Kansas Speedway

This aerial panorama of Kansas Speedway was taken during a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race by James Blakeway. Located about 15 miles west of downtown Kansas City, the construction of this 1.5-mile tri-oval track was completed in the spring of 2001 excavating more than 11 million cubic yards of dirt, enough to fill one million dump trucks. Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Winston Cup Series race, which was held on September 29, 2001. The track seats nearly 82,000 spectators in the grandstands, but could eventually expand to 150,000 seats. On a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race weekend, Kansas Speedway becomes the fourth-largest city in the state of Kansas.