NASCAR Fans Hold On to Hopes of Forgotten Track’s Return After Promising Rumors

Over the past few years, NASCAR has undertaken an archeological mission. In unison with Speedway Motorsports, the sanctioning body has been reviving tracks from the dead. For instance, Tim Flock attained victory at a Grand National Race in Road America in 1956. However, the Cup Series did not return until 2021, as the track was solely dedicated to Xfinity. Now, one of the prime examples is the North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Having hosted its last race in 1996, the track got buried under weeds and rust. But last year, SMI reopened the track for the All-Star Race after some dedicated hard work. The same fortune could grace some more abandoned tracks, and the NASCAR community is thrilled.

North Texas track may return to NASCAR schedule

Kentucky Speedway first entered the NASCAR scene in 2000. But the Cup Series debuted there in 2011, with Kyle Busch winning the Quaker State 400. Then fast forward to 2020, Cole Custer clinched a win, and simultaneously NASCAR pulled the plug. The main reason was low attendance and poor profits, which unfortunately would trump fan popularity at any race track.

However, last year, new developments whipped up hopes for the track’s revival. The Kentucky sports betting bill signed in March allowed nine horse riding tracks and the race track to hold three sportsbooks on their licenses. It meant that as many as 30 online bookmakers could make various offerings by year-end. This reduces NASCAR’s pecuniary concerns significantly.

Then Rusty Wallace’s Racing Experience announced their September event at Kentucky Speedway, which offered fans the chance to race around the track themselves. Gearheads flooded social media with wishes for the 1.5-mile track to come back.

Earlier this month, 54-time Cup winner Denny Hamlin also crossed his fingers for the track’s revival. Besides putting Chicagoland above the Charlotte Roval, he emphasized Kentucky’s facilities, which include a pylon. “I mean there’s — Kentucky’s still out there.” He added that revamp work is needed on the track. “I don’t know that you know, Kentucky is definitely not top-notch, when it comes to facilities there. It needs, it would need some major work.”

Echoing Hamlin’s views, the NASCAR fan community recently flocked to Reddit to trumpet similar opinions. They also called for a Kentucky comeback after significant rework.

NASCAR fans generate hype around Kentucky again

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While the Cup Series left Kentucky in 2020, the rest of NASCAR’s racing series followed suit by 2022. That was the year the Next Gen car was rolled out with specific requirements. It does not work well on short tracks, contrary to intermediate ones. Hence Kentucky has a good chance for this car to run well, but even then it needs a bit of rehashing.

One fan pointed out some intricate points of construction work that NASCAR needs to do. But work seems to be in progress already. “All of Kentucky’s vehicles and extra safer barrier have been returned from Nashville. All they need to do is freshen up some of the facilities and move all the vehicles. Track itself is ready to go other than a gigantic bump on pit road.” Another fan chimed in with their own suggestion: “Add some banking to it and I’d be for it .”

However, the technical speculations aside, some fans are whipping up rumors regarding the track’s comeback. One fan started the discussion about SMI’s repaving plans moving from NWS: “word around SMI is that Kentucky will be back sooner than you think.” Then another fan added fuel to this rumor, again linking it to Nashville. “Collectively I’ve heard that Marcus wants to look at Kentucky again if he could get Nashville Fairgrounds deal settled. Any truth to that?”

One track already on the path to recovery is Rockingham Speedway. Matt Kenseth won the last race held there in 2004. One fan linked this track’s revival timeline to set a date for Kentucky’s return. “If Rockingham is back alive, somehow. Then Chicagoland and Kentucky will be back soon enough.”

The Kentucky rumors are evidently thrilling NASCAR fans, although proper substantiation of them is still awaited.