Here's the official press release:

Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith announced today that Kentucky Speedway will play host to its inaugural 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, July 9, 2011.

"The passionate NASCAR fans throughout Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati have deserved a Sprint Cup Race for a long time. Before this, racing in Kentucky was about horses, but now it's all about more horsepower. We're going to create the grandest sports event in the history of the state in 2011, and any fan that comes here will know what it means to be 'Lucky in Kentucky,'"Smith said.

The Sparta, Ky., venue will become the 23rd motorsports facility on the 36-race Sprint Cup Series schedule and the first facility to be added to the national tour since Chicagoland Speedway made its debut July 15, 2001 and Kansas Speedway staged its first series race on Sept. 29, 2001.

Kentucky Speedway will be the eighth SMI facility to welcome the premier American stock car racing series which features former Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Nationwide Series 300-mile race winners Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch along with four-time series champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

"I am thrilled that all the hard work of my administration to bring a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to Kentucky has finally paid off," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said. "The legislation we proposed, pushed and I signed amending our Tourism Development Act to attract legacy expansion projects to Kentucky was critical in bringing this race to Kentucky. In addition to the excitement this race will bring to race fans, it will have an unparalleled economic impact on the region."

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