Speedway Motor's Kentucky track purchase revs up

Speedway Motorsports Inc. said late Thursday it will continue with its planned acquisition of the Kentucky Speedway after reviewing the books of the company that owns the race car track.

Speedway Motorsports said the purchase will reduce the company's earnings by roughly 12 cents to 18 cents per share per year because of interest, depreciation and general and administrative expenses.

Speedway announced in May an agreement to buy the oval from Kentucky Speedway LLC, pending a 90-day period of due diligence. That expired Aug. 18. Speedway said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter, most likely in December.

The company, which owns several other tracks including Bristol Motor Speedway, said it is still trying to get a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event moved to the Kentucky track. It said NASCAR will not allow a change to where its races are held until an antitrust suit Kentucky Speedway filed in 2005 against NASCAR and International Speedway Inc. is resolved.

The 1.5-mile oval, located in Sparta, Ky., midway between Cincinnati and Louisville, opened in 2000 and hosts several circuits a year, including the Nationwide Series and the Indy Racing League.

"Moving forward on Kentucky Speedway allows our company to expand its geographic reach into the motorsports hotbed of the Midwest," Chief Executive O. Bruton Smith said.

Shares of Speedway Motorsports were unchanged in premarket trading from Thursday's $22.77 closing price.