Kentucky Speedway Issues Apology For Traffic, Offers Ticket Exchange

On Kentucky Speedway’s third statement regarding the traffic issues at its inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the word “apologize” has finally appeared.

Both general manager Mark Simendinger and Speedway Motorsports Inc. president Marcus Smith have issued apologies for the Kentucky gridlock, expressing their regret for what has become a great embarrassment to NASCAR.

In addition, fans who didn’t make it to the race can either exchange their ticket for any other race at an SMI track this year or at the 2012 Kentucky Speedway race.

“To those fans that were not able to attend the Quaker State 400, we offer our sincerest apologies,” Simendinger said. “We’d also like to apologize to all of our fans who endured challenging conditions during our event weekend. As we said earlier, we’re committed to working with NASCAR, state and local officials and traffic experts to address Saturday’s traffic issues to ensure that we never have this type of experience again.”

Smith issued a similar statement, saying he “apologized on behalf of Speedway Motorsports” for the debacle.

“Our company has always been about enhancing the fan experience with first-class amenities and putting fans first,” he said. “I feel terrible for the fans that had a bad experience at Kentucky Speedway and we are asking that they give us a chance to make it up to them.

“We are very thankful for the overwhelming fan support we had for this inaugural event. We learned some valuable lessons this past weekend and will do everything in our power to make sure we don’t have these issues again.”

Fans can contact Kentucky Speedway via phone (859-578-2300) or e-mail (tickets@kentuckyspeedway.com) for more information on exchanging their tickets. SMI tracks with races for the remainder of the season include New Hampshire (twice), Bristol, Atlanta, Charlotte and Texas.

In addition to the exchange, ticketholders for Saturday’s race will also get tickets to either the Truck or IndyCar races that will be held at Kentucky in October.