Sale of NHIS is complete
Bahre confirms deal with Smith for track
FORT WORTH - Saying he had reached a point in his life where he felt the time was right to sell, Bob Bahre, the 80-year-old chairman of New Hampshire International Speedway, confirmed yesterday the sale of the 1.058-mile oval he built in 1990 and dubbed "The Magic Mile" to O. Bruton Smith, CEO and chairman of
"I'm going to be 81 years old in February," Bahre said by telephone from Maine. "I just felt it was time to move on to some of the other things I'm doing."
Asked what those plans included, Bahre, a self-made man with a self-deprecating sense of humor, said, "I'm going to build a
A press conference is scheduled today at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern time) at Texas Motor Speedway, one of six SMI racetracks that together stage 10 NASCAR Nextel Cup dates, where Smith will officially announce his purchase. According to one SMI source, the price is likely to exceed "by far" the $220 million
SMI's acquisition of NHIS gives it 12 Cup dates, including four in the Chase for the Championship, the most coveted of which would be the first race in the Chase. It has been speculated Smith would likely strip NHIS of its Chase date and swap it with one of his other tracks, but SMI spokesman Jerry Gappens indicated yesterday Smith was not expected to make any announcements on that matter today.
While Smith has expressed a desire to add a second Cup date to his track in Las Vegas, he was also interested in helping resolve a conflict that Texas's Chase date had with the opening of white-tail deer hunting season. While it would appear the matter could be resolved by having Texas and NHIS swap Chase dates, it's not likely to occur until 2009, since NASCAR, which has set its 2008 schedule, would have to approve a change.
Although the sale casts some uncertainty on the future of NASCAR racing in New England, an SMI source pointed to Smith's acquisition of Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in 1996 as an example of his building up, and not burying, tracks. While some feared at the time the track would be stripped of one or both of its Cup dates, Smith turned it into one of the premier tracks on the circuit.
So, what does Smith stand to gain from his purchase of NHIS?
He will acquire the first superspeedway to be constructed in the United States since 1969, which Bahre built up to accommodate 101,000 fans in the largest sports facility in New England.
In September's Sylvania 300, NHIS recorded its 26th consecutive Nextel Cup sellout. NHIS has two Cup dates, in July and September, the latter of which has served as the first race in the Chase since 2004, when NASCAR unveiled its 10-race playoff format.
Asked if he expected to have a continued role in the operation of NHIS, Bahre joked, "I don't know.
"Maybe I'll work there cooking hamburgers or cleaning bathrooms."
Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.
