| | Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The still unfinished Nashville
Superspeedway has landed an Indy Racing League race for next
season.
The 300-lap race on July 21, 2001, will be broadcast on ESPN.
The race has yet to find a sponsor.
"With the addition of this Indy race, I think it takes our
inaugural year to a new level," Cliff Hawks, Nashville
Superspeedway vice president and general manager, said after
Sunday's announcement at the IRL race in Pikes Peak, Colo.
"I don't think there's any question that, with the addition of
Indy-style racing, that the credibility and demand for season
tickets continues to increase."
Already booked to run on the $125 million superspeedway are
NASCAR Bush Series, Craftsman Truck Series and ASA-ACDelco Series
races. Track officials say each race could draw more than 100,000
fans.
For Nashville to get a Winston Cup event, one of the host tracks
would have to back out.
The open-wheel IRL series features 12 races. Next year's
schedule adds five other new markets: Miami, St. Louis, Chicago,
Kansas City and Richmond, Va.
The 1.33-mile superspeedway is being built just outside
Nashville and is scheduled to open in April.
The Nashville Speedway, which is closer to downtown, had Winston
Cup racing until 1984, when NASCAR pulled out because of poor track
conditions. The five-eighths mile oval has had stock car racing for
more than 40 years.
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