Superspeedway at LVMS |
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| Location | Clark County, near North Las Vegas, Nevada |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 142,000 |
| Owner | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Address | Las Vegas Motor Speedway 7000 Las Vegas Blvd. N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89115 |
| Opened | 1971 |
| Major events | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Nationwide Series Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Smith's 350 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals Big O Tires NHRA Nationals |
| Tri-Oval Superspeedway | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.5 mi (2.41 km) |
| Banking | Turns – 20° |
| Lap record | 226.491 MPH (Arie Luyendyk, Treadway Racing, 1996, IZOD IndyCar Series) |
| The Bullring Oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.375 mi (0.604 km) |
| Dirt track | |
| Surface | Clay |
| Length | 0.5 mi (0.8 km) |
| Drag strip "The Strip at LVMS" | |
| Surface | 1/4-mile asphalt |
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada near Las Vegas, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Following the closure of Stardust International Raceway at the end of 1970, plans were developed for a new drag strip north of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Speedrome. It consisted of a road course and drag strip. Through changes of ownership, a 3/8 mile short track would by the end of the 1970s become part of the complex. In 1995, refurbishment of the tracks, including a new $72 million superspeedway, opened in September 1996. The first race at the speedway was on September 15, 1996, with an Indy Racing League event, which was won by Richie Hearn. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup (then Winston Cup) event was held March 1, 1998 with Mark Martin winning the inaugural event. In December of 1998, Speedway Motorsports purchased Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Veteran motorsports publicist Chris Powell was named the speedway's president and general manager and still holds that position today.
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. The drag strip was rebuilt and relocated into the current The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 3/8 mile oval was rebuilt with a new pit lane and start-finish changed to the opposite side. During 1998, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was sold by Richie Clyne and Ralph Englestad to Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which was owned by Bruton Smith, for $215 million dollars in December. During the 2004 and 2005 race seasons, Champ Car also held races at the speedway, which were both won by Sébastien Bourdais.
In 2006, plans were announced to reconfigure the track after the March 2006 Sprint Cup Series race. This reconfiguration entailed "progressive banking" which increases the degree of banking on a gradient towards the outside of the track. This increased side-by-side racing. The speedway also constructed a fan zone called The Neon Garage. This area has live entertainment, unprecedented access to the drivers and teams, such as viewing areas for fans to watch their favorite driver's car get worked on and talk to the drivers, and is home to the Winner's Circle. The speedway moved pit road 275 feet (84 m) closer to the grandstands, built a new media center and added a quarter-mile oval for Legends Cars, Bandoleros, and Thunder roadsters, in the tri-oval area.
On August 8, 2006, the newly reconfigured track reopened to stock cars. Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and Las Vegas native, became the first Sprint Cup driver to test a stock car on the newly reconfigured track in his #2 Miller Lite Penske Dodge. Jeff Burton won the first Nationwide Series race on the new surface, taking a Monte Carlo SS to Victory Lane. The following day Jimmie Johnson drove a Chevrolet to Victory Lane, capturing the first Sprint Cup Series win on the new pavement.
In March 2011, Insomniac Events announced that the Electric Daisy Carnival would take place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway June 24-26. More than 250,000 people attended the three-day event and plans are already being made for the EDC (largest rave) to return to LVMS for many years. The 2012 event will be held June 8-10.
Track reconfiguration in 2006 increased the banking in the turns. Subsequent testing before the 2007 season showed significantly higher speeds, with Sprint Cup Series drivers recording unofficial laps at better than 185 mph (298 km/h).
(As of 3/7/11)
| Most Wins | 4 | Jimmie Johnson |
| Most Top 5s | 6 | Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin |
| Most Top 10s | 10 | Mark Martin |
| Starts | 14 | 4 Drivers |
| Poles | 2 | 4 Drivers |
| Most Laps Completed | 3,560 | Jeff Burton |
| Most Laps Led | 485 | Jeff Gordon |
| Avg. Start* | 5.2 | Kurt Busch |
| Avg. Finish* | 10.6 | Jimmie Johnson |
* from minimum 5 starts.