Governor Kathleen Sebelius was in New York City on Friday night to attend NASCAR's annual awards banquet and to lobby for more racing in Kansas.

Sebelius said in an interview that she felt it was important for her to show Kansas' support for NASCAR. Wyandotte County is home to Kansas Speedway.

The speedway had two major weekends of racing this year, in July and October.

Sebelius says the speedway represents a major tourism attraction for Kansas and that she wants to attract more race days to her state. She says events surrounding Friday's banquet gave her a chance to speak to NASCAR officials and track owners.

Also attending the banquet was former Kansas Governor Bill Graves, a director of the company that owns the speedway.