To the casual motor sports enthusiast, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the country's leading modern facilities.
But for Bruton Smith, founder and chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., the company that owns the speedway that opened almost a decade ago in September of 1996, it could be even better.
With that goal in mind, LVMS general manager Chris Powell unveiled plans on Jan. 30 for an estimated $25 million renovation project for the facility. The upgrades will include a new, fan-friendly garage, the addition of steeper banking to the super speedway's track, the relocation of the pit road so it will be closer to the grandstands, and the construction of a state-of-the-art media center.
Work is scheduled to begin immediately after the running of the NASCAR Nextel Cup UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 on March 12.
"We are going to make the Las Vegas Motor Speedway the greatest speedway in the world," Smith said in a statement. "Las Vegas is all about glitz and glamour. The speedway will be as spectacular as anything on the Las Vegas Strip when we are finished."
The centerpiece of the project will be the creation of a new garage area for Nextel Cup teams, which will include a unique interaction area for fans.
The garage buildings will be constructed in the shape of a diamond.
The two-level, four-building garage area will encompass 32,000 square feet. A 52,000-square-foot roof deck will allow fans to look directly down into the individual garage stalls as the teams work on their cars. There also will be windows on the lower level where fans can watch the teams and pit crews work.
Powell said the first-of-its-kind fan interactive area is a perfect fit for Las Vegas and the intensity of motor sports fans.
"This area will offer a perspective on the sport of auto racing that never has been available to the average race fan," he said. "The fan interactive area will bring an element of entertainment that is befitting of the culture of Las Vegas. The possibilities will be limitless."
All architectural work on both the garage area and fan interactive area will be done by AI Design of Charlotte, N.C., the same company that provided the plans for the Dale Earnhardt Terrace and the soon-to-be-opened Richard Petty Terrace at LVMS.
In addition to the close proximity of fans and race teams, the fan area will feature concession stands, an area where live bands and other entertainers can perform, and other amenities that will make the LVMS one of the most, if not the most modern facility in the country, Powell said.
He said the new design will offer fans a better look at the inner workings of the pit road.
"The new track design will offer more side-by-side racing and give our speedway one of the most competitive tracks on the circuit," he said. "By moving the pit road closer to the grandstands, race fans will have a much crisper view of the exciting action in the pits."
Fans will be able to purchase pit passes to watch teams work on cars while looking through ground-level windows, as well as a vantage point from a second-story walkway above the garage.
The relocated pit road also will allow for the construction of a quarter-mile oval track in front of the main grandstand, which will feature Legends, Bandolero and Thunder Roadster races.
NASCAR chairman Brian France believes the coming face-lift will cater to the sport's most important element -- the fans.
"I congratulate Chris Powell and LVMS for launching this improvement project," France said. "The new garage area will give race fans an opportunity to see their favorite drivers up close. The strong relationship between fans and drivers is a NASCAR hallmark which will be alive and well at LVMS."
The most dramatic difference in the future from the drivers' perspectives will be the change in the banking of the tracks turns from 12 to 20 degrees, allowing for more competitive racing.
"The new track design will offer more side-by-side racing and give our speedway one of the most competitive tracks on the circuit," Powell said.
Another new component will be the construction of a new media center, which will be built behind the new pit road. The structure will accommodate more than 500 members of the media and will have room for drivers' meetings and a full-service spa for the racers and their families.
The 58,600-square-foot facility will be equipped with meeting rooms, offices, interview rooms and a cafeteria. The media center will be capped off with a corporate hospitality suite and a veranda, where suite guests can watch the races.
The upgrades will involve the reconstruction of almost the entire 1.5-mile tri-oval track as well as the demolition of three major buildings now in the infield.
Smith said he had plans of pulling off this major renovation for the LVMS since his company purchased the facility from former owners Bill Bennett and Ralph Englestad back in 1998.
"Bruton has been a visionary since he began building speedways," Powell said. "But the improvements that he has authorized here in Las Vegas will set a new standard."
Smith's Speedway Sports also owns Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.; Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.; Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.; Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.; and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tickets for the 2006 NASCAR Weekend set for March 10-12 are available at the speedway's Web site, www.lvms.com.
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