Carroll lashes out at NASCAR; IndyCar tells ESPN to take a hike

Kentucky Speedway owner Jerry Carroll alleges NASCAR forced him to sell his track to friendlier owners. AP

KOONTZ LAKE, Ind. -- When it comes to speaking his mind, especially when it comes to NASCAR, Jerry Carroll certainly doesn't hold back.

Carroll owns Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., and in 2005 he filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation (ISC) alleging antitrust violations. The lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year and Kentucky Speedway has appealed.

Meanwhile, three months ago Carroll agreed to sell his track to Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI), with SMI having until Aug. 18 to complete the $78 million purchase. Both SMI Chairman Bruton Smith and Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage were at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday looking over the scene. They're fully aware that NASCAR is not giving a race date to Kentucky for the 2009 Sprint Cup season, but SMI is considering moving a Cup date from one of its existing tracks to Kentucky if the purchase is completed.

Carroll said last week that if SMI had not offered to buy the speedway, he would have continued to operate the track with a prime IndyCar date as well as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Nationwide Series date. But in all likelihood, last Saturday night's Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky was his last at the helm of the 1-1/2-mile oval just a few miles south of the Ohio River.

The entire ordeal has left him with a negative opinion of the powers that be at NASCAR.

When Carroll built Kentucky Speedway, NASCAR was looking to expand its series to the west and become a truly national sport. With tracks such as Bristol Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway located within the same geographic area as Kentucky Speedway, NASCAR did not want to add another race date to a part of the country that already had NASCAR opportunities.

Carroll built the track anyway and now realizes that just because he built it does not guarantee that they will come.

"I've been an office building developer, I've been involved in the horse business, I've owned tracks, but I have not been successful in this business," he said on Saturday. "NASCAR beat me to a pulp. They didn't give us the time of day. The only way we could do something was to sell to Bruton Smith. [NASCAR] could care less whether we put people in the seats or whether people in this area were going to get to see NASCAR racing. They were going to teach us a lesson. We were the poster child and they beat us."

While Carroll was viewed by some as a modern day Don Quixote for standing up to NASCAR, he says the battle was heavily tilted against him.

"It's like going against somebody who has a total dictatorship," Carroll said. "NASCAR owns so much of it that people like me can't get into the sport. They just don't want us. How many private tracks have been built since we built this one? None. We did what we had to do. NASCAR will do whatever it takes to win out. A dictatorship is a very powerful tool. They are very powerful to beat. I do know that we were never able to play on an even playing field. We were never even given a chance."

A NASCAR spokesman responded to Carroll's assertions by saying, "Contrary to Mr. Carroll's opinion, the fact that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series does not run in Kentucky has nothing to do with him. It has to do with our existing schedule and ultimately what is best for everyone in the sport.

"It's well known by now that prior to building the track Mr. Carroll was told that a new NSCS date would not be granted. Let's also not forget that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a strongly worded opinion on behalf of NASCAR in dismissing the case back in January. NASCAR already runs very successful NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at Kentucky Speedway. We have a great fan base in Kentucky that is very supportive of NASCAR."