Bahre sells New Hampshire track
After years of suggesting that his track was for sale, and further suggesting that son Gary wanted no part of ownership in his absence, Maine native Bob Bahre finally cut a deal for his 1.058-mile facility in Loudon, N.H. For $340 million, O. Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought New Hampshire International Speedway in November and promptly renamed it New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
SMI now owns 7 tracks which will host a total of 12 Cup races in 2008.
For the time being, there will be 2 Sprint Cup Series races at the track. But the future of NHMS is murky. Will Smith move one of the New Hampshire dates to Las Vegas? Will he move both dates eventually to other tracks, leaving New England with no Cup racing after a decade and a half of seeing stock car racing's premier circuit? Or, surprising most pundits, will things remain status quo -- with 2 Cup dates every summer at an improved, world-class facility?
Questions also abound regarding the future of regional touring divisions, like the Camping World East Series and the Whelen Modified Tour, which have been staples of Cup weekends in Loudon. How are the national support series, the Nationwide Series and the Truck Series, to be affected? Will we see Indy cars back on the flat oval"
With SMI's purchase, there are more questions than answers regarding NHMS. But make no mistake -- Smith's acquisition ``has implications that stretch across New England. Fans, teams and short-track promoters are all keeping a watchfull eye at what happens on Route 106.
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15 comments:
I'd take your race dates away too with everyone's negative attitude up in New England about Brunton's purchase of the track. Look at what he has done with some of the tracks he owns, there awesome to visit a race at, very fan freindly. OK he shut a couple of tracks down but he's a business man- he's in it to make money- everyone outta be able to understand that. If he can sellout QUALIFYING and the race in Vegas why would he leave the race at NHMS?
anonymous, what exactly has Bruton Smith done to the tracks he owns? They've degenerated into "racertainment" venues instead of racetracks. "Very fan friendly." And Loudon wasn't? Just what qualifies as "fan friendly" anyway?
A speedway can be fan friendly and still be a racetrack instead of a stupid "racertainment" venue.
"If he can sell out qualifying and the race in Vegas....." He stopped selling out Texas, Charlotte, and Atlanta years ago - they now have sponsor signage hiding empty portions of grandstands now. And his Vegas numbers don't come across as plausible.
I think the dates will stay right here. He has two sellouts a year, he can't say that about his other tracks.
I think he has proven in the past that if the track itself needs a tuneup, he's more than willing to give it one (I think alot of people would like to see that happen), plus some of the edges of NHMS could use a little sprucing up and I do think the fans will come out winners. Bruton in this to make money, but I also think he's a racing fan too.
I feel better about NHMS keeping both dates in the hands of Smith than if the track was sold to ISC.
Where have any of his tracks needed tuneups? For that matter, where has any track that objectively needed a tuneup not provided one? Where did NHIS ever need a tuneup that wasn't provided? Because it doesn't have luxury condos isn't something to be missed.
Bruton Smith does things less out of necessity than out of his own impulsive nature. He is more likely to move dates than ISC.
Texas, Vegas, and Charlotte (after the ill-advised paving job) all received major reconstruction projects to put on better racing.
If you think the shape & design of NHMS is conducive to good racing, you are in the minority. I’d say there is a better chance of the track being reconfigured than losing one of its cup dates. You don’t build an empire like Smith has by being “impulsive”.
Ask the folks in Rockingham (the sacrificial lamb of ISC) & Colorado, and Darlington if ISC is willing to shut down tracks and pull away dates.
Texas, Vegas, and Charlotte put in major reconstruction jobs and have failed to make the racing better. Texas in particular is a scandal in the sport because Bruton Smith basically bought the date and then blackmailed the sanctioning body into giving him a second date, never mind he didn't deserve the first one to start with.
The shape and design of NHIS are not onerous to good racing at all; they've had some decent racing with the fendered classes and superior racing with the Modifieds - how about adopting the Modified package of restrictors, better tires, and roof-spoiler-style raw-drag aerodynamics for the draft instead of reconfiguring the tracks?
Rockingham got sacrificed to Bruton Smith, who was blackmailing NASCAR - ISC deserves condemnation but Bruton deserves it more. Darlington lost one date but the other has been secured by fan support and the failure of Fontana means it's just a matter of time before the second Darlington date comes back.
I will say this - by far the best tracks in racing are the superspeedways - I would like NHIS more if it were a 2.5-mile Ontario clone.
I was in Texas in April and saw one of the best finishes of the year (Burton passing Kenseth on with one to go). It was a great place to see a race and the racing was good with multiple lines through the corners. I think Loudon and Texas are both "fan friendly" places with excellent staff and side activities.
The "on-track" excitement is MUCH higher at other SMI facilities than Loudon (except for Sonoma)
KFarrar, is it? The racing at SMI's other tracks is no better than at Loudon - Bristol sucks, Texas is overrated, Atlanta was briefly good but not anymore, Sears Point sucks as you noted, and Charlotte is overrated. Loudon isn't worse than anything else SMI has.
I guess I'll partially agree and partially disagree. The on-track action is better at other SMI tracks than Loudon. You can call Charlotte/Texas over rated if you want...and they may be...but there is more action than at Loudon. Bristol isnt even really a race, it's a circus event (I've been there too).
There isn't more action at Charlotte or Texas than Loudon. They usually run longer green flag stretches with no greater incidence of passing anywhere close to the front than Loudon.
Have you been or are you watching it on TV? Some people that knew I went to the Texas race in April said it looked like a snoozer to them (except for the finish). It wasnt. They had one long green flag run but there was always passing throughout the pack. The problem is that the TV types A) dont dare take the camera off the leader and B) have so many commercials during the broadcast that the viewer looses interest.
kfarrar - passing throughout the pack is not more frequent at Texas than at Loudon (and passing throughout the pack isn't relevent anyway, it's fighting up front that matters).
As for TV, it is supposed to cover the duel for the win, not scan the field.
I guess we'll just agree to have two different opinions on this and leave it at that. I'm not going to convince you Loudon is the least competive SMI track and you arent going to convince me it isnt...but that doesnt make me more right than you or vice versa. Thanks for voicing your opinion.
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