SPARTA, Ky. -- Ryan Newman was at Kentucky Speedway testing on Wednesday, and he admitted it may be nice to change NASCAR's schedule a little to give fans in other parts of the country a taste of the sport.

"I think there are a few racetracks that we go to that we don't need to go to twice," Newman said. "They don't pack the place full so there's no point in going back. Obviously, we don't want to take away from the people that enjoy having it twice, but there are other places we can go to serve the entire United States a little bit better.

"Some tracks are nice to go twice and some tracks we only need to go to once, that's the bottom line."

Newman's comments were perfect timing considering Kentucky Lt. Gov. Steve Pence stopped by the track to take a peek during the mid-week test session.

The track has lobbied for a Nextel Cup date for some time, and in July 2005 Kentucky Speedway filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation claiming ISC violated federal antitrust laws by not permitting tracks to bid for Cup races. The lawsuit is ongoing.

At the same time, so is testing at the track as teams use the 1.5-mile speedway in preparation for similar tracks that make up the Nextel Cup schedule. Newman turned laps in wintry temperatures to gather intermediate track knowledge that may pay dividends as early as this Sunday's race on the newly configured 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"We're working on our intermediate car, some specifically for Vegas and some specifically for the rest of the season," Newman said. "We're trying to map some things out. We're trying to collect some data. It's tough anymore to get good testing in, especially at the Nextel Cup tracks, and this is the closest place we could come."

Pence agreed.

"All the drivers who test here now say it's a great track," Pence said. "So if the state gets behind it with all its effort, the fans get behind it, and we have a few drivers who say it's a great place to race, it will happen eventually."

Pence asserted that a Nextel Cup event at Kentucky Speedway would create a success story for both Kentucky and the series.

"First, I think it'd be great for NASCAR because there are so many race fans in this area and this [television] viewing area in driving distance [of this facility]," Pence said. "There's no question that what [Kentucky Speedway chairman and co-owner] Jerry Carroll has built here is a great thing and they [the fans] would fill this up. It would be a huge impact economically for the state.

"A Nextel Cup race is just not a one-day event. It is a week event or more. That would have the same impact as a Kentucky Derby or greater. There are that many people that come to the track, it's a televised event and it's an opportunity to market Kentucky and the great job we've done in starting to do that."

Pence said he believes the people of Kentucky who are in favor of a Cup race can make a difference.

"Let NASCAR know that the state cares about this," he said. "That's one of the reasons I'm here today, to let the people on Ryan Newman's team know that the state does care about this and they want to see a Nextel Cup race here. I like to hear and talk to guys like Ryan Newman because they believe a Nextel Cup race would work here."