Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Nate Ryan

On Sunday 10th July 2011, @nateryan said:

Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic: General Manager Mark Simendinger says, "We’ve had an overwhelming response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Quaker State400.” We know we had challenges related to traffic. We’re already planning improvements and looking forward to a much better situation for next year’s event."

They turned ticket holders away because of no parking.

RT@jim_utter Jim Utter
by pressdog
Ky. Senate Pres. David Williams never made it to @KySpeedway due to traffic. Left Frankfort at 2 p.m. Frankfort is 45 min. away. #NASCAR

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

I hope the traffic mess has cleared before I drive past there tomorrow afternoon on the way to Lawrenceburg. :2: There may be people still trying to get out of that place at daylight. :3:

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

I don't know nothin about nothin,,,but when they showed the track and parking area's from the helicopter view there was a whole lot of grass visible . They should have parked the cars a hole lot tighter. All of the news shows and radio programs was telling people to get there early...It's a shame they had a bad experience...hopefully its better next year.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

on the way home WLW700 was talking about it, said 3-6 hours getting in only to be turned away with no choice, now looking like up to 6 hours to get out.... went once for a Busch race and when they said they were adding a Cup race PLUS adding 50,000 seats I knew this would be a must miss event, was a mess getting out of a Busch race......... think I'll hit the IndyCar race if I can find someone wants to go...lol

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

This place was a nightmare from day one from parking to camping plus the crazy rules. I remember one race they advertised parking lots open @ 8:00 am but won't let you park until 9:00 AM and gates to open @ 10:00 AM but won't let you in until 11:00 AM one of many reasons I didn't renew my season tickets after 3 years. This is the only place that called me when I didn't renew my tickets asking why. I am sure Bruton Smith will make sure everything will be in order next year pertaining to parking and traffic problems and make good on the fans that didn't get in the track to see the race yesterday. All those fans that were sitting in traffic I know your pain as I have been there but no more for me.

REH

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

At the IndyCar race two years ago we were stuck in the infield for 2 1/2 hours, a delightful experience, ;) There's no way I'm ever parking in the infield for this year's race, I'd rather park two miles away and walk.

I feel bad for those who had tickets for last night's race and could not get in, that had to be absolutely frustrating.

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I figured this would be bad. Historically we always had a problem there. A Cup race and over 107,000 is like bad on steroids.

I passed.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

My so left indy at noon, should have took 3 hours to get there, got in thir seats at lap 170, he is to say the least P....d

Eric Cottongim

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Whoa, what a mess. I remember back in the late 1990's at Michigan for the June Cup race we had some people who got to their seats next to us with about 27 laps to go due to traffic problems. There must have been 20,000 people who missed the green flag and it wasn't for heading for the track too late. The people next to us said they had left Rochester, MI at before 6 AM. You talk about some PO'd people. Yikes!!

Bruton's boy's got some splainin' to do in this latest fiasco. Turning ticket holders away because of insufficient parking makes the July 3rd fiasco at THAT look like a minor misjudgement. If they don't more than make it right with the folks who were turned away there will likely be legal repercussions I reckon.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

they have had way to many years to get this place ready for sprint cup race.i sat in traffic for 3 hours to just go 3 miles!parked my car on the side of the road and walked another 3 miles to get to the race track.walking on the main road into race track,i could see alot of EMPTY parking places that they could have parked alot more cars and 4 dollors for a bottle of HOT water.i will never ever go back to that place again!!some people did not even get to see the race.i fill very sorry for those people the most.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Hey Rickey there was a real race at Waynesfeild last night, you should have went there instead LOL:5:

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Ugh when are people going to learn to quit wasting their money on big league racing and discover dirt track racing? It's gotta cost around three times that of a sprint race to attend a NASCAR event. Hope some of those people go to The Burg tonight.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

[QUOTE=petey;239924]Ugh when are people going to learn to quit wasting their money on big league racing and discover dirt track racing? It's gotta cost around three times that of a sprint race to attend a NASCAR event. Hope some of those people go to The Burg tonight.[/QUOTE

Can you imagine some poor truck driver or a family on vacation being stuck in that mess for hours. :13:

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/je...-now-kentucky/

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic: General Manager Mark Simendinger says, "We’ve had an overwhelming response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Quaker State400.” We know we had challenges related to traffic. We’re already planning improvements and looking forward to a much better situation for next year’s event."

Well, there you have it. Just a little speedbump to massage a bit so next year can be all sorts of enjoyable. I think the moral here is what Bruton Smith wants, he gets, whether he deserves it or not. They've been yapping for years about wanting this event, and Now they're realizing the shortcomings? Here comes the tax hikes in the state of Kentucky to build a revised road and access system...all to keep an event which I've yet to hear one person declare to be anything other than an artistic abomination.

For this they cleared a date away from Darlington?

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Getting through the traffic would have been worth it if the racing was good.....the race sucked!

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Sure it did...It was a NASCAR race......KOKOMO on the other hand last night was GREAT...

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I really miss Rockingham. Atlanta is down to one date now too.

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That's why I skip NAPCAR Races altogether, 3 hrs getting out of MIS & Charlotte was a little longer. Only short track I've had trouble w/ was Berlin but didn't take no where near as long as the others:7::7:

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

You have to realize a lot of those people were "event goers" and not real race fans.

REH

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I am not sure I want these napcar fans at a sprint race cuz they wanta stand up all night and with my luck they will be in front of me :8:

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Jim George I am not sure if you are aware of this but there is a strange affliction that most nascar fans suffer from. For some reason their eyes do not work unless they are standing. Doctors have not been able to figure out what causes this.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Saw a friend of mine last night at the Burg. He went to the race at Kentucky and said " I bet you got home from Kokomo before I got home." He was right...I was in Milford at 2:15 a.m. and he got home from Kentucky (normally a hour drive) at 4:00 a.m.!!!!

Tim Wolffrum aka Cowboy

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Medical update! A recent USC (University of South Charlotte) study has determined that many (I said many, not all) NASCAR fans, when seated, put a great deal of pressure on their brains since the are located in their butts. That is what keeps the optical nerves from working while they are sitting down.
There is no known cure.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Kentucky speedway looked like woodstock 1969

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i was in that mess at mich. and had purchased tics with credit card and got reimbursed.

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I had tickets for the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway. I believe the year was 2000 and it was a NASCAR truck race. This date was previously held by Louisville Motor Speedway and they took it away and that track closed.:7: Same story about NASCRAP that they paint this beautiful picture but the racing???? is poor at best.

We sat in traffic for over 4 hours within a mile of the exit to the speedway. I remember listening to the start of the race on radio and ole DW bragging that the place was full with no empty seats. I begged to differ with him since at least a third of them were empty and the fans were sitting on Interstate 71 waiting to get in.

A guy next to me pulled his bbq grill out of the back of his pick up truck and we all ate burgers and dogs. They said that traffic was backed up for over 25 miles and finally the Governor of Kentucky flew over in his helicopter and told the state police to shut down that exit (I thought it already was:15:) and move the traffic on. About 200 fans used the median of I-71 as a restroom that afternoon.:3: Apparently the same old ****hole today.

A fiasco from day one and they still don't have it figured out. How many times will this happen before someone pulls the plug on this joint? I haven't been back since and don't ever plan on attending a race there. I also mark on my calendar when they do race at Kentucky Speedway so I avoid that area if I happen to be traveling.

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You've got your USAC colored glasses on again. Why would they pull the plug on it? They sold the place out. They made millions of dollars. The local businesses made huge dollars. I can guarantee you they want the race to stay. They have some issues that need to be corrected but to suggest they pull the plug is laughable. An earlier poster made the statement that the traffic issues made the USAC fiasco at Terre Haute look like a "minor misjudgement". That is even a more laughable. At least NASCAR ran their race. There is absolutely no excuse for what USAC pulled at Terre Haute.

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Wow! A negative response from Mr. Ford?:2: Whats next? Perhaps you should contact Kentucky Speedway and get your tickets for next years race ordered right away. I am sure they will be sold out again and with all of the money Bruton Smith made, he will have the traffic and parking problems solved in short order. A PR nightmare like this will surely help with ticket sales for future events there.

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I guess I see now. My post was negative but yours was not.

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No, I will own up to mine being extremly negative. I remember sitting in traffic for four plus hours on a very hot and humid day and not being able to see a race. Also, a number of people that went to this years race that I have talked to AND made it in said they wouldn't go back again. Not only was it difficult to get in and park but the traffic getting out was worse. Over six hours to clear the parking lots!

My point is that with all of the previous traffic/parking issues how could they think that adding more seats without doing anything to improve on more roads for traffic flow and additional parking could they have anything but a fiasco? It doesn't take very long to add a bunch of seats since the track ownership is providing the money to erect them.

They needed to sit down with local and state officials and get some much needed infrastructure improvements in place before they even attempted to stage an event of this magnitude. With the economic situation the way it is, it will be extremely difficult to get money appropriated for the needed changes much less get them completed in time for a race a year from now.

The location of the track also presents problems since the Ohio River is in close proximity and you don't just build a couple of bridges over it to solve a problem either.

In looking at it your way it was a huge success. They sold out and the track and local businesses made millions. I am sure that they want this race to stay. Who wouldn't?

With all of that being said, how long do you think that will last if nothing changes? How many fans will return for another round of this type of treatment?

Did you attend this race by any chance Russ? If so, what were your thoughts on it? How would you fix it?

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic: General Manager Mark Simendinger says, "We’ve had an overwhelming response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Quaker State400.” We know we had challenges related to traffic. We’re already planning improvements and looking forward to a much better situation for next year’s event."

Disingenuous spin makes me retch. The above response will keep me from ever going to a Nascar race, especially a Bruton Smith place.

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Fans, or lack of fans, will determine if Bruton and Co. keep this race date.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

No, I did not attend. I have only been to two NASCAR races in my life, both at IMS. NASCAR is not my favorite type of racing but I have nothing against it like alot of the people on here seem to. If I'm home and it's on, I'll watch it. I'm a big Dave Blaney fan so I try to keep up with how he is doing. I do actually admire how NASCAR has went from pretty much a regional stock car series to the most powerful organization in motorsports. I don't understand the actual hate that some on here seem to have for NASCAR and it's fans. I mean, as much as sprint car racing needs new fans that makes absolutely no sense. I couldn't begin to count how many times I've read on here that they don't want any NASCAR fans at their track or sitting anywhere close to them. Some seem to think just because they like sprint cars they are smarter, better fans than someone who likes stock cars. As far as the problems they had at Kentucky, I wouldn't have any idea how to fix things. I do know those people down there fought long and hard for that date and I think they'll do everything possible to fix it. A lot of people around there have quite a bit riding on that race being a success.

Re: Kentucky Speedway statement on traffic
 

Russ,

I agree that NASCAR and Bruton Smith along with his organization has a lot riding on this. The previous owner, Jerry Carroll spent a bunch of money trying to lure a Sprint Cup race to Kentucky Speedway. When that wasn't going to happen, he sold it to Bruton Smith and they in turn took a date from Atlanta and moved it to Kentucky.

I have lost some interest in NASCAR over the past 20 years or so but I still attend two weekends each year. In my opinion, the racing isn't nearly as good but NASCAR has done a tremendous job in marketing their series as "entertainment events" that most other forms of motorsports could learn a lot from. I also feel NASCAR took a big hit when Bill France passed away. He was the leader that took them from that regional series into the national spotlight.

I am sure that they can fix the issues that are plaguing them. However, it will take time to do this and I personally don't see that getting done for a number of years. The state of Kentucky as well as local government agencies will have to step up and provide infrastructure improvements in order to accomplish much of this. Kentucky is a lot like other states in that they don't have money laying around to just throw at a project like this.

I also don't dislike their fans but I really don't understand why they have to stand up to watch the race? Different tracks also play out differently. We still go to Bristol and Talladega and at Bristol the fans sit down most of the time. At Talladega, they may as well take the seats out.:3:

I enjoy almost all types of auto racing while most on this board are pretty die hard open wheel fans. I still think we can coexist and maybe even learn something from other forms of racing.