Nashville Superspeedway

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee (though the track has a Lebanon address), United States, about 48 km (30 miles) east of Nashville. It is a concrete oval track 2.145 km (1.333 miles) in length. Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Dover Motorsports, which owns Dover International Speedway.

The track was built in 2001 and currently hosts four major races: two NASCAR Busch Series races, an Indy Racing League event, and a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Current permanent seating capacity is approximately 50,000 [1]. Additional portable seats are brought in for some events, and the facility is said to have been designed in a way that it would be relatively simple to increase the seating capacity to 150,000 should NASCAR decide to award the track with a NEXTEL Cup event. As of 2005, NASCAR has shown little interest in staging an event at the track, though NASCAR would likely not object if track ownership moved one of its races from Dover International Speedway to Nashville. Management has shown no inclination to move either of its two successful races away from Dover. Nashville Superspeedway is the only track to host two NASCAR Busch Series races without hosting a NEXTEL Cup event.

As is a Nashville metropolitan tradition, specially-designed Gibson Les Paul guitars are presented to race winners in place of conventional trophies. The track also has a reputation for producing many first-time winners.

The track is referred by the classic term of a "superspeedway" (a track of one mile or longer, compared to a short track), and is named to differentiate itself from the .596 mile Nashville Speedway USA (now Music City Motorplex) at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville. Until 1984, the Nashville Speedway USA had conducted a pair of 420-lap races in the Winston Cup Series, but NASCAR pulled its sanctioning license from the circuit after disputes over who would manage the track took place prior to the start of the 1985 season.

See also: List of NASCAR race tracks

[edit] Current Races

• NASCAR Busch Series - Pepsi 300
• NASCAR Busch Series - Federated Auto Parts 300
• Indy Racing League - Firestone Indy 200
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Toyota Tundra 200

[edit] Records

• NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: Martin Truex Jr., 267.9801 km/h (166.5151 mph), 2004
• NASCAR Busch Series Race: David Green, 197.505 km/h (122.724 mph), April 12, 2003
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: Mike Bliss, 253.185 km/h (157.322 mph), 2002
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race: Scott Riggs, 213.183 km/h (132.466 mph), August 10, 2001
• IRL Qualifying: Scott Dixon, 206.211 mph (331.864 km/h), July 18, 2003
• IRL Race: Buddy Lazier, 144.809 mph (233.047 km/h), July 21, 2001

[edit] Feature Race Winners

[edit] NASCAR Busch Series

[edit] NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

[edit] Indy Racing League IndyCar Series

See main article: Firestone Indy 200

[edit] External links

• Nashville Superspeedway Official Site
• Nashville Superspeedway Page on NASCAR.com
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 36.04442° -86.41262°
  • WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Local
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
  • Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth