Kansas City ? Kansas Speedway brought in about $150 million to the Kansas City area economy in its first year in 2001, and speedway officials said Monday they are considering adding seats to accommodate more fans.

An estimated crowd of 100,000 turned out for last year’s NASCAR Winston Cup race in late September, while the Indy Racing League’s Ameristar Casino Indy 200 drew 75,000 in early July.

Those races are already sold out for this year and Kansas Speedway President Jeff Boerger said the speedway is considering expanding.

“We’re looking at it pretty hard,” he said Monday at Kansas Speedway’s Kickoff Luncheon. “It all depends on demand, and right now our demand is pretty high.”

Boerger said the additional seating could come this year and would be an extension of the current stands. He was unsure of an exact number of seats to be added, but said it could be between 5,000 and 10,000.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty and Fox Sports racing analyst and former NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds were among several hundred drivers, racing fans and officials on hand for the second annual luncheon.

The 2002 Kansas Speedway season starts June 1 with the NASCAR Winston West Kansas 150 and ARCA RE/MAX Series BPU 200.

The Greater Kansas City Sports Commission evaluated the economic indicators and came up with the $150 million figure. Boerger said the commission considered such factors as the number of people who came to the races from out of town estimated at about 60 percent of those purchasing tickets and the per capita dollar it was estimated each person spent.