We post daily updates about series races and important driver news. To always be in the loop and have insider information into the world of racing, follow us! We’ll keep you updated on injuries and remind you about races, driving schools, driver interviews and more.

Of course, if you see something we’re missing you can let us know by leaving a comment.

You can also make it an “Awesome October” by attending one of our driving schools. http://tinyurl.com/dschools

Our Largest Attendance ever= 72,886 on June 18, 2006 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series “The Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo”

The Largest Open Wheel Attendance = 66,389 just over a year ago on August 9, 2008 for the IndyCar “Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Pepsi and Edy’s”

The Largest Stock Car Attendance packed us with 72,312 people on June 19, 2004 for the NASCAR Busch Series.

If you want more KY Speedway fun facts, follow this link: http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com/trackinfo/trackfacts/track.asp

If you have questions that aren’t answered on our website or have ideas about future blogs, just comment at the bottom of this blog entry! We will answer you and might even turn your idea or question into a blog entry!

Here is the full October calendar:

Kentucky Speedway offers an exciting atmosphere for events such as sales meetings, festivals, concerts, and commercial productions. Kentucky Speedway is available for ride/drive programs for manufacturers who want to test their automotive products. We feature catering space, 6,600 square feet of indoor meeting space, spacious garages and luxury suites so the opportunities are endless!

The Kentucky Speedway will work with your company or group to customize your event.

For more information contact:
Karen Bannick, (859) 567-3446
kbannick@kentuckyspeedway.com

http://kentuckyspeedway.com/trackinfo/trackrental/trackrental.asp

The Largest Purse in KY Speedway history = $1,335,989 and was awarded at “The Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo” in June 2005.

The Largest Purse (By Series) = $1,094,000 in the Indy Racing League Northern Light Series’ “Belterra Casino Indy 300” August 27, 2000.

There have been some LARGE winners’ shares awarded at KY Speedway throughout the years. $148,000 was won by Sam Hornish, Jr. in “The Belterra Casino Indy 300” in 2003 and 99,405 was awarded to Kyle Busch in “The Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo” in June 2004.

Bobby Hamilton also won a large purse when he claimed $80,125 in “The built Ford Tough 225 Presented by The Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers” in July 2004.

Our Fastest Race Average = 197.897 mph set August 17, 2003

Our Slowest Race Average = a measly 98.385 mph set June 17, 2003.

The Widest Margin of Victory = 18.197 seconds for Mike Bliss July 13, 2002.

The Closest Margin of Victory = 0.014 of a second set by Scott Lagassee, Jr. May 7, 2004.

The Most Caution Periods is 9 – set by NCTS in 2000, NBS in 2001 and ARCA RMS in 2002. The Least Caution Periods is 0 and was set June 13, 2003. This 2003 race also set the record for the Fewest Caution laps at 0.

The Fastest Stock Car Average = 153.262 mph by Scott Carlson in the NASCAR Kodak Southeast Series, Elite Division in 2003.

The Fastest Truck Average = 143.515 mph by Mike Bliss in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2002.

Our Longest Open Wheel Race = 200 Laps (five times) for the IndyCar Series.

Our Shortest Open Wheel Race = 50 Laps (two times) for the USAC WORLDCOM National Midget Car Series.

Our Youngest Race Starter was Shelby Howard at 16 yrs., 9 mos., 16 days old and our Youngest Race Winner was Kyle Busch in 2003 at 18 yrs., 9 days.

Vern Slaugh is KY Speedway’s Oldest Race Starter (in 2003 at 63 yrs., 4 mos., 23 days) and Oldest Pole Winner (in 2002 at 62 yrs., 5 mos., 24 days).

Ward’s statue rendering of “The King,” Richard Petty, outside the Atlanta Motor Speedway caught the eye of the monument company and helped him become commissioned for the work. Ward immediately asked for as many Waltrip photos as possible to capture Waltrip’s multifaceted personality.

“It’s an esoteric process that comes from a lifetime of sculpting. The speedway knew it wanted to depict Darrell’s famous Daytona 500 No. 1 pose, so I tried to queue in on personality traits like humility, pushiness, quietness or cockiness and incorporate those into the design.”

Although he’s not a dyed-in-the-wool race fan, his friends are. Ward knew he was on the right track when his friends approved of the statue concept. “My friends told me, ‘that’s him, that’s Darrell’,” Ward said.

To read more about how Jack Ward created this statue, follow the link:  http://kentuckyspeedway.com/fanzone/dwwalkway/dwwalkway.asp

Here at Kentucky Speedway we are offering the “Drive the Track Sale”.

Your car, our track!

Spend $40 in our Fan Center Gift Shop and you can turn laps on our 1.5-mile tri-oval in your own car!  You can experience the track firsthand.  Feel the turns and see what the professional drivers see.

http://kentuckyspeedway.com/schedule/testschedule/testschedule.asp

Let’s start with the easy stuff first! As you may know, our track is a 1.5 mile Tri-oval. Its turns are banked 14 degrees and the racing surface is 70 feet wide (with 12-foot shoulders). Can you imagine driving 170 mph on that track?!

Our Pit Road Length is 2,800 feet and the Apex of Tri-oval at the Start/Finish line is 300 feet with 10 degrees of banking.

Now for some KY Speedway Firsts! Our First Race was the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series “Kentucky 150” on June 16, 2000. There were 36,210 fans in attendance for that race!

The very First Champion was Billy Bigley, Jr., in the No. 28 Peerless Woodworking/Nevamar Decorative Services Chevrolet at the June 2000 “Kentucky 150”. His margin of victory (another of our firsts) was 0.248 seconds and his average speed was 111.747 mph.

The First Purse won at Kentucky Speedway was $95,050 to Billy Bigley, Jr.

IndyCar Series Races:
Next Race: Saturday, October 10, Homestead-Miami Speedway

Firestone Indy Lights Races:

Next race: Friday, October 9 Homestead-Miami Speedway