Waltrip: NASCAR would trump Derby

Darrell Waltrip planned to attend his first Kentucky Derby last year, but NASCAR's top series was in Virginia that weekend and he couldn't get away.

Now it's possible the three-time NASCAR champion and FOX analyst could see a Sprint Cup Series race in his home state before the Run for the Roses. Either way, the Owensboro native believes a Cup race at Kentucky Speedway would trump the Derby.

"I know that doesn't sit well with my old Kentucky home," he said, "but that's a fact." [Editor's Note: Given the TV Ratings for the Derby vs. any NASCAR race, clearly Waltrip must have worn his helmet too tight on one too many occasions]

The pending sale of Kentucky Speedway to Speedway Motorsports Inc. has Waltrip excited about the possibility of NASCAR's marquee series coming to the Sparta track either next year or by 2010. The 61-year-old even interrupted a vacation with his wife just to talk about it Monday.

"How can you not think that Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati could be a great market?" he said. "Toyota is there. Cintas is there. Procter and Gamble is there. With Louisville and Cincinnati and all the surrounding areas, it's a great market and it proves it by selling out that (Nationwide) Series every year."

Track officials announced Monday afternoon that about 2,000 tickets remained for the Meijer 300 on Saturday. The speedway boasts enough grandstand seating for 66,089 and has averaged an announced capacity crowd of 70,952 for its seven previous races featuring NASCAR's No. 2 series.

Waltrip once worked as a paid consultant for Kentucky Speedway and contributed to its design. He still stays in touch with track officials.

"Kentucky is as nice a facility as has been built in this modern era," he said. "With all the conveniences, it's a great race track. Everything is first class."

Waltrip cited Concord, N.C. as a relevant example of what Cup racing can do for a community. Located about 15 miles outside Charlotte, it is home to Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"That area has just grown by leaps and bounds," he said. "There are malls. There are restaurants. There are hotels. It's just a little community all of its own. And for the most part that's what a race track that has a cup date does.

"When you bring a couple hundred thousand people to town to attend the race – you bring the teams, the NASCAR people and everybody into town for the race – it's not just what it does for the people that are involved in the sport but what it does for the community as well." Cincinnati Enquirer