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This is Governor Steve Beshear ... About Kentucky.
Kentuckians love horse power. On July 9, a different kind of horse power will take off
in Sparta — when we host the first Kentucky 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Kentucky
Speedway.
More than one hundred thousand spectators will be on hand, along with a huge national
television audience. This promises to be one of the most exciting sporting events ever
in the Commonwealth.
Kentuckians have a special bond with motor sports, and NASCAR in particular. Many of
the iconic families of racing are from Kentucky.
But despite having a rich racing history and an ideal venue, it took many years of effort
for Kentucky to secure this race.
I worked with the state legislature to create innovative economic development incentives
to help attract a national race.
Bruton Smith, CEO of Motorsports Inc. deserves tremendous credit for this accomplishment.
Mr. Smith’s vision and perseverance were essential to landing this race — which is
part of NASCAR’s premier racing series.
The effort and the wait were certainly worth it. We project that the economic impact of
the race will yield millions of dollars for the Commonwealth. And that is not a one-time
impact — it is year after year after year.
From a tourism standpoint, we expect 80 percent of the people who attend the race will be
from out of state.
Many people have worked very hard to bring the checkered flag to Kentucky. Now it’s
time to enjoy the highest level of a sport that our state helped to create and advance.
In the immortal words of Kentucky native and NASCAR legend Darrel Waltrip, “Let’s go
racing!”
This is Governor Steve Beshear ... About Kentucky.