This weekend's Sprint Cup Series STP 400 will mark the first time for NASCAR racing at Kansas Speedway "since the Hollywood Casino opened in February, and officials at both facilities are bracing for big crowds and perhaps a little confusion," according to Randy Covitz of the K.C. STAR. The Turn 2 Lounge will "not be open to the public, as the casino will play host to a private event on both Saturday and Sunday for its prime customers." Other areas of the casino with a view of the track "will be closed, such as The Final Cut Steakhouse, which is not open during the day." Those who eat at the casino’s buffet, which "has a view of the track from the first floor of the facility, will have a time limit of one hour at trackside tables." Also, those trying to "watch from the top of the casino parking garage or from the parking lot south of the speedway, will be turned away by security." However, fans with grandstand tickets to the Speedway "can exercise in-and-out privileges and spend time in the casino, space permitting." Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren said that during the evening hours, the track "will be running trams throughout the weekend from the campgrounds outside the track and from the infield to the casino so those guests do not have to drive and park at the casino." But there will be "no trams from the grandstands to the casino because there may not be enough room for those wanting to get in." Warren said, "We’re trying to learn this weekend and see what happens" (K.C. STAR, 4/17).
BENEATH THE SURFACE: SPEEDTV.com's Mike Hembree noted an Abrams tank and an Armored Combat Earthmover on Sunday will "participate in a groundbreaking ceremony following the STP 400 as track officials launch work on a major repaving/reconfiguration project for the 1.5-mile speedway." Sunday’s race will "mark the final competition on the current track surface." Between Sunday night and October, when NASCAR returns to the speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400, the track "will be ripped apart and rebuilt in a new design." Significant changes "include changing the turns to a variable design with 20-degree banking, reworking the frontstretch, backstretch and pit road and adding a road course to the infield." The STP 400 was "moved on the NASCAR calendar to allow more time for the spring/summer project before NASCAR returns to the track in the fall." Drivers generally "cast a wary eye on track repaving projects because they tend to enjoy racing on surfaces that have been worn by competition, weather and time." Driver Jeff Gordon said, "I don’t know anybody that’s a real fan of a repave." He added, "I don’t know what it’s going to be like at Kansas. I know they’re making some changes, and I hope it works out really well" (SPEEDTV.com, 4/17).
