By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SPARTA - The Kentucky Speedway opens its fifth season this weekend with track operators predicting record crowds as the $152 million track draws closer to landing a coveted Nextel Cup race.

Fans traveling this year to the Gallatin County track 35 miles southwest of Cincinnati will find an added weekend of racing, a Busch race loaded with top talent, the unveiling of the ASA racing series, country music entertainment and a new corporate sponsor.

The moves are designed to attract and entertain an anticipated record-setting number of fans that could total nearly 300,000 for the season. But the new attractions are also part of the speedway's plan to land a spot on NASCAR's Nextel Cup circuit, the most popular series in U.S. professional auto racing.

Chairman Jerry Carroll said the speedway has never been closer to getting a Nextel race in 2005. Were it not for a lawsuit involving NASCAR and the Texas Motor Speedway over scheduling, Kentucky Speedway might already have its Nextel Cup race on the 2005 schedule.

"We know that some tracks, including those in St. Louis and Nashville, have been told they won't be getting races next year, but we're still in the running," Carroll said.

"Yet every year we have to perform and make it bigger and better than the last time," he said. "We're sitting tight, but I think something big is going to happen very soon."

NASCAR doesn't comment on its future schedule. But news reports out of North Carolina, where many Nextel Cup teams are based, suggested that NASCAR wants to bring more races to the Midwest.

"So could a place like Fort Mitchell, Ky., become the next Mooresville?" the Charlotte Observer asked in a May 1 story comparing the speedway's Kenton County headquarters to the North Carolina city that is home to a number of racing teams and businesses.

It is hard to overestimate the reach that Nextel Cup - formerly Winston Cup - racing has over professional motor sports. The races sell out and attract some of the highest television ratings in sports. Its drivers attract legions of fans and millions of dollars in corporate sponsorships.

As good as other racing series may be, many fans see Nextel Cup as the major leagues with other series - Busch, ARCA, even the Indy Racing League - as the minors.

The possibility of seeing an annual Nextel Cup race is one of the reasons restaurant owner Fritz Krimmer has been a season ticket holder since the speedway opened.

Krimmer, 38, whose family operates Italianette Pizza in Silverton, attended his first NASCAR race six years ago at Talladega Super Speedway in Alabama.

"I was hooked," said Krimmer. "When the speedway opened, our family bought six seats. We love racing, but what is really great is the whole atmosphere - the fans, the tailgating, the camping out before races. And to get a Nextel Cup race here, that would be the ultimate."

In addition to adding races, the speedway, in conjunction with state and federal officials, has taken other steps to entice a Nextel Cup race.

Three sites are being evaluated for construction of a regional airport that would cater to the private jets used by drivers, their corporate sponsors and some fans. A decision on the location could come this summer, said speedway president Mark Simendinger.

Many tracks on the Nextel Cup circuit are near small airports. Simendinger said it's not essential for the speedway to have an airport nearby, but it helps the chances of getting the big race.

The airport would cost as much as $15 million, be used by other businesses and pilots in the region and be paid for with tax dollars. If approved by the Federal Aviation Administration this summer, it could open by 2006.

The state and federal governments have also paid for new roads leading from Interstate 71 to the speedway and improved I-71 near the speedway by adding new lanes and a new interchange.

Nextel Cup driver Ricky Craven, whose Tide detergent car is sponsored by Procter & Gamble, said he is confident the speedway will eventually get a Nextel Cup race.

"They've spent the money, and they have the crowds," said Craven, in town last week promoting NASCAR: The IMAX Experience, which is running through Aug. 4 at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

"The people filling the seats like they have should serve as some testimony to the interest and enthusiasm for racing here," Craven said.

Here is a look at what fans can expect to see this racing season:

• The season opens this weekend with the American Speed Association (ASA) BF Goodrich 125 at 8 p.m today and the ARCA Re/Max Channel 5-205 at 8 p.m. Saturday. A crowd of up to 30,000 is expected Saturday. The ASA series is racing for the first time at the speedway.

• The June 19 Meijer 300 Busch Series race will feature eight of Nextel's top drivers, including Kentucky native and two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, top rookie Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Robby Gordon and Derrike Cope. Ticket sales are already 10,000 ahead of last year's pace, and a sellout of around 70,000 is expected.

• Country music concerts every racing weekend, including shows by Sherrie Austin (Saturday), Tracy Byrd (June 19), Rodney Atkins (July 10) and Blake Shelton (Aug. 15).

• A fifth weekend of racing that will stretch the season into mid-September.

• A new corporate sponsorship from Domino's Pizza, which is now "the official pizza" of the speedway.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com