FORT WORTH, Texas -- NASCAR's track in New Hampshire has a new name, a new logo, and a new owner. And for now, still two Nextel Cup race dates.
Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports Inc. on Friday announced a $340 million agreement to purchase the 1-mile facility, giving the track magnate two more coveted dates on NASCAR's premier series. The question now becomes whether Smith, who added dates to his Texas Motor Speedway by purchasing tracks in North Wilkesboro and Rockingham, N.C., will eventually shift one of New Hampshire's races to his gleaming facility in Las Vegas.
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Bruton Smith says he doesn't plan on moving a race to Vegas from New Hampshire but Joe Menzer says the sale doesn't make sense unless he does.
"I have no plans to move anything or do anything," Smith said when the deal was announced Friday morning. But it's still early in the process; the sale won't even close until the first quarter of next season, and Smith -- who struck the deal with former owner Bob Bahre only last week, and had to disclose financial terms because SMI is a public company -- said any assumptions as to what he'll do with the property are premature.
But Chris Powell, general manager of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, clearly wants another date to complement the one his track currently hosts in March. SMI recently sank millions into the Las Vegas facility to revamp the racing surface and the garage area.
"I think there's more of an opening now then we've ever had," said Powell, who attended Friday's announcement at Texas. "That is not to say anything negative about New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the great job that's been done up there for years. I use to work at R.J. Reynolds, went up to New Hampshire every year, and enjoyed every trip I made. Lake Winnipesaukee is one of the most beautiful places on earth. But at the same time, Bruton has made a big investment in our speedway, and the best way to get a return on that investment is to do more business."
New Hampshire Motor Speedway -- the "international" from its name has been dropped -- has sold out every Cup race since it debuted on the schedule in 1993, and routinely attracts more than 100,000 people to a region with deep short-track roots. It's also close to Boston, one of the large Northeastern cities that NASCAR has worked to make inroads in, and holds a prominent place as the first stop in the Chase.
Even if Smith wanted to move a race, he couldn't do it for next season. Those sanctioning agreements are already signed, reminded NASCAR chairman Brian France.
"While we don't have any details about SMI's plans for [New Hampshire], all sanctions for 2008 have been signed and finalized. As a result, there will be no location changes to the 2008 schedule that was released last month. This is important to the fans, competitors, broadcast partners and sponsors who have already made plans for the 2008 races," France said Friday in a statement.
"Looking beyond 2008, NASCAR will continue to consider requests by any track operator, including SMI, to relocate race dates. Under NASCAR's realignment plan, we have worked with track owners to relocate race dates to meet the needs of our growing national fan base. Ultimately, any change must meet NASCAR's objectives and serve our fans."
NASCAR has left it up to racetrack corporations, like SMI and rival International Speedway Corp., to move race dates within their own framework. ISC took that path in moving events to California and Phoenix, while SMI did the same in moving races to Texas. But in each case, those dates came from tracks that were underperforming at the ticket office, in geographic locations unattractive to sponsors, or both.
New Hampshire, a sold-out facility in a key Northeastern market, is different. NASCAR likes having two races in the greater Boston area, and might not be quite so willing to allow SMI to simply move one of them somewhere else. The track corporations may have the freedom to move dates, but NASCAR still makes the schedule.
"I they overstate it if they say, you get to move them around within your own [company]. I don't think it's anywhere close to that simple," said Texas track president Eddie Gossage. "They still approve the schedule. I don't think it's as easy as us picking up the phone and saying, 'We're moving A to Z and Z to A.' They're not going to go, 'OK, thanks for calling. Appreciate you letting us know.' They may go, 'Well, there's California to consider.' It's never that simple."
