Lucas Oil Raceway loses its NASCAR events in 2012

After 30 years of racing at Lucas Oil Raceway, NASCAR's Nationwide Series and the younger Camping World Truck Series won't return to the track in 2012.

The Nationwide Series race, which has been held at the former Indianapolis Raceway Park since 1982, will move to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The future of the truck series in Indianapolis was not immediately clear beyond it not returning next year. The truck series has raced at Lucas Oil Raceway every year since its debut season of 1995.

"We're very disappointed in the decision," said Wes Collier, general manager of Lucas Oil Raceway. "I think this was a business decision between NASCAR and IMS and we were left on the outside looking in."

Collier said he is not in discussions with NASCAR about another weekend in 2012. He said he would be interested in bringing back NASCAR but would not actively pursue it.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said in that case, NASCAR would actively pursue a future with Lucas Oil Raceway.

"They were our first stop in this marketplace, years before we started running at the Brickyard," he said. "We'd like to explore the possibilities, and hopefully we're in their future and they're in ours."

NASCAR's departure leaves Lucas Oil Raceway with the NHRA's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, held on Labor Day weekend, as the NHRA-owned track's only major event.

Collier declined to put a number on the financial impact losing NASCAR would have on the track but said he didn't believe it would affect the track's stability.

Several NASCAR stars have raced in the Nationwide or truck series at the 0.686-mile oval, including Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.

"It's unfortunate," Collier said. "Thirty years ago, the late Bob Daniels kind of brought NASCAR to the Midwest. I don't think the Brickyard would have its race without what happened here."

Edwards promised that he would return to Lucas Oil Raceway.

"I'll be racing back there, one way or another, whether it's in a Silver Crown car or a truck or the Nationwide Series again someday," he said. "I have a feeling the Nationwide Series will be there again. It's just a great racetrack."

The Nationwide Series had been rumored to be pondering a move to IMS in recent years. Track officials at Lucas Oil Raceway were informed about two weeks ago that NASCAR would not return.

"We were more than willing to do what we could to keep this race here," Collier said. "There wasn't anything proposed to us that we wouldn't have done to keep this race here."

IMS president Jeff Belskus said he hopes NASCAR finds its way back to Lucas Oil Raceway.

"Our friends at Lucas Oil are important to us, and we've supported them for a long time," Belskus said. "We're going to continue to support them and try to continue to find ways to work with them."

This year's AAA Insurance 200 truck race is scheduled for July 29, and the Nationwide Series' Kroger 200 is set for July 30. The Sprint Cup's Brickyard 400 is July 31 at IMS.