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| Bruton Smith and Darrell Waltrip in KY/Patrick Reedy/The Enquirer |
We told you that Atlanta had lost their NASCAR race as did California, Fontana to be specific. We also said that Kentucky was getting a race and Kansas City was getting the other. (Because sources aren't always perfect, we mentioned New Hampshire too, but nothing changed there)
Today, NASCAR made it official. Today they announced that Kentucky Speedway will be hosting a race on July 9, 2011. Kentucky Speedway announced that starting probably tomorrow, they are adding 50,000 seats for said race.
NASCAR also said that Phoenix will now have the second race of the year, right after the Daytona 500. Kentucky will follow the other Daytona race...the Firecracker. Chicago's race, which was that week, will be moving to September 18th, kicking off the Chase for the Cup.
More on the Kentucky announcement from NKY.com RIGHT HERE
The big part of this announcement is the move to Northern Kentucky. We will be very curious to see how the turnout is for this race. The track is about two hours from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and not really near anything else. The population base with Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington all being less than an hour away is pretty big.
Kudos to the NASCAR folks for realizing they need to change some things up. Interest has been waning as has attendance. This may not be the ultimate difference maker, but as a piece in the puzzle, it certainly can't hurt.
Here is a pre-announcement story from our friends at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati:
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