Opened in 2000, Kentucky Speedway made its debut on the NASCAR Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, and IndyCar Series schedules the very same year. The 1.5-mile tri-oval played host to multiple NASCAR events each season before finally breaking into the Cup Series calendar in 2011.

In 2016, the track was resurfaced and reconfigured, adjusting the banking from 14 to 17 degrees in Turns 1 and 2 and narrowing the track to give cars leaving pit road a wider exit. The new pavement was artificially aged by five years to give the track character, and SAFER Barriers were added to the remaining parts of the outside wall that didn't already have them. Martin Truex Jr. set the qualifying record on the new configuration in 2017, as drivers topped the 190 mph mark for the first time.