Jerry Carroll is driving his new Kentucky Speedway toward its celebratory groundbreaking this Saturday, marking the second of the Tristate's three major stadium projects to turn earth.
Mr. Carroll's $130 million motor sports facility is scheduled for completion by spring 2000, which would put it ahead of the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium (August 2000) and the Reds' new facility (2003). The Bengals broke ground in April, with the Reds still waiting to see whether they will play on the riverfront or at Broadway Commons.
The speedway will be on 1,000 acres in Sparta, Ky., about 35 miles southwest of Cincinnati. It will be a 1 1/2-mile, slightly banked tri-oval similar to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which held its first Winston Cup race in March.
Mr. Carroll, head of a five-man team of major investors, hopes to attract major-league races such as NASCAR Winston Cup and Indy car races (CART, IRL) to the speedway.
Mr. Carroll, the owner of the Turfway Park horse racetrack in Florence, will stage a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday (noon to 4 p.m.) at Turfway, because the Sparta site does not yet have adequate parking facilities.
Winston Cup drivers hailed the asphalt Las Vegas track for its smooth drive, with pole qualifiers pushing 170 mph on average. "We wanted to get it as close to Vegas as possible," Mr. Carroll said. "We want to do it right."
Kentucky will have 14-degree banking on the main turns (Vegas has 12 degrees), 10 degrees on the front straightaway (Vegas has 8), and 4 degrees on the back straight (Vegas has 3).
"If it's designed correctly, the cars will go faster with steeper banking," said John Story, publicist at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. "When it's just a couple of degrees difference, you can't notice much difference. But generally, the higher the banking, the faster the cars go."
Mr. Carroll said the groundbreaking proves that he and fellow investors are serious players in the motor sports industry.
A drag strip, which could target the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) series, will also be built at the facility, Mr. Carroll said.
"This could be the most important facility ever built in the state of Kentucky," Mr. Carroll said. "I say that based on how big it will be and how many people it will draw to this area."
The facility initially is expected to seat 60,000 when it opens in 2000. Plans call for expansion to more than 150,000 seats by 2002, by which time Mr. Carroll hopes to have made progress toward his primary goal -- a NASCAR Winston Cup race.
In 1997, Winston Cup races ranked second only to the National Football League in regular-season TV sports ratings.
Saturday morning, some dirt will be trucked from the Gallatin County, Ky., site up to Turfway, where ceremonial shovels will be turned.
Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton and several NASCAR drivers are scheduled to attend the event, which is free and open to the public. Parking will also be free. Turfway gates will open at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Winston Cup stars Jeremy Mayfield and Darrell Waltrip, both with Owensboro, Ky., roots, are among drivers scheduled to appear. Also scheduled are Winston drivers Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine and Kenny Wallace, and former NASCAR stars Buddy Baker, Harry Gant, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough.
The groundbreaking will probably come around 1 p.m., and drivers will sign autographs from about 1:15 to 2:30.
Mr. Carroll said he hopes the name Kentucky Speedway will become a "brand name" like the Kentucky Derby. He said he is entertaining offers from five companies regarding naming rights, meaning the track eventually could be named for a sponsor.
The track will also be lighted, setting the stage for night racing. Don Schumacher, president of Don Schumacher & Associates Inc., sports events and facilities consultants, said the track will offer informational brochures Saturday regarding personal seat licenses (PSLs) similar to what the Bengals are selling.
"We'll probably limit those to 15,000 seats," Mr. Schumacher said. "We've already been overwhelmed with requests."
The growing popularity of motor sports, notably the Winston Cup, has Turfway expecting a large crowd Saturday. Mr. Schumacher said preparations are being made for a crowd in excess of 10,000.
