LVMS officials urge race fans to use mass transit
Although the ongoing road construction poses a level of inconvenience, Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials are once again working closely with the Nevada Highway Patrol, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Department of Transportation to ensure smooth entrance and exit during the weekend.
Race fans who do drive to the speedway should arrive early and use alternate routes. Race fans living in Summerlin, Aliante and Southern Highlands are advised to use the 215 Beltway. Race fans coming from Henderson and areas east of the Strip should use Las Vegas Boulevard or Nellis Boulevard. Anyone on the Strip should still use Interstate 15.
"We regret the inconvenience that the road construction may cause some of our guests, and we're working with the local agencies to make the trip into the speedway as smooth as possible," said Chris Powell, LVMS's president. "We hope our guests will allow plenty of time, choose alternate routes and consider shuttle buses as an alternative. Once this project is finished, it will make vehicle flow to and from the speedway better than ever. It's a one-year inconvenience for many years of smooth flow."
Speedway officials also are encouraging as many race fans as possible to use buses and shuttles for transportation to the races. Las Vegas Motor Speedway has secured two options for mass transportation to the speedway for the Feb. 27-March 1 NASCAR Weekend.
For those who have used the Citizens Area Transit ("CAT") buses in the past, a new option is Coach America. Coach America will be filling many of the same routes as the CAT buses have in the past. Race fans can contact Coach America at nascar.coachamerica.com or (702) 948-7360.
For those wishing to take a private charter to the races, LVMS recommends Key Tours. Key Tours has been providing service to the speedway for several years, and we vouch for the quality of its service. Key Tours can be contacted at www.keytourslv.com or 1-800-261-2691.
To reserve seats on either the Coach America or Key Tours buses, please go to www.LVMS.com <http://www.lvms.com/> and click on the "Getting to the Races" link in the NASCAR Weekend Quick Links box.
For those who are not aware, federal legislation now prohibits government-funded transportation units from serving as a charter service when one or more private bus companies are willing to perform the service. As a result, the federally funded CAT buses in Las Vegas no longer can serve as a charter service to LVMS.
The speedway will continue to crack down on the fraudulent use of handicapped placards. Speedway security will be checking the validity of handicapped passes on each vehicle.
"We take caring for the handicapped very seriously at the speedway," Powell said. "It's important to us that handicapped fans coming to our race are not inconvenienced by those who are perfectly capable of parking in the general parking area."
General parking is free at LVMS.
NASCAR Weekend at LVMS begins with zMAX Pole Day on Friday, Feb. 27. The Sam's Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race will be held Saturday, Feb. 28. The Shelby 427 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event will cap the weekend on Sunday, March 1. There also will be two nights of racing at the Dirt Track at LVMS: USAC/CRA Sprint Cars and USAC Midgets on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and Bullring Bombers on Thursday, Feb. 26.