Going to Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway has all the makings to be a premier facility on the circuit. Though build-out is years away, the 70,000-plus seats lead me to believe that the facility will grow in both quality and size.

We went to the Craftsman Truck Series and IRL weekend, and though it was extremely hot, we had a good time at the track.

Traffic in and out is not bad at all, thanks to the track's location near some major arteries north of Kansas City. Parking is also little problem. The track has parking for the 150,000 fans it expects for future races, so the 70,000 with tickets now have a large selection of places to stash their vehicles. Even so, we go to the track three to four hours before the race, so we don't have to park so far away. Late-comers might find themselves parking a mile or more away from the track.

Unfortunately, like many new tracks, the Kansas Speedway doesn't allow coolers inside, and the beers are very expensive. That's about the only downside to the track. The seats are very nice, with backrests and plenty of room for bags and such to be stowed underneath.

From our view in turn one, row 21, we were able to see every bit of the track. In fact, it didn't really look like there was a bad seat in the house. A little lower, and you might have a hard time seeing the backstretch, but the track was planned very well to minimize infield obstructions.

We look forward to future races at the Kansas Speedway, and are glad that more fans will have the opportunity to see races there. The Midwest definitely loves its Winston Cup racing.

Click on image for a larger version.

Looking down the frontstretch toward turn four.	Looking across the infield to the backstretch
See the trucks on the backstretch.	Trucks coming into turn one.

These panoramic pictures are VERY large, so have some patience while your PC chugs way. You can see the ENTIRE track in each of these pictures.

The larger version

The slightly smaller version

see also: track Web site, other track reviews