NASCAR President Mike Helton is scheduled to attend the Busch race at Kentucky Speedway on June 15, another big day in the track's bid for a 2003 Winston Cup date.

        “We're going all out to make a big push for Winston Cup this year,” Speedway chairman Jerry Carroll said.

        Helton could not be reached for comment this week, but in past interviews with the Enquirer he has been noncommittal about Kentucky's Winston hopes. Helton attended Kentucky's inaugural Busch race in June 2001 and was asked if it was “an audition” for a possible Winston Cup date.

        “We don't look at it like that,” Helton said. “It's a great opportunity for the Busch series, from our perspective. Jerry (Carroll) understands that it's not a test, not, "Can you handle this or not?' Whatever happens down the road is down the road. We only take one year at a time.”

Greg Biffle (60) passes Joe Nemechek (87) to go on to win the Nascar MBNA Platinum 200 Busch Race at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Del., Saturday. Biffle overcame several problems and won a three-lap shootout after the race was red-flagged to claim the NASCAR Busch Series race. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Carroll believes Helton was impressed by last year's crowd of 70,338, which was about 4,000 more than capacity.

        “Mike Helton has given us a thumbs-up that we're doing all the right things,” Carroll said. “That's all we can do.”

        NASCAR spokesman Mike Zizzo said recently that he knew of no plans to change the Winston Cup schedule in 2003. But Kentucky also might lobby for The Winston — the annual all-star race currently based in Charlotte.

        NASCAR senior vice president George Pyne told USA Today that the circuit is considering taking The Winston to a market that does not have a Winston Cup race. Possibilities include tracks hosting Busch races: Kentucky, Nashville, Memphis, Gateway (near St. Louis) and Pike's Peak (Colorado).

        For now, Kentucky just hopes to show Helton another good time.

        “We need our fans to be extra enthusiastic,” speedway general manager Mark Cassis said. “We need to put on another great show and keep lobbying for a 2003 Cup date.”

        SELLOUT LOOMS: Cassis said more than 56,000 seats have been sold for the Busch race, officially, “The Kroger 300 Presented by Oreo.”

        Could the crowd approach last year's standing-room-only house of 70,338?

        “Last year, with 4,000 people in the facility without a seat, that was tough on our operations and security personnel,” Cassis said. “We'll cross that bridge when we reach 66,098, which is our capacity.”

        NEMECHEK COMING: Winston Cup driver Joe Nemechek has committed to participate in Kentucky's Busch race. He will pull double duty, as the Cup drivers are in Michigan the following day.

        FLYING FULTZ: Blue Ash native Jeff Fultz plans to drive in the Busch race at Kentucky.

        Fultz also plans to compete in the NASCAR Hills Brothers All-Pro Series race — his regular circuit — at Kentucky on June 14, the night before the Busch race. Fultz won both All-Pro races at Kentucky last summer and is a longtime standout in the series, which is a feeder for Busch and Winston Cup.

        “It'll be a hectic weekend, but you know how much I love Kentucky,” said Fultz, a Sycamore High School graduate.

        Fultz, 33, works weekdays as a fabricator for Jasper Motorsports in Mooresville, N.C., as part of Dave Blaney's Winston Cup team.

        SMOOTH SAILING: Alex Barron, who finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday, tested an Indy Racing League car a few days later at Kentucky Speedway. Drivers complained of a bumpy track before the IRL race at Kentucky last August, but Barron said the repaved asphalt runs like new.

        “It's really smooth,” he said. “It's one of the smoothest tracks I've driven on.”

       E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com

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