SMI expected to announced Kentucky deal complete

Speedway Motorsports Inc. is expected to announce sometime Wednesday that its purchase of Kentucky Speedway is complete. The company agreed in May to buy the Sparta [KY] track from Jerry Carroll and his partners for $78.3 million, including the assumption of $63.3 million in debt, and has been targeting a late December closing. Kentucky Speedway will become the eighth track in SMI’s lineup. The company’s other tracks – Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway – host a combined 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup events each year. The changeover will come as Kentucky Speedway’s original ownership group continues to challenge in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati the dismissal of its antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its sister company International Speedway Corp. All final briefs in the appeal must be filed by Jan. 28. The sale of the track is separate from the lawsuit. Cincinnati Enquirer