Kentucky Speedway’s 2012 Cup date set, IndyCar to return
It wasn't a small one, either.
Kentucky Speedway's spot on the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be June 30.
"Cancel everything that you have planned," said Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc. "Don't do anything other than be here."
The Quaker State 400 again will anchor a tripleheader weekend at the speedway. The weekend again will include NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series races.
The lineup for Kentucky Speedway's fall race weekend in 2012 remains a work in progress. The Camping World Truck Series, Firestone Indy Lights and IZOD IndyCar Series form the Oct. 1-2 race weekend this year.
"We will have another weekend of racing in the fall," Kentucky Speedway general manager Mark Simendinger said. "The exact makeup of that weekend, we're still working on. We're still negotiating with IndyCar and NASCAR regarding possibilities on that weekend."
Kentucky Speedway has occupied a spot on the IndyCar schedule since 2000.
IndyCar chief executive officer Randy Bernard said this month he expected the 2012 IndyCar schedule to be out before Kentucky Speedway hosts its race Oct. 2 and he hoped the speedway would remain a stop for the series.
Ticket exchange update
Kentucky Speedway offered fans who missed last month's Quaker State 400 due to traffic and parking problems a chance to exchange their tickets for its 2012 race, among others.
General manager Mark Simendinger said Tuesday the majority of ticket exchanges processed by the speedway have been for next year's Sprint Cup race.
"I'd say 60 percent of the people want to come back here, which I think is outstanding," he said. "The second-highest one was Bristol's night race. Bristol's night race is one of the special moments in all of NASCAR. So I am sure that we have plenty of fans … going to Bristol's night race and they're probably coming back here. And why not?
"When something like that happens and it's unforeseen, there's no guide map. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know how many people are going to say, 'I am never coming back, no matter what.' Or how many people are like, 'You know, it's fixable. They'll fix it.' " Cicinnati.com