Kansas Speedway renovations: BBQ trophy, new club seating and pickleball add flavor

Randy Covitz
·5 min read
1

Martinsville gives grandfather clocks to its NASCAR Cup winners. Nashville gives guitars. And victors feast on live lobsters in victory lane at New Hampshire.

Now, a smoking-hot trophy is coming to the winner at Kansas Speedway.

The first to the checkered flag in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 will celebrate in a most Kansas City way.

With BBQ.

Five-time world champion pitmaster Myron Mixon will present the winner with a BARQ 2400 smoker and freshly smoked beef ribs to share with his team, along with the traditional trophy that’s been given to Kansas Speedway winners since the track opened in 2001.

“The fresh ribs and smoker will provide our NASCAR Cup Series winner with a taste of Kansas City they’ll savor for a lifetime,” said Kansas Speedway president Pat Warren.

The new touch to Victory Lane is among several changes to Kansas Speedway that includes the most extensive updates since lights were installed for night racing in 2011 and the track was repaved in 2012.

The most prominent change in the $2 million project will be the newly constructed Highline District above Turn 1.

The track removed a section of bleachers and built new club terrace seating with clear views of the start/finish line and restarts. Fans will sit at tables and chairs on two levels with beverage service and all you-can-eat- food choices. The cost is $375 per person for Cup races on Sunday, and the 300 available spaces are nearly sold out. It will cost $200 on Saturday for Cup qualifying and the trucks and ARCA races, when more spots are available.

“It’s a social space, designed to be a casual outdoor experience,’’ Warren said. “There will be pickleball and other yard games.”

The two pickleball courts will be available to anyone, free of charge. But why pickleball at a race track?

“It’s all about trying to create different experiences to watch the race and different things to do before and during the race,” Warren said. “We know that our events tend to be longer events, and fans come earlier and stay here longer than they do at a lot of sporting events. We’re trying to provide different things for them to do when they’re here, so they enjoy their time.

“It’s a goal for everybody in sports to enhance the spectator experience and give people a reason to want to attend a live event instead of staying at home and watching it on live TV. It’s as simple as that.”

Other new touches to the track include:

  • Garage Experience: “We made a tweak to the Fan Walk so the fans can literally look right into the garage where the top 15 drivers are,” Warren said. “It’s the closest thing you can have to a garage pass without a garage pass. It would be like the Chiefs letting you stand on the sideline before a football game, which is a great experience. It’s something our sport is known for, that level of access.”

  • NASCAR Experience: This new area has interactive opportunities for driver interviews and a NASCAR Kid Zone. As part of NASCAR’s 75th Anniversary celebration, five of the sport’s most famous racecars will be on display: Richard Petty STP car, the Dale Earnhardt Sr. Goodwrench car; Dale Jarett’s Quality Care Car; Bill Elliott’s Coors Car and Bobby Allison’s Coca Cola car.

  • USAC quarter-midget racing: The NASCAR youth series will run on an eighth-mile track near the main gate before and after the races on the speedway. These competitors are the drivers of the future, and the sons of NASCAR Cup champions Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick often are among those who participate.

  • Busch Light Lounge: On Friday and Saturday nights, to accommodate all the campers at the track, an enclosed tent in Fan Walk named the Busch Light Lounge, will feature live music.

“We’ve done a lot of small things over the years to try and enhance the fan experience,” Warren said, “but this is the first big physical change, other than the repave.

“This is a starting point, not an end point for us. As we try to figure out a way to present our sport to our fans, so they can enjoy it more, and it’s not just about our longtime fans, who we certainly value and appreciate, but it’s about bringing new fans in, younger fans and a more diverse audience.

“With the breadth of activities, someone who might not have thought about NASCAR before, but sees that we’re doing pickleball courts, may think, ‘Maybe that’s something I ought to check out,’, especially on a Saturday when they can come out for $25 and check out the trucks race.”

Warren said more changes are in the works for the wall race, including adding Wi-Fi in the grandstands. Currently, Wi-Fi is available only in the suites and garages.

“The challenge for us, is the physical size (of the speedway property),” Warren said. “It’s a lot easier to do Wi-Fi at Sporting Kansas City or Arrowhead as opposed to here, where the geographic size and space is so big.”

Kansas Speedway schedule

SATURDAY

9:25 a.m. ARCA Series practice.

10:10 a.m. ARCA Series qualifying.

11:05 a.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series practice.

11:35 a.m. Trucks series qualifying.

1 p.m. ARCA Menards Series Dawn 150 race.

4:05 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series practice.

4:50 p.m. NASCAR Cup qualifying.

7 p.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Heart of America 200 race.

SUNDAY

1:30 p.m. NASCAR Cup driver introductions,

2 p.m. NASCAR Cup AdventHealth 400 race.