Associated Press
FRANKFORT, Ky. ó Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Bruton Smith plans to spend upward of $70 million to help Kentucky Speedway land a lucrative NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
The Kentucky state legislature is ready to help offset some of the cost, if Smith can finally end the track’s decade-long pursuit of a date on the crowded Cup calendar.
Lawmakers are working on an amendment to the Kentucky Tourism Development Act that would allow SMI to recoup 25 percent of the expansion costs over a 20-year period through sales tax revenue.
The proposal comes with a caveat: no Cup race, no tax break.
It’s a deal Smith can live with, mainly because he’s planning on having a Cup date at the 1.5-mile tri-oval located halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati in 2010.
Smith said it’s “extremely” likely the track, which SMI purchased last fall, would have a Cup race next year. Landing a date could produce up to $200 million in economic impact in the area.