Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Location Las Vegas, Nevada
Track length 1.5 miles (2.41 kilometres)
Track shape D-shaped Oval
Banking Turns - 20°
Major events NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Capacity 156,000
Address 7000 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Las Vegas, Nevada 89115
Owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located at 7000 Las Vegas Boulevard North in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a 1,200 acre (4.9 km²) complex of four different tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is a company located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The complex is home to several race teams. Currently, March, 2005, the track is open two nights a week for locals to drag race. This is an effort to get this activity off of local streets and into a safer environment.

The track is used by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as their driver training facility.

Contents

[edit] History

The Indy Racing League ran at the track from 1996 and 2000.

The speedway has often been referred to as "The Blue Oval" since the races have been dominated by Ford drivers in the NEXTEL Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson (3), Jeff Gordon (1), and Sterling Marlin (1) are the only drivers who have won at the track in the Cup Series not driving a Ford.

The speedway has also been known as "The House Of Roush" because nearly all of his drivers have had success at the track including Matt Kenseth (2), Mark Martin (1), and Jeff Burton (2).

The Winston No Bull 5 Million Dollar Bonus was held at the track from 1999 to 2002. Jeff Burton won a million dollars in 2000 and Jeff Gordon won the bonus in 2001. Burton in 1999 and Sterling Marlin in 2002 were not eligible.

Champ Car held two races at the speedway in 2004 and 2005.

In 2006, plans were announced to reconfigure the track after the March 2006 NEXTEL Cup Series Race. This reconfiguration will entail "progressive banking" which increases in angling the further up the track you are located. This is expected to increase side-by-side racing, and the construction of a new fan zone nicknamed "The Neon Garage" after the use of neon in the signs at the city's hotels and casinos, along with a new pit road that brings the action on said row closer to the fans and which also incorporates a standard SMI trademark, a half-mile oval named "The Bull Ring" which will be used for Legends races.

As of August 8, 2006 the newly reconfigured track reopened to stock cars. 2004 NEXTEL Cup Champion and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch, who drives the #2 Miller Lite Penske Dodge Charger, became the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver to test a stock car on the newly reconfigured track.

[edit] Current Events

The 1.5 mile (2.4 km) oval hosts:

The quarter-mile (400 m) dirt oval hosts:

  • other dirt-racing events

The quarter-mile (400 m) drag strip hosts:

  • Two NHRA events every year

[edit] Records

Track reconfiguration in 2006 increased the bank angles in the turns. Subsequent testing before the 2007 season showed significantly higher speeds, with NEXTEL Cup drivers recording unofficial laps at better than 185 mph.

  • NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Qualifying: Kasey Kahne, 29.212 sec. (184.856 mph), 2007
  • NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Race: Mark Martin, 2 hrs. 43 min. 58 sec. (146.554 mph), 1998
  • NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: Mike Bliss, 31.535 sec. (171.238 mph), 2004
  • NASCAR Busch Series Race: Jeff Burton, 2 hrs. 13 min. 13 sec. (135.118 mph), 2000
  • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: Mike Skinner, 30.326 sec. (178.065 mph), 2006
  • NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race: David Starr, 1 hr. 37 min. 3 sec. (135.394 mph), 2002

[edit] Tracks

  • The Bullring (a 0.5 mile (800 m) paved oval
  • Dirt Track 0.5 mile (800 m) clay oval
  • The Strip (a drag strip)
  • Superspeedway 1.5 mile (2.414 km) oval

[edit] Racing Schools

  • 600 Racing Driving Schools[1]
  • The Derek Daly Academy[2]
  • Drivers Edge[3]
  • Mario Andretti Racing School[4]
  • Richard Petty Driving Experience[5]
  • Freddie Spencer's High Performance Riding School[6]

[edit] External links


Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racetracks

Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Martinsville - Miami - Pocono - Phoenix - Richmond - Sonoma, California - Talladega - Watkins Glen


Current NASCAR Busch Series racetracks
Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Martinsville (1982–1994, 2006), Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal (2007), Nashville, Phoenix, Richmond, Sparta, Kentucky, Talladega, Watkins Glen
Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks

Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky


Tracks of the Champ Car World Series
Current Tracks (2007)

Assen • Cleveland • Edmonton • Houston • Las Vegas • Long Beach • Mexico City • Mont-Tremblant • Phoenix • Portland • Road America • San Jose • Surfers Paradise • Toronto • Zhuhai • Zolder

Former Tracks (Ovals)
Atlanta • California • Chicago • Gateway • Homestead • Indianapolis • Las Vegas • Loudon • Michigan • Milwaukee • Nazareth • Ontario • Phoenix • Pocono • Sanair • Texas • Texas World • Trenton

Former Tracks (Road Courses)
Belle Isle • Denver • Detroit • Laguna Seca • Las Vegas • Meadowlands • Mid-Ohio • Montreal • Riverside • St. Pete • Tamiami Park • Vancouver • Watkins Glen

Former Tracks (International)
Brands Hatch • EuroSpeedway • Monterrey • Motegi • Rio • Rockingham
Tracks of the Indy Racing League
Ovals
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Chicagoland • Homestead • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Motegi • Nashville • Richmond • Texas

Road/Street Courses
Detroit • Infineon • Mid-Ohio • St. Pete • Watkins Glen

Former Tracks
Atlanta • California • Charlotte • Dover • Gateway • Las Vegas • Loudon • Nazareth • Phoenix • Pikes Peak • Walt Disney World
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