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Kansas Speedway
In October 1996, International Speedway Corporation began to explore the possibility of building a new speedway in the Midwest section of the United States. In January 1997, Kansas City was chosen as having the most potential for such a project. After much consideration, Wyandotte County in Kansas City, Kansas was chosen in August 1997 as the site for the new speedway. In January 1998, financing was approved for the construction of this brand new 1.5 mile tri-oval with 75,000 seats. In May, construction began with the attendance of several NASCAR officials, along with well known drivers Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Ken Schrader.
In July 1999, interest in the new Kansas Speedway had grown so much that every luxury suite was sold out. Therefore, the International Speedway Corporation approved funding for the addition of 36 suites. In May 2000, NASCAR and the IRL announce plans to bring their competitors to the new facility during it's inaugural racing season in 2001. NASCAR Winston Cup, now known as Nextel Cup, and the Busch Grand National Series planned a September 2001 weekend for their competitions. In August 2000, NASCAR announced its plan to bring the Craftsman Truck series to the Kansas Speedway in July 2001.
In September 2000, paving got underway for the new speedway. By the spring of 2001, construction was complete. In June 2001, Kansas Speedway held it's official opening with ARCA and NASCAR Winston West events. Located just 15 miles from downtown Kansas City, Kansas Speedway is conveniently located just off of I-435 and I-70. It offers 15 degree banking in the turns, 10.4 degrees on the front stretch and 5 degrees in the back stretch. The facility can accommodate 82,000 fans, but will expand it's capacity to 150,000 upon completion of it's final development phase.
There's no doubt that any race weekend is a fun event for everyone. During a typical race weekend at Kansas Speedway, fans consume 14,504 hot dogs. But, that's not all - approximately 25,000 hamburgers are enjoyed, along with 31,600 gallons of soda. As for French fries, 23,200 orders are taken. Interested in another fun fact? Kansas Speedway's tri-oval racetrack equals the size of eight football fields.
Each year, Midwesterners look forward to the arrival of the NASCAR series and all of the excitement that comes along with it. Race day can easily be spent souvenir shopping, snapping photos and listening to your favorite driver talk to his spotter on the scanner. Modern restroom facilities, quality food concessions and plenty of excitement are just a few of the amenities offered at Kansas Speedway.
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