The Kentucky Speedway is virtually in my backyard. I can actually see the light poles from my deck, hear the cars running from my yard and can drive there in about 5 minutes. I've been a season ticket holder since the year after it opened and have only missed a couple of the races. Here is my review.
First, the additional parking and traffic control improvements were excellent. The additional amenities and pre-race festivities were a significant upgrade. Thursday and Friday the parking lot staff was not on their game, but by Saturday they had the bugs worked out and things flowed very smoothly.
Turning the traffic control over to the Kentucky State Police earns The Thin Grey Line a gold star. Those arriving for the race on Saturday were moving into the parking areas without hesitation, with the help of good signage and lane control.
I believe that the heat was a factor in keeping down the crowd size, but even if the crowd was capacity it will likely never look like it did last year when thousands of people without tickets or any hope of getting tickets showed up for the "history" of it all and contributed to the mess. I don't know what numbers they will report, but the stands on Saturday looked to be at about 80%. Of course there were a lot of people milling around in the shade out of their seats and enjoying other activities during the race, so the actual ticket sales and gate count could be higher.
Heat relief efforts were fair but the "up" escalator for the return trip from the infield broke down forcing a lot of people to walk the three long flights of stairs. Simple maintenance issue that needs to be addressed.
The biggest problem I saw which still needs attention is controlling the dangerous combination of vehicular and pedestrian traffic at exit time. Roadways were being used by people on foot while cars, trucks, and buses were inching along in a sea of pedestrians. This is a recipe for disaster. Someone is going to get seriously injured and the liability factor is immense. The track needs to find a way to cordon off pedestrians so they do not walk in the streets. Moving them all to one side of the roadway before the area where vehicles enter and keeping them there might eliminate the risk.
The place looked beautiful though all day long. The music selections being pumped through the speakers was a great addition though the pre-race concert would have benefited from having used a better sound deliver system. I don't know if the track P-A could be used or not, but the echo effect coming from the front stretch stage was unflattering.
And while I am usually critical of spending tax dollars on private businesses, congratulations to Kentucky officials who helped make the Sprint Cup racing experience this year a wonderful feather in the Commonwealth's cap.
And a special congratulations to Mark Simendinger. He has continued to focus his attention on the relationship between success at the track and the success of our community. Good job guys. Let's make the September race weekend just as much fun.
