Speedway Motors Inc. (SMI) President Bruton Smith just announced that SMI is purchasing the Kentucky Speedway. He says that he will make some changes to make a great track even better.
He says he will solve the problem of a Cup date (no announcement today, though) for Kentucky, likely in 2009.
(via the teleconference)
Here’s the official PR from Kentucky Speedway….
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2008
Speedway Motorsports Agrees to Purchase Kentucky Speedway
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 22, 2008) - Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:TRK) has agreed to purchase Kentucky Speedway from Kentucky Speedway, LLC. The agreement was announced today by O. Bruton Smith, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Kentucky Speedway, which opened in 2000, hosts one NASCAR Nationwide Series event, one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, one IndyCar Series event and other racing events each year. The speedway is located in Sparta, Ky., approximately one-half hour south of Cincinnati, Ohio. The speedway is easily accessible via modern highways.
Located on approximately 820 acres, Kentucky Speedway features a 1.5-mile tri-oval speedway, with chair-back grandstand seating for 66,089 spectators, 50 luxury suites with seats for approximately 2,000, 100 private RV spaces, 200 reserved camping spaces and 1,000 unreserved camping spaces. Kentucky Speedway regularly hosts near capacity crowds for its Nationwide Series events.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our company to grow into a new market in a modern speedway facility. We continue to be committed to investing in the motorsports industry,” said Smith.
Smith added that he has offered Jerry Carroll, who was instrumental in the development of Kentucky Speedway, the opportunity to remain involved in its future operations.
Kentucky Speedway will join an outstanding lineup of SMI facilities. The company also owns and operates Atlanta Motor Speedway; Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.; Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.; Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.; New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in Loudon, N.H.; and Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas.
With this acquisition, the company will own race tracks in the West, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and Southwest, including four of the nation’s top-10 metropolitan markets.
The breakdown includes: the sixth-largest market (Infineon/San Francisco); the fifth-largest market (Texas/Dallas-Ft. Worth); the seventh-largest market (New Hampshire/Boston); the ninth-largest market (Atlanta); the 24th-largest market (Cincinnati); the 25th-largest market (Lowe’s/Charlotte); the 41st-largest market (Las Vegas); and the 92nd-largest market (Bristol/Tri-Cities).
About Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Speedway Motorsports is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company owns and operates the following premier facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. The Company provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiaries; manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars and parts through its 600 Racing subsidiary; and produces and broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to radio stations nationwide through its Performance Racing Network subsidiary. The Company also equally-owns Motorsports Authentics, a joint venture formed with International Speedway Corporation to produce, market and sell licensed motorsports merchandise. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.speedwaymotorsports.com.
Car Insurance Honda Civic for sale
