There is nothing quite like opening day. The grass is green, the lines are straight, everyone is healthy and in first place. Even though racing is a bit different, there is still a similarity to the stick and ball sports.
For Kentucky Speedway and then-owner Jerry Carroll, they were in first place and healthy. The track was magnificent upon my first glance. I remember walking in thinking, "I can see the entire track from any seat."
The mile and half super speedway is nestled in the river hills of 'southwest' northern Kentucky, in between the cities of Cincinnati and Louisville, and due southeast of Lexington. For me, it was only one hour and fifteen minutes away from my home on Windward. I had never lived so close to a speedway of major racing before. Indy was 3 1/2 hours away, Bristol was 4 1/2 hours, and Michigan was 6 hours up I-75. It was nice to have a track that I could wake up the morning of the race, drive to the track, and make it home in time to enjoy a good sleep in my own bed.
I loved the wide open spaces at Kentucky Speedway. The track is 70 feet wide with plenty of room to race. Comparatively, Daytona is 40 feet wide and Kansas Speedway is 55 feet wide.
My dad and I get up to the track and the Trucks were practicing, blistering pace because no one knew how fast the track would be.
The trucks wouldn't race until Saturday so to fill the void, the Nascar Goody's Dash Series series raced. The guy that won the race had the victory taken away later that night because he was cheating with an unapproved motor.
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Glad you got to see the track as most of us were sitting on the highway after they shut down the exit.
ReplyDeleteDon't give me the "you didn't leave early enough" line. It takes 45 minutes from Cincinnati and we left at 4 pm for an 8 pm race...
Adam, my sentiments for being apart of one of the black eyes the speedway endured the first weekend. I think you left with plenty of time. My father and I caught a huge break when we discovered a 'back way in' that no longer exists. We parked on high ground to avoid getting stuck.
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