A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Kentucky Speedway GM reflects on 2016, talks about what’s next, during NASCAR week in Las Vegas


By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

LAS VEGAS – With the installation of a new surface and a successful season of racing in the rear-view mirror, Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger is already looking forward toward next year.

Simendinger took a few minutes out of a hectic schedule to speak with the Tribune while attending the just-completed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week.

Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger (right) talked about the recently completed racing season while attending the NASCAR Awards in Las Vegas this week. Speedway Motorsports Inc. Vice President of Operations and Development Steve Swift is at left. SMI owns Kentucky Speedway (photos by Mark Hansel).

Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger (right) talked about the recently completed racing season while attending the NASCAR Awards in Las Vegas this week. Speedway Motorsports Inc. Vice President of Operations and Development Steve Swift is at left. SMI owns Kentucky Speedway (photos by Mark Hansel).

The week, which culminates with the nationally-televised NASCAR Awards banquet, may appear to be just a fun time to recognize the accomplishments of the sport’s drivers, but for executives such as Simendinger, it is also a lot of work.

“This is the least amount of free time, you can possibly have in a 48-hour period in Vegas,” Simendinger said.

After a day of preparation, Simendinger landed in Las Vegas shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday and went straight to a meeting which lasted past 11 p.m. (which is 2 a.m. Eastern time).

He got up early Thursday and had meetings leading up to the announcement that Monster Energy will replace Sprint as the name sponsor for NASCAR’s premier series.

He made time for a short break to watch a few races from Turfway Park (his former employer) at the Wynn Resort and give an interview, before heading off to another event.

One meeting Simendinger attended included the eight Speedway Motorsports Inc. general managers, president and CEO Marcus Smith and his father, SMI owner Bruton Smith.

The GMs also met with representatives from Performance Racing Network (PRN) and other corporate executives to talk about industry issues.

“We talk about potential format changes, rule changes, there are a lot of ideas being floated around the industry,” Simendinger said. “They ask our opinion because we are the ones that are selling the sport all the time.”

The Las Vegas Strip was shut down in the middle of the day for a Victory Lap and driver burnouts, a rare occurrence, during NASCAR

A portion of Las Vegas Strip was shut down in the middle of the day for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week Victory Lap event. Shutting down the Strip is a rare occurrence in Las Vegas but the throng of fans that filled the streets and walkways demonstrates the popularity of the sport.

Simendinger could not provide specifics because it has not been determined which ideas will go forward and which will not.

At one meeting, a representative from NASCAR shared some of the things that it is working on as well.

“They like coming in because they get the feedback from eight different general managers in one spot,” Simendinger said. “We are the direct conduit to the fans and that’s valuable info for these people as they try to figure out what we are going to do, not only next year, but for years to come.”

Those decisions will likely be announced in January or at the NASCAR Media Tour prior to the start of the racing season.

A good year at Kentucky Speedway

Simendinger said he thought 2016 was a fantastic year for Kentucky Speedway.

“Going into it, we knew we had a new racetrack, but we didn’t know how it was going to respond,” Simendinger said.  “I was really encouraged by the way the new design of the track was handled by the drivers. I was excited by how difficult it ended up being, because we wanted it to be hard and it proved to be hard.”

The surface, Simendinger said, was equally challenging for drivers in all of the major NASCAR series, but it brought out the best in the best.

“Here’s how fair it was, William Byron wins the truck race – most wins in the truck series, Kyle Busch wins your XFINITY race –  most wins in XFINITY, Brad Keselowski wins your Cup race, most wins in cup,” Simendinger said. “It’s really hard and it’s really challenging, but the best drivers love it. It’s going to be really tough for some of the other drivers to win.”

The feedback from fans has also been overwhelmingly positive.

Simendinger is just as encouraged about the future, in large part because of the high-profile base sponsors that want their names associated with Kentucky Speedway.

“When you look at who the sponsors are, Quaker State is based out of Houston, with Shell Oil Company and Alsco is based out of Salt Lake City,” Simendinger said. “They sponsor all different kinds of things within NASCAR – teams, races, whatever. They can do anything they want and they choose to do our race in our market and there is no better validation for what we have worked so hard for at Kentucky Speedway than that.”

Something fans who attend Kentucky Speedway next year won't see is this logo, which adorned the red carpet for Friday's awards banquet. Monster Energy has replaced Sprint as the name sponsor for NASCAR's premium series.

Something fans who attend Kentucky Speedway next year won’t see is this logo, which adorned the red carpet for Friday’s awards banquet. Monster Energy will replace Sprint/Nextel as the name sponsor for NASCAR’s premium series.

Simendinger also appreciates the local sponsors, who are an integral part of Kentucky Speedway’s success, but says high-profile national sponsors drive the marketing engine.

“When you are getting those type of people signing up, that says it all,” Simendinger said. “Shell can literally do anything worldwide and they choose to come (to Kentucky).”

New surface for the new surface

The Kentucky Speedway track was repaved again at the conclusion of the 2016 racing season.

“It had nothing to do with this year or next year, but it didn’t meet the construction specs and it would have shortened the useful life of the track,” Simendinger said. “For the amount of money we paid, it needed to be corrected and the easiest way to do that was to put another layer on top.”

Track workers are now going through the process of putting rubber into the surface and aging it.

“The best thing about that is we are going to have a winter for it to cure and that will be beneficial because we didn’t have that luxury this year,” Simendinger said. “We got finished in May, we were testing in June and racing in July.”

Simendinger watched one more Turfway race, then headed off to Thursday’s afternoon events and meetings, which were expected to last into the evening.

Friday morning he had two client meetings followed by a tuxedo fitting. He attended an afternoon reception, followed by the Sprint Cup banquet, then boarded a plane back to Cincinnati.

Nothing like a leisurely two days in Las Vegas.

Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com


Related Posts

Leave a Comment