Track Owner on NASCAR’s Potential Return to Kentucky: “It Could Happen”

What’s Happening?

Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith recently discussed Kentucky Speedway’s future in the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, comparing a revival to that of North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Since the introduction of NASCAR’s Generation Seven car in 2022, NASCAR fans have reinvigorated their love for 1.5-mile racing. The quality of racing on these tracks has led to grassroots campaigns for two 1.5-mile ovals recently removed from the schedule to be readmitted.

These two tracks are Chicagoland Speedway, removed after the 2019 season and rumored to be in consideration for a revival in 2026, and Kentucky Speedway, removed after the 2020 season. Each of these tracks were removed for similar reasons, yet have their group of fans supporting their return.

But, their futures are not directly tied to one another, as they are owned by different entities, with NASCAR owning Chicagoland and Speedway Motorsports owning Kentucky.

During a recent interview, FOX Sports’ Kevin Harvick, a two-time Xfinity Series winner at the track, asked Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith whether he thought the track could be revived. Smith said that he believes “it could happen” and compared the track to North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“I think Kentucky has as much of a shot as North Wilkesboro,” Smith said. North Wilkesboro, a North Carolina short track once left abandoned by SMI and NASCAR, was renovated in the early 2020s following a grassroots campaign helmed by Dale Earnhardt Jr and passionate race fans.

Though the track was entirely overgrown and disheveled, Smith and his team helped revitalize North Wilkesboro, something he says could happen with Kentucky or any other former race track. “It’s happened. So it could happen to
Kentucky, it could happen anywhere.”

Should Kentucky Return to NASCAR?

Kentucky Speedway, much like Chicagoland, was built during a nationwide boom in stock car racing interest in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

While few of the tracks built across the country during that period achieved their lofty goals, Kentucky was one of a handful to actually work its way to a NASCAR Cup Series event in 2011 after hosting the Truck and Xfinity Series since 2000 and 2001, respectively.

While that race, the first Cup Series race in Kentucky since 1954, had some issues, mostly related to infrastructure, it was mostly a success. Yet, the track’s attendance and racing quality slowly dwindled in the late 2010s, much like Chicagoland.

NASCAR did not return after the 2020 season, and aside from a video posted to YouTube earlier this week, little reference material exists about the track’s current physical state.

While that video infers that Kentucky is in no worse shape than Chicagoland was in a recent video posted by NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar, that may not be the main detraction from re-adding Kentucky back to the schedule.

Despite the fact that Chicagoland has support based on its racing style, its location in the midwestern market is a plus for NASCAR. While Kentucky does not host a NASCAR Cup Series race, it is close to Virginia and Indiana, both states with multiple tracks hosting NASCAR National Series races.

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