Dates Announced for New Racetracks

NASCAR's Winston Cup schedule will grow to 36 races in 2001 with the addition of events at new tracks being built in Joliet, Ill., and Kansas City, Kan. <br><br>The announcements were made simultaneously

Monday, May 8th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NASCAR's Winston Cup schedule will grow to 36 races in 2001 with the addition of events at new tracks being built in Joliet, Ill., and Kansas City, Kan.

The announcements were made simultaneously today at Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

The first weekend of racing at the Illinois track will included a NASCAR Busch Series race on July 14, followed by a Winston Cup race on July 15. Chicagoland Speedway will also hold an Indy Racing League event Sept. 2, 2001.

The Kansas track will stage a Busch Series race on Sept. 29 and a Winston Cup event on Sept. 30.

Both tracks are under construction and nearing completion.

Mike Helton, senior vice president and chief operating officer of NASCAR, said, ``Today's announcement continues our strategic planning to grow NASCAR racing by establishing new events in cities like Chicago and Kansas City to bring our sport to fans that live in these markets and crave the excitement of NASCAR.''

Driver Sterling Marlin agreed.

``People want their racing,'' he said. ``Television is fine for the most part, but they want a chance to be there, too.

``These two tracks will cover two areas that weren't covered. You start looking around and about all that's left is Denver and the Northwest. We're already running in Southern and Northern California, in (Las) Vegas, in Phoenix. ... and in the Northeast and Southeast pretty strong.''

The Winston Cup schedule will now cover 38 weeks, including two non-points events â€” The Bud Shootout and The Winston.