“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That is a very true and very real cliche when it came to the Kentucky Speedway.
Last year, despite great racing on the track, the real story was outside the facility. The traffic backup leading into the speedway, combined with the fact that they ran out of parking, angered many fans, and frustrated track owners. fans who missed part or all of the race were given the option of a free renewal for the following year or an exchange for another SMI track. At the same time, track owners began the process of working to greatly improve the next year’s experience in parking and arriving.
The plan did work, as there were extremely limited traffic issues, if any, and fans were happy. Only problem is, sometimes fans cannot forgive what happened.
The crowd at Saturday night’s race was good, but you could see that there were some empty areas in the grandstands. Some fans were still upset about the experience last season, and unfortunately it hurt the attendance.
Any track that gets the opportunity to host an inaugural event wants it to go right, and want everyone that spends their hard-earned money to attend to enjoy the experience. For Kentucky, that opportunity went wrong, and can’t be undone. NASCAR has made some bad decisions in it’s time, and has learned from them. Kentucky learned from last season and made great strides to improve the experience for fans this season.
Sadly, many opted to not to make the journey to the Kentucky Speedway this year, and that really hurt the attendance at the track.
Down the road, maybe the fans of Kentucky will forgive for the disaster that occurred in 2011, but at this point its unclear. The racing at Kentucky was great, with the bumps and surface being much different than the two oval tracks previously raced at, which were both repaved. Kentucky has great character, and that makes for great racing.
But, how can you enjoy great racing when you can’t even make it to the track? Chances are if a fan can’t make it to the first race at a new facility, they won’t be back for the next.
RESULTS: 1-Keselowski 2-Kahne 3-Hamlin 4-Earnhardt Jr. 5-Gordon 6-Johnson 7-Kenseth 8-Truex Jr. 9-Allmendinger 10-Kyle Busch
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Harvick 20-Edwards 32-Stewart
CAUTIONS: 4 for 24 laps. Lap 43-47 (#23 stopped on track), 126-129 (Debris-FS), 150-154 (#36 spin-T4), 210-219 (#39, 78 accident-T2).
LEAD CHANGES: 17 among 6 drivers. Johnson POLE, Kyle Busch 1-33, Keselowski 34-43, Kyle Busch 44, Kvapil 45, Kyle Busch 46-96, Johnson 97-98, Kyle Busch 99-129, Hamlin 130-149, Johnson 150, Mears 151, Hamlin 152-187, Johnson 188-203, Hamlin 204-205, Keselowski 206-207, Kyle Busch 208-209, Johnson 210-211, Keselowski 212-267.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 45 Mins, 2 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 145.607 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 4.399 Seconds
POINT STANDINGS: 1. Kenseth, 633 points; 2. Earnhardt Jr, -11; 3. Johnson, -23; 4. Biffle, -25; 5. Hamlin, -68; 6. Harvick, -68; 7. Bowyer, -76; 8. Truex Jr, -77; 9. Stewart, -88, 10. Keselowski, -96; 11. Edwards, -130; 12. Kyle Busch, -138