, but the bottom line was that a significant number of fans attempting to drive to the speedway never made it to the track.
In the months since last year’s race, Simendinger and track owner Bruton Smith, in concert with state officials, have addressed the issues that led to the gridlock.
This year, the speedway will be able to park at least 36,000 more cars — more than that if the track can resolve a problem with the Indiana bat, an endangered species that supposedly has a habitat in the 173 acres across Highway 35 acquired for additional parking.
“The Indiana bat — we’ve looked for them, but I’ve never seen one,” Smith declared.
The state has agreed to construct a 42-foot-wide pedestrian tunnel underneath Highway 35, leading from the new parking area to the tram route outside the track. In addition, Smith has approved the construction of a bridge over the infield tunnel road, eliminating an intersection that was a bottleneck for tram traffic and infield traffic alike.
The speedway also has taken measures to ensure that cars can be moved and parked much more efficiently once they reach the property. State police will play a much more active role than they did last year, and Smith promised that there will be 300 parkers on site to assist traffic flow, as opposed to 84 last year.
The capital projects at the speedway are ahead of schedule, and both Smith and Simendinger indicated that all improvements would be completed in time for the June 30 Quaker State 400.
Kentucky Speedway has a seating capacity of 107,000, but last year’s race attracted a larger crowd than that when additional standing-room tickets in the infield were factored in.
“We’re actually readying Kentucky Speedway for a larger crowd than we had in ‘11,” Smith said.
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