Dozens charged for breaking into 'abandoned' NASCAR track

Kentucky Speedway has not hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race in five long years, but it is hitting the headlines once again.

The iconic track in Sparta last hosted the biggest series of all in July 2020, when Cole Custer claimed victory in the Quaker State 400.

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But now, instead of racing fans, the facility has begun to attract the interest of 'urban explorers' (people who visit ‘abandoned’ sites which are of historic interest, and share the content on social media). Local police though see them as trespassers.

The thing is, Kentucky Speedway is not actually ‘abandoned’ - since NASCAR left the building it has been used for various things - right now it has a driving school and Ford uses it for new vehicle parking overflow.

So when the first group of urban explorers found their way inside the gates in June, and shared their findings on the world wide web, it started a steady stream of new ‘visitors’ to Sparta.

Gallatin County Sheriff Bud Webster told WLWT: “Those gentlemen [the first group in June] had posted it to social media about an abandoned speedway - since then it’s just been one group after another coming in there from all over.”

Webster revealed that the number of arrests has skyrocketed since the track hit the headlines once again, admitting: “I’ve lost track but I believe there’s been more than 30 charged - I think it was 35 the last count I had.”

These trespassers are paying the price for their infractions - fines and court costs generally run to around $250. And with a trip to jail thrown in, Webster and his colleagues are hoping those penalties will deter any future visitors.

As for any chance of NASCAR returning one day, it’s a subject that has been mooted in the past. Only last year Cup Series great Denny Hamlin mentioned it as a comeback possible, but only if sufficient investment was found to upgrade the facility.

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