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closeNASCAR says no to 2009 Cup race at Kentucky track
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Friday, May. 23, 2008
NASCAR on Friday shot down the possibility Kentucky Speedway could host a Sprint Cup Series race in the 2009 season.
"The schedule we are working on for 2009 does not include a stop in Kentucky, regardless of ownership," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston.
"I don't see any scenario where there will be a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Kentucky. There has been no request for realignment and it's already very late in the sanctioning process."
Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., announced on Thursday his intent to purchase Kentucky Speedway, but the deal isn't likely to be completed for at least three months or more.
Although track owners can ask NASCAR to move dates among their facilities, Smith will not have ownership of the Kentucky track until late summer or early fall, long after NASCAR's sanctioning process is usually completed.
In fact, NASCAR and SMI officials met Friday to discuss 2009 sanctioning agreements for SMI's current tracks.
"We are late in the sanctioning process already and I don't see any way there will be a Sprint Cup race in Kentucky next season," Poston said.
SMI officials did not ask to move any race dates to Kentucky from their current facilities during sanctioning talks on Friday, sources said.
Friday evening, Kentucky Speedway released a statement from its chairman, Jerry Carroll.
"Our group is confident that comments made by Bruton Smith," Carroll said, "and, our agreement, will continue to come to fruition."