History
Following the closure of Stardust International Raceway at the end of 1970, plans were developed for a new drag strip north of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Speedrome. It consisted of a road course and drag strip. Through changes of ownership, a 3/8 mile short track would by the end of the 1970s become part of the complex. In 1995, refurbishment of the tracks, including a new $72 million superspeedway, opened in September 1996. The first race at the speedway was on September 15, 1996, with an Indy Racing League event, which was won by Richie Hearn. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup (then Winston Cup) event was held March 1, 1998 with Mark Martin winning the inaugural event. In December 1998, Speedway Motorsports purchased Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Veteran motorsports publicist Chris Powell was named the speedway's president and general manager and still holds that position today.
The Winston No Bull 5 Million Dollar Bonus was held at the track from 1999 to 2002. Jeff Burton won a million dollars in 2000 and Jeff Gordon won the bonus in 2001. Burton in 1999 and Sterling Marlin in 2002 were not eligible. The drag strip was rebuilt and relocated into the current The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 3/8 mile oval was rebuilt with a new pit lane and start-finish changed to the opposite side. During 1998, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was sold by Richie Clyne and Ralph Englestad to Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which was owned by Bruton Smith, for $215 million dollars in December. During the 2004 and 2005 race seasons, Champ Car also held races at the speedway, which were both won by Sébastien Bourdais.
In 2006, plans were announced to reconfigure the track after the March 2006 Sprint Cup Series race, increasing the banking from 12° to 20°. This reconfiguration entailed "progressive banking" which increases the degree of banking on a gradient towards the outside of the track. This increased side-by-side racing. The speedway also constructed a fan zone called The Neon Garage. This area has live entertainment, unprecedented access to the drivers and teams, such as viewing areas for fans to watch their favorite driver's car get worked on and talk to the drivers, and is home to the Winner's Circle. The speedway moved pit road 275 feet (84 m) closer to the grandstands, built a new media center and added a quarter-mile oval for Legends Cars, Bandoleros, and Thunder roadsters, in the tri-oval area.
On August 8, 2006, the newly reconfigured track reopened to stock cars. Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and Las Vegas native, became the first Sprint Cup driver to test a stock car on the newly reconfigured track in his #2 Miller Lite Penske Dodge. Jeff Burton won the first Nationwide Series race on the new surface, taking a Monte Carlo SS to Victory Lane. The following day Jimmie Johnson drove a Chevrolet to Victory Lane, capturing the first Sprint Cup Series win on the new pavement.
In March 2011, Insomniac Events announced that the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) would take place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway June 24–26. More than 235,000 people attended the three-day event and plans are already being made for the EDC, largest rave to return to LVMS for a five-year contract. The 2012 event will be held June 8–10 and attendance for all three days is estimated 315,000 people to enter the Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the three day spread.
A road course designed by Romain Thievin was added in 2012. The course is 1.4 miles (2.3 km) long with 11 turns and an 1,800-foot (550 m) straight.
Read more about this topic: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
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