Kentucky Speedway Preferred Line - March 12, 2010

The engines of NASCAR's three major series have exited stage left and are leaving the IZOD IndyCar Series season-opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the center stage spotlight this week.

Read on for a preview of the IZOD IndyCar Series Brazil race, our Drive Smart! Tip of the Week and to learn more about our upcoming Drive the Track Sale and poll question!

DRIVE SMART TIP O' THE WEEK: DON'T PRESS YOUR LUCK ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY
For many Americans, St. Patrick's Day has become a popular night out to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, the celebration often leads to drunken driving and needless tragedy. In 2008, there were 134 crash fatalities on St. Patrick's Day. Thirty-seven percent of those crashes involved an impaired driver and/or motorcyclist with a BAC of .08 and higher. Driving impaired is simply not worth the risk. Not only do you risk killing yourself and others, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be significant. Don't press your luck this St. Patrick's Day. Drive Smart by designating your sober driver before the party begins.

KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY DRIVE THE TRACK SALE SET FOR APRIL 24
Kentucky Speedway will provide you the opportunity to drive your vehicle around our 1.5-mile tri-oval during our first "Drive the Track Sale" of the season on Saturday, April 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Simply make a minimum $40 purchase from our Fan Center Gift Shop and you'll be turning three paced laps on our track. You'll be able to take advantage of great discounts off Kentucky Speedway logo and NASCAR driver merchandise throughout day. Season ticket plan and single-race ticket purchases also will count toward your official sale total. Our Fan Center is located off of Interstate 71 Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 N in Sparta, Ky. Make plans to visit us now for your chance to see our track as the drivers do! See you April 24 for our "Drive the Track Sale!"

INDYCAR SERIES OPENS 2010 SEASON ON THE STREETS OF SAO PAULO SUNDAY
The IZOD IndyCar Series will open its 17-race 2010 schedule that features nine road and street courses on the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday, March 14 at 11:30 a.m. (EST). Race coverage will be available on Versus television, XM Radio Channel 145, Sirius Radio 211, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and the new-look http://www.indycar.com. Indy style cars last raced in Brazil at Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway in Rio de Janeiro from 1996 to 2000. Sao Paulo is home to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Ana Beatriz, Conquest Racing's Mario Romancini and Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves. Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan is from Salvador, Brazil, A.J. Foyt Enterprises driver Vitor Meira is from Brasilia, Brazil, de Ferran Luczo Dragon Racing competitor Raphael Matos is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti won last season's championship by 11 points over teammate Scott Dixon after scoring five victories and a total of 13 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. The 2009 championship results follow: http://bit.ly/ICS10stand.

KURT BUSCH PLUCKS HIS FIRST NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES VICTORY OF 2010 IN ATLANTA
Penske Racing driver and 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch earned his first victory of the 2010 season and the 21st of his career in his 332nd start since 2000 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7. The 11-season veteran survived two attempts at a green-white-checkered flag finish before he rolled his No. 2 Penske Racing car across the finish line 0.482 of a second ahead of Roush Fenway competitor Matt Kenseth. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya placed third while Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard took fourth and fifth respectively. Series championship leader Kevin Harvick tallied his fourth top-10 finish of the season with a ninth-place showing in Atlanta and retained the top spot in the standings heading to the series March 21 event at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Atlanta victory represented Busch's first top-five and second top-10 finish of the season. The effort helped him advance nine positions in the series standings to 10th. He trails Harvick by 142 points. Kenseth moved from fourth to second in the series standings after snaring his second top-five and fourth top-10 finish of the season. He has earned top-five finishes in two straight events and trails Harvick by 26 points. Montoya advanced five spots in the series standings to 21st at Atlanta with his first top-five and second top-10 finish of the season. His previous season-best finish was 10th in the Daytona 500. He finished 37th in events held at Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He trails Harvick by 226 points. Kahne picked up six positions in the series standings after taking his first top-five and second top-10 finish of the season in the Peach State. He has taken top-10 race finishes in two straight events after finishing ninth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He trails Harvick by 197 points. Menard earned the second top-five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish of his seven-year series career and first top-10 finish of the season in Atlanta. He took his series career-best second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway on October 5, 2008. The Atlanta race saw 31 lead changes among 13 drivers and 11 caution periods that ate up 53 race laps. The most notable caution occurred on Lap 324 when Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards No. 99 car intentionally clipped the rear of Brad Keselowski's No. 12 Penske Racing machine. The No. 12 became airborne before landing on the speedway surface. Neither driver was seriously injured in the incident. NASCAR officials placed Edwards on probation for three races as a result of the incident. Edwards finished 39th in the race and slipped from 10th to 20th in the series standings. Keselowski was credited with a 36th-place Atlanta finish and fell from 30th to 33rd in the standings. The series will take the week off before doing battle at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 21. Kyle Busch earned a March Bristol victory last season after Mark Martin started from the pole position. Race coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. (EST), on FOX. Performance Racing Network radio and Sirius XM Radio 128 coverage will begin at noon. Series standings: http://tinyurl.com/NSCS-Standings.

HARVICK NAILS DOWN NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES ATLANTA VICTORY
Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Kevin Harvick earned his seventh career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory by 1.308 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing Sprint Cup Series young gun Kyle Busch on March 6 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Both Harvick and Busch scored their top-five finishes in trucks they own. Billy Ballew Motorsports drivers Aric Almirola and Steve Wallace claimed third and fourth respectively while Germain Racing's Todd Bodine rounded out the race top five. Bodine moved from second to the lead in the series standings with his second top-five and top-10 finish of the season. The 2006 series champion, who has placed in the top four in the final series standings in each of the previous five seasons, opened the 2010 campaign with a second-place showing at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona winner and former championship leader Timothy Peters earned his second top-10 finish of the season with a seventh-place Atlanta finish. He slipped to second in the standings and will trail Bodine by four points entering the series March 27 event at Martinsville Speedway. Harvick started his first series event of the season. He ranks 20th in the series standings and trails Bodine by 120 points. Busch vaulted 17 spots in the series standings to fifth by collecting his first top-five and top-10 finish of the season through two starts. He sits 68 points back of Bodine. Almirola gained four positions in the series standings by knocking out his first top-five and top-10 finish of the season. He will trail Bodine by 48 points when the series takes the green flag at Martinsville. Wallace also made his first series start of the season in Atlanta. He ranks 25th in the championship standings and is 175 points off Bodine's leading pace. Martinsville race coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. (EST), on SPEED Channel, Motor Racing Network radio and Sirius XM Radio 128. Harvick took last season's Martinsville victory after Rick Crawford started from the pole position. Series standings: http://tinyurl.com/NCWTS-Standings.

THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES NARROWS ITS SIGHTS ON A MARCH 20 BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY BATTLE
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will return to action Saturday, March 20 in the now more cozy Bristol Motor Speedway confines. The legendary race facility announced last month that it was moving its Turn 2 and 4 SAFER barrier in to narrow the racing groove by three feet. Race coverage begins at 2:00 p.m., on ABC, Performance Racing Network radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio 128. Kevin Harvick won the first of two series races at the track last season after Brendan Gaughan started from the pole position. Series standings: http://tinyurl.com/NNS10Stand.

CHIME IN ON CARL EDWARDS SPRINT CUP SERIES PENALTY WITH OUR FAN POLL
Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards was placed on probation for the next three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events after his No. 99 car sent Brad Keselowski's No. 12 Penske Racing car airborne at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the new day-and-age of "have at it, boys" in NASCAR, what's your opinion of the penalty? Visit us this week at http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com to register your vote in our fan poll!