By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Drivers can't seem to get enough of it, and NASCAR loves it for the impressive Busch Series sellouts.

As qualifying begins today for Saturday's Meijer 300, it's obvious Kentucky Speedway is a Busch Series giant. The speedway has a rare five-year sponsorship deal with Meijer, a track-record seven Nextel Cup drivers in the field and the second-largest purse for a standalone Busch event. And for the fourth straight year, a sellout crowd, possibly of 70,000-plus, is expected. A record 6,000-plus corporate suite tickets have been sold.

"We're preparing for standing-room-only," speedway general manager Mark Cassis said. "We haven't had this kind of need since we did the inaugural event in 2001."

The average attendance for the first three races has been 70,333, though attendance dipped to 69,366 last year. If standing-room-only tickets are necessary, they will be sold for $30 at the race Saturday, but only after all other tickets are sold out.

Despite the success of the Meijer 300 and the drivers' affinity for racing at Kentucky Speedway, track officials are not interested in scheduling additional Busch Series events for 2005 or beyond. One is enough, even if other Busch events fail to draw even half of Kentucky's 70,000 fans.

"I don't see us ever scheduling a second Busch race," Cassis said. "That doesn't accomplish what we want to accomplish here," which is a Nextel Cup date.

It is nearly impossible to find a NASCAR driver who has raced at Kentucky Speedway and left without complimenting the track and its fans. Kentucky draws more than 15,000 people above the Busch Series average attendance of 54,000, and it's an increase that drivers notice, particularly because there is no Nextel Cup event at Kentucky on the same weekend to bring in people.

Drivers also appreciate the track-record $1.29 million purse that includes a winner's check of $86,785.

"Nowhere equals what we see for crowds at this place with Busch races," said Michael Waltrip, driver of the No. 99 car. "Obviously if there's a line of people looking for a Cup date, and you would rank them by who's most important, Kentucky would be at the top of that list."

Landing that Cup date involves political maneuvering without any clear answers. That's why some drivers who enjoy racing here wonder why Kentucky doesn't try to get a second Busch date. The Speedway nearly doubles the attendance of some of the races later in the season.

"If you look at our crowd at Atlanta in the fall, versus here, I think it's a no-brainer to come back here," said Stacy Compton, who won the pole position here last year, setting a track speed record. "This track draws a better crowd."

A second Busch date at Kentucky probably would diminish the novelty of the Meijer 300, however, which is the biggest event of the year at the track.

With fans hoping for Kentucky Speedway to make the next step and secure a Nextel Cup race, adding another Busch race might even be seen as a move backward. Speedway officials don't want to split fans' attention to the Busch Series with two different events.

"(Drivers) go to a lot of tracks that don't get big crowds," Cassis said. "I'm glad they love it, because we like having them. But I don't think that's going to satisfy our fans. It won't generate the revenue we need."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com