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Chicago Motor Speedway Breaks Ground

30 June 1998

Chicago Motor Speedway Breaks Ground

       It was a mount of a different color for jockey Mark Guidry today
              as he climbed atop a bulldozer of Sportsman's Park

    CICERO, Ill., June 30 -- Officials from Sportsman's Park and
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing officially broke ground today, on construction of
the Chicago Motor Speedway, a state-of-the-art facility for both horse and
auto racing as well as family entertainment events.
    The reconfigured facility will feature a one-mile oval track for auto
racing and a seven-furlong horse racing track.  Construction will be completed
in time for a fall 1999 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) inaugural FedEx
Championship Series race.
    "We are excited to bring world-class auto racing to the Chicago-area,"
said Ed Duffy, chief operating officer of Sportsman's Park.  "Plans for the
new facility will allow us to make significant improvement in the existing
horse track, paving the way for us to make Sportsman's Park an even more
successful horse racing venue."
    Representatives from both the horse and auto racing industries helped
usher in this new era in Sportsman's history by climbing atop bulldozers to
scoop the first chunks of dirt out of Sportsman's infield, including Mark
Guidry, Sportsman's leading jockey for the 1998 season, which concludes today.
    "We think the Chicago Motor Speedway is going to be an instant hit with
people in the Chicago area as well as with the drivers on the CART FedEx
Championship Series," said Chip Ganassi, owner of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.
"This track will be wider and flatter than most others tracks, allowing for
more wheel-to-wheel driving and passing, and it will have a safety wall system
to protect drivers in the turns."
    "This is a historic day for Sportsman's Park," said Charles Bidwill III,
president of Sportsman's Park.  "This groundbreaking marks the beginning of a
new era of horse racing and now auto racing."
    Later in the evening, Chicago Motor Speedway and Target Stores will
celebrate the groundbreaking with the community with a free concert featuring
Ides of March and Billy Ray Cyrus and a pre-Fourth of July fireworks display.