Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway had to be spectacular. Ordinary has no shot in a city where you can see Paris, Venice, New York and ancient Rome all in the space of a few blocks. So just a few miles north of “The Strip,” Las Vegas Motor Speedway sits like a diamond in the desert. One of the most complete racing complexes in the world, its 1,600 acres include road courses, a three-eighths mile oval, a dirt track and a state-of-the-art drag racing facility.The Sprint Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a virtual sellout for the seventh consecutive year, but Dodge has made sure that at least 700 more race fans can attend Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400. The LVMS ticket services office had only single seats remaining for Sunday’s race at the close of business on Thursday. However, event co-sponsor Dodge has made 700 tickets available to race fans. These tickets were part of the Dodge allotment as part of its race entitlement with the United Auto Workers. “Announcing a virtual sellout for the seventh consecutive year really confirms the demand for NASCAR tickets in Las Vegas,” said Chris Powell, LVMS general manager.
History
The speedway has often been referred to as “The Diamond in the Desert.” 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). Burton and Martin also won NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) events at LVMS, although Burton (Richard Childress Racing) and Martin (JR Motorsports) have won their most recent Nationwide Series races with different teams.
The early years in Las Vegas were boring as the flatter corners also made for a narrow groove. However the track was reconfigured for the 2007 NEXTEL Cup event with increased banking with hopes that it would improve the quality of the racing there. The new pavement will take a couple of years to truly cure but I have high hopes that the race track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway can provide some first class side-by-side racing to go along with the first class facility that surrounds it.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is located just a few miles from The Strip - the casinos and restaurants of Glitter Gulch, one of America’s most exciting cities - Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas tickets offer Nextel Cup fans an opportunity to see great NASCAR racing at the track in the desert as well as the chance to sample the best of what Las Vegas has to offer - gambling, spectacular entertainment, dining, and family fun - an all encompassing, unforgettable experience.
In 2006, construction of the Richard Petty Terrace in Turn 1 was completed, allowing fans a shot at 14,000 additional tickets and pushing the track’s seating capacity to nearly 150,000. Original construction on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway began in 1995. It required crews to move a total of four million cubic yards of dirt, equaling 35, 000 yards per day. A custom-designed lighting system features 2,600 lighting fixtures on 200 light poles. In addition, LVMS is made up of 8,000 mirrors, 175 miles of wire, 600 tons of steel, and 1,975 tons of concrete.
The fun at the track comes in watching drivers negotiate the newly improved 1½-mile tri-oval, which has added banking to provide extra speed through the corners … and hopefully an extra groove. You’ll also get a gas out of taking in the track’s new Neon Garage fan experience. The fun away from the track? Well, let’s just say that’s up to you, and whatever you are looking for you can find it in Las Vegas. From fabulous shows to around-the-clock casinos and hotels, this city never sleeps, and you’ll want to enjoy every waking moment when visiting for the March 2 race.
A handful of racetracks, including a road course, an oval, a dirt track and a drag racing facility, make up the massive Las Vegas Motor Speedway facility. NASCAR first ran on the 1.5-mile track in 1996 with a Busch Series event and two years later, the Nextel Cup arrived.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway first aid
First-aid and rescue stations are located at Gate F, behind Section 3 in Midway, behind Section 1 in Midway, and at the Infield Medical Center. The speedway’s mobile medical teams patrol the grounds at all times in carts marked with Red Cross symbols. If you have a pre-existing condition, ask a gate attendant to point out the locations of the first-aid kiosks as you enter.
