2012 Vegas Cup date moves a week

Nevada’s largest annual sports weekend has a new date for 2012. Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s NASCAR Weekend is scheduled for March 9-11, 2012, a week later than in recent years.

Again in 2012, the Kobalt Tools 400 is scheduled to be the third stop on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour. The 2012 event will mark the 15th visit of NASCAR’s most elite series to Las Vegas’s 1.5-mile superspeedway.

The Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series event will precede the NASCAR Sprint Cup event on Saturday, March 10. Stratosphere Pole Day for the Kobalt Tools 400 will be held Friday, March 9.

“We’re very excited about this new date," said Chris Powell, LVMS general manager. “Even though we’re just a few months removed from this past year’s event, we already are in the process of renewing tickets for the 2012 event, and the renewals are coming in at a strong pace. NASCAR Weekend in Las Vegas has become one of the most significant events on the motorsports calendar, as evidenced by the tremendous crowds that turn out all three days. The new date should further increase the anticipation that race fans have for this event."

The 2011 event drew more than 300,000 people to LVMS and generated more than $198 million for the local economy.