N.H. Cup dates not safe

Smith leaves door open to change mind

When O. Bruton Smith was asked pointedly at a press conference Nov. 2 at Texas Motor Speedway if he intended to take one of New Hampshire's two NASCAR Nextel Cup dates and give it to Las Vegas - one of the seven tracks he owns after his $340 million purchase of New Hampshire International Speedway - Smith's reply seemed to be telling.

Sitting alone on the dais at Victory Theater, the 80-year-old chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc. spotted Chris Powell, the executive vice president and general manager of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, who was standing on the left side of the stage with Eddie Gossage, president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway, and caused the room to break into laughter when he waved and said, "Hi, Chris."

Turning to the media, Smith didn't miss a beat.

"Do you realize that they have 146,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas?" he said, prompting more laughter. "And in about 18 months, it'll be up to 175,000? I understand, or I read somewhere, or someone told me, that NASCAR is considering moving the awards banquet there [from New York], which I think is fantastic. Wouldn't you all enjoy that? Let's have some applause on that."

Applause.

Ever the showman, Smith then turned to his inquisitor and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your question."

Smith may have masterfully tap-danced his way around the question, but when he was pressed on it later, he turned serious. "I have no plans to move anything or do anything. We're just into this thing one week and all of our plans are certainly not in place and it's going to take some time, but right now we have no plans of moving anything."

It did not, however, preclude Smith from changing his mind. It left open his options to indeed move one of New Hampshire's two lucrative dates to Vegas, or to swap its Chase date with Texas's, or, perhaps, to keep the two dates in New Hampshire and build out the 1.058-mile oval, which he is apparently considering.

"I think Bruton would be disappointed if it were not my goal to have a second date, no matter where it comes from," Powell said. "We're very happy with the one NASCAR Nextel Cup date that we have [in March]. We have 1,250 event days at the speedway. We have track rentals and driving schools and two NHRA events and had a Champ Car [race] two years ago.

"We have a lot going on at the Speedway, but I'm sure he'd be disappointed if we did not have something in the latter half of the year," Powell added. "So, yes, I have to hope that something good comes from this, but it might not come from the New Hampshire side. What I heard was he was a little bit open to some change down the road."

It's been speculated that Smith's purchase of NHIS will give him the leverage necessary to work out a quid pro quo deal with International Speedway Corp. for a second Vegas date. However, what "quid" Smith would be offering in return for ISC's "quo" remains to be seen.

"I sure hope he doesn't move them both, because I think that is a great market for NASCAR to be in," said car owner Richard Childress about New Hampshire. "I think it's a great facility, the fans just love it, and I know the thing is sold out for both races for several years. I guess they need to start raising the purses if the tracks are worth that much."

If Smith sinks even more money than the $340 million he plunked down to purchase NHIS and rename it New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then rest assured he's going to seek a return on his investment. The best way to do that is to continue banging out both Cup dates, as Bob and Gary Bahre have done for 26 consecutive races since 1993.

"If they really want to have two races there, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of changes, maybe putting in more banking in there, more seats, more suites," said Jeff Gordon, who has led more laps at Loudon than any NASCAR driver. "I'm pretty sure that one of the dates is going to Vegas. Hopefully, that other date, I want to see that race to continue to stay there. I think the fans deserve it. I think his intentions are to continue to make that place a showplace like he does with all his other tracks. I think it's a positive thing for the sport.

"I love the Bahres and I hate to see them get out of it. I just always thought Bob was a quality guy who brought class to the sport and always cared about the competitors and the fans and he's always done a heck of a job with that racetrack out there."

Hornish latest to jump

Add Sam Hornish's name to the growing list of open-wheel drivers who will be joining NASCAR's ranks next season. Hornish, a three-time IndyCar Series champion and 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner, announced this week he would be driving on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season for car owner Roger Penske. Hornish said his failure to qualify for any of the six races he entered this year at Loudon, Dover, Texas, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Martinsville (Va.), and Atlanta, "probably lit a little bit of a fire in me." The heat will be turned up on Hornish next season when he attempts to qualify the No. 77 Mobil-sponsored Dodge without having provisional status . . . Hornish joined Jacques Villeneuve (1995) and Juan Pablo Montoya (2000) as former Indy 500 winners to earn spots in Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway, the Checker Auto Parts 500 - marking the first time in NASCAR history three former Indy champions will be in the field . . . Carl Edwards won his first pole in almost two years by turning a fast lap of 132.773 miles per hour around the mile oval in Phoenix in his Roush Fenway Ford. Martin Truex Jr. qualified second at 132.758 . . . Petty Enterprises announced it was moving its headquarters from Level Cross, N.C., to be closer to the hub of NASCAR racing activity in Mooresville, N.C. It will move into a shop previously occupied by Robert Yates Racing's two-car stable. "Level Cross will always be the home of the wins and the championships that the Petty family built," said team owner Richard Petty, winner of seven NASCAR titles and a record 200 NASCAR races. "It is where Petty Enterprises was founded and where the team has won and built a legacy in NASCAR. Petty Enterprises and Level Cross are the same as Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers, Yankee Stadium and the New York Yankees, and Boston Garden and the Boston Celtics." . . . Just two words to race fans who have been dutifully watching ABC's "Dancing with the Stars": Vote Helio. IRL officials were getting out the race vote for Helio Castroneves in his bid to win the competition. Officials passed out buttons and T-shirts last weekend at Texas with the plea, "Vote Helio." . . . Shav Glick, the longtime and well-respected motorsports writer for the Los Angeles Times, and Ray Cooper, the popular manufacturer's representative for Chevrolet and, later, Dodge, died within a week of each other last month. They will be missed. Vaya con dios.

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, race teams, sponsors, various sanctioning bodies, and track publicity departments was used in this report.