Kansas Speedway: Racing in the Heartland
RACE:
#29 10/4/2009 Price Chopper 400 1:00 p.m. ABC
On August 6th, 1997 Kansas City, Kansas was chosen as the site of the Kansas Speedway. International Speedway Corporation had been looking into building a track in this region since 1996. Construction of the track began in 1999 after bonds were sold to finance this project. Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte and Ken Shrader were at the Construction Celebration for the speedway located at the intersections of Interstates 70 and 435. Tickets for the 2001 racing season went on sale in August 2000 and in a week nearly 80 percent of the tickets were sold. Construction was finished in 2001 and the inaugural race was held on September 29, 2001, which was won by Jeff Gordon. There are really no bad seats in the house since the Kansas Speedway is built into a 'bowl' with the concession stands and restrooms at street level. Basically half the seats are below the concession stand level and half the seats are above. If you are planning on watching a race here, advice is to get there early on race day. There are many hotels close by and there is also camping near the track. Some of these accommodations even offer a shuttle bus to the track. Campers are allowed but tents are not. You are allowed to park for free at the Kansas Speedway but overnight parking is not allowed in the parking lots. All the lots open at 6 a.m. but the grandstand does not open until 8 a.m.
Race DetailsDue to the fact that the Kansas speedway is relatively young, it hasn’t established itself yet. The capacity of this speedway is about 82,000. It may not be quite as big as some of the other speedways but it is well on its way to becoming one of the best. There are great views of the track and the concessions are super.
Recent Kansas 400 Winners2009 Tony Stewart2008 Jimmie Johnson 2007 Greg Biffle 2006 Tony Stewart 2005 Mark Martin If you are a dedicated race fan now is your time to buy tickets before they are sold out. The excitement of the race is something you cannot describe. The racing engines will vibrate your seat. The roar of the crowds, the announcer saying “Gentlemen, start your engines”, the smell of rubber and engine exhaust all combine to make your race day an experience that you can’t wait to repeat. One of the more memorable finishes at the Kansas Speedway happened at the Banquet 400 on October 1, 2006. The leader
Tony Stewart
took his car out of gear 1 mile before the end of the race and just coasted around the speedway.....Did he just give up?...Was he that confident?....Did he just not care?.....No! he was out of gas! But he WON anyway!....by 12 seconds! Stewart was not involved in the Chase for the Cup therefore he was not in contention for the championship so he could gamble for the win on fuel mileage and he did. The drivers in the chase had to use a more conservative strategy and make pit stops for fuel rather than hurt their chances for the championship by running out of gas. But
Jimmie Johnson,
who led the most laps and should have won the race, stopped for gas and was also penalized for speeding in pits and finished 18th. As it turned out it did not hurt his championship chances. He went on to win the title in 2006.
Track DetailsThe Kansas Speedway is 1.5 miles around. The shape of the track can be described as a sort of a D shaped oval. It has 15 degrees of banking in the turns, 10 degrees of banking on the front stretch, and 5 degrees on the back stretch. The speedway’s capacity of 82,000 people will expand to 150,000 with completion of another phase of development. Luxury suites are available but are on a first come first serve basis.The Kansas Speedway is one of the more modern up to date facilities. If you are a race fan, this is where you want to go to watch your next race. Nothing compares to the sights and sounds of race day.
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