UPDATE 2-Int'l Speedway posts weak Q1; cuts FY09 view; shrs fall

* Q1 adj EPS $0.56, misses est by 6 cents

* Q1 rev down 14.3 pct to $166.1 mln

* Sees 2009 EPS $1.80-$2.00, before items

* Sees 2009 rev $700-$720 mln

* Shares fall 25 pct (Recasts; adds conference call details, analyst comments, share movement)

By Poojya Trivedi

BANGALORE, April 7 (Reuters) - Race track owner International Speedway Corp (ISCA.O) posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results and slashed its 2009 outlook as a rocky U.S. economy kept fans away from the stock-car racing circuit, knocking its shares down 25 percent.

The Daytona Beach, Florida-based company, which along with Speedway Motorsports (TRK.N) dominates the NASCAR racing landscape, said it is reducing ticket prices to make it affordable to fans and also implementing cost-control measures to combat the weak economy.

"Despite the company's plans for reducing ticket prices and implementing broad cost reductions, we see continued declines ahead," Standard & Poor's Equity Research said in a note to clients. S&P downgraded the stock to "sell" from "hold" and slashed its price target by 40 percent to $18.

Advance ticket sales at the company are currently trending down about 20 percent compared with last year, Chief Operating Officer John Saunders said in a conference call with analysts.

International Speedway, whose tracks include the home of the popular Daytona 500, said it sees 2009 profit of $1.80 to $2.00 a share, excluding items, on revenue of $700 million to $720 million.

"As it is still early in the year, the company is more comfortable at the low end of these ranges," International Speedway said.

The company had previously forecast full year earnings of $2.35 to $2.45 a share, before items, on revenue of $745 million and $765 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.22 a share on revenue of $747.7 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of International Speedway fell $6.03 to $18.40 in afternoon trade, making them the second biggest percentage loser on Nasdaq.

WEAK QUARTER

For the first quarter ended Feb. 28, the company earned $25.1 million, or 52 cents a share, compared with $36.2 million, or 71 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding impairment charge and accelerated depreciation of certain office and buildings in Daytona, the company posted earnings of 56 cents a share. Analysts expected 62 cents.

Revenue came in at $166.1 million, down from $193.9 million a year ago.

"Although the popularity of the NASCAR event is still undiminished, the company's attendance revenue declined 15 percent largely impacted by the macro economic condition, which we see will continue through second quarter," Gabelli & Co analyst Barry Lucas said by phone.

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