New Pavement, Kyle Busch Tribute and a New Era for Short-Track Racing
By Debbie Hall
The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) is ready to fire up the engines again.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 3/8-mile track reopened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 16, featuring the newly repaved oval and renovations meant to give this old racing facility a new lease on life.
Chet Buchanan, radio personality and the voice of NASCAR at LVMS, emceed the program. Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick (District B) helped cut the ribbon at the repaved track and presented the LVMS A Key to the Las Vegas Strip. Other speakers included CARS Tour and Kevin Harvick, Inc. Tim Huddleston, Formula Drift President Ryan Sage, and Open Wheel Showdown promoter and driver Davey Hamilton Jr.
The Bullring has traditionally served as a proving ground for many local and regional drivers with divisions like NASCAR Modifieds, CARS Tour West, Legends, and Bandoleros, to name just a few.
This reopening takes on added significance with a new memorial exhibit dedicated to Kyle Busch, who passed away last month. Kyle was a two-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion who first honed his racing skills at The Bullring along with his older brother, Kurt Busch.
Located along the entry path to the grandstands, the memorial features a large rock depicting Kyle Busch performing his signature bow. The project received support from Star Nursery, one of the sponsors connected to Busch during his early racing career.
Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and a 1996 Bullring track champion, attended the reopening and reflected on the track’s importance to his family.
“It’s a nice tribute and I’m thankful for the track to put that there with Kyle’s legacy,” Kurt Busch said. “It’s something you don’t want to see, but it’s a nice tribute. It puts a nice exclamation point on what Kyle has done with his racing career.”
For Kurt, The Bullring represents much more than a racing facility. He remembers visiting the track in the 1980s to watch his father, Tom, race, eventually following his father onto the track alongside Kyle. The short track became an important starting point for both brothers and has since helped launch the careers of other drivers, including current NASCAR Cup Series competitors Riley Herbst and Noah Gragson.
“To race here and have this track and the community of people that helped us and now everyone’s giving back in a way to reflect and showcase what Kyle has done, what we’ve been able to do and other families have been able to do in the motor sports world by racing here and putting in the effort here to make it to the big time,” Kurt Busch said.
A New Chapter for The Bullring
These changes are meant to ensure that The Bullring becomes more than just a venue for short-track racing.
As Patrick Lindsey, the senior vice president and general manager of LVMS, put it, completing the track’s paving marks the start of a strategy to make the most of LVMS beyond hosting motorsport races. In addition to motorsports, LVMS plans to explore other avenues like concerts and festivals.
“We’re really excited to have those renovations done so we can start a whole new chapter here and hopefully, it’d be more than just motor sports,” Lindsey said. “We want to bring new events out to The Bullring, concerts, festivals, new events, but this was the first step to get this done to show off the capability of what this could be.”
That new chapter begins almost immediately.
Formula DRIFT Makes Its Las Vegas Return
The first major event on the revamped track is Formula DRIFT Round 7: High Stakes, scheduled for Sept. 24-26. It marks Formula DRIFT’s first Las Vegas event since 2012 and will bring professional drifting to the newly repaved Bullring. Drivers will compete in head-to-head battles that combine speed, precision and controlled slides around the short oval.
The Bullring will continue its motorsports schedule with the Open Wheel Showdown Nov. 5-7.
The venue’s regular programming will continue to showcase grassroots racing, including CARS Tour West Pro Late Models, NASCAR Modifieds, Legends, Bandoleros and other local divisions. The track has also hosted regional series including the ARCA Menards Series West and CARS Tour West.
The Kyle Busch Classic
The next major milestone arrives during NASCAR weekend.
On Oct. 2, The Bullring will host the inaugural Kyle Busch Classic presented by Star Nursery, establishing a new annual event honoring the Las Vegas driver’s connection to the track where his career began. The event will feature the CARS Tour Series West along with Modifieds, Bandoleros, Legends, ARCA, CARS Tour Pro Late Models and CARS Tour Limited Late Models.
The event is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, with gates opening at 4 p.m. and racing beginning at 5 p.m. as part of the NASCAR weekend at LVMS.
The new event gives The Bullring an opportunity to celebrate both its history and its future—honoring a Las Vegas racer whose career began on the short track while continuing to provide a place for the next generation of drivers to get their start.
For Kurt Busch, the reopening is also a homecoming.
“This place is ready and it’s fun to have this as my hometown track,” he said.
With fresh pavement, a growing event calendar and a renewed focus on grassroots racing, The Bullring is entering its next chapter with its history firmly under the lights. For more info, visit lvms.com.
