Las Vegas has "70 percent chance" of getting Charlotte's October NASCAR date in 2014

Las Vegas might get Charlotte's October date in 2014

Charlotte Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith, who is suing the county in which the track is located for more than $80 million in incentives promised to him, told a Charlotte television station that he is considering moving the October race from Charlotte to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

As chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., Smith can request to NASCAR that it move a race from one of his tracks to another one of his tracks.

SMI owns four tracks that have two Sprint Cup points races (Charlotte, Bristol, New Hampshire and Texas) and four that have one race (Atlanta, Kentucky, Las Vegas and Sonoma).

NASCAR has never stopped a realignment request since adopting the policy more than 10 years ago, but moving another race from out of the Southeast and backyard of most race teams shops would be hurdles for Smith to overcome if he makes that request.

In a statement, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Operations Steve O’Donnell said Smith has not asked for realignment.

"Tracks have the ability to request realignment,” he said. “We review and always decide based on the best interest of the entire sport of NASCAR. We’re beginning the 2014 process now and have not had any formal requests to realign."

Smith told WBTV in Charlotte that he was seriously considering a move to Las Vegas. He has campaigned for a second race at Vegas for several years as the track has enjoyed solid attendance while attendance at other tracks has dropped considerably.

Read More Here......Sporting News