Kentucky-NASCAR hearing set for July 30
A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel will hear oral arguments in the Kentucky Speedway founders’ antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. at 9 a.m. July 30 in Cincinnati.
Decisions on appeals typically come anywhere from three weeks to six months after the oral arguments in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought Kentucky Speedway last December, and Chairman Bruton Smith wants to realign one of his Sprint Cup races to the 1.5-mile oval. But NASCAR has said it would not consider a realignment request until the case is resolved. Without a settlement, no resolution can come until August, and NASCAR already has said it is getting late in the process for a formal realignment request to be made.
When SMI bought the track, the founders retained their rights to pursue their lawsuit, which alleges that the France-owned sanctioning body of NASCAR illegally conspires with the publicly traded, France-controlled track operating company ISC to keep tracks such as Kentucky from obtaining Cup dates. SMI is considered a co-conspirator in the case.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled in January 2008 that there was not enough evidence for trial, and the case is now in the U.S. Court of Appeals. If the Kentucky Speedway founders win the appeal, the case would go back to U.S. District Court for trail. If the district court judge’s decision is affirmed, the case is likely over, although an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is still an option.
SMI currently has two Cup races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Atlanta and New Hampshire are considered the two candidates that could lose a race.
Smith said earlier this month he has had discussions with NASCAR about where he would move the date but has not filed the formal request “because when I do, then I will have to name the place and that type of thing, and I have not done that. That will do a lot of damage to a lot of people if I sat here [and speculated].”
