SMI ~ Bruton Smith Buys New Hampshire International Speedway
NASCAR Scene is reporting, according to multiple sources, that Bob Bahre has agreed to sell New Hampshire International Speedway to O. Bruton Smith, CEO and chairman of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. The report goes on to say the transaction will give Smith control of two more NASCAR Sprint Cup races each season with the option of moving at least one of those, pending NASCAR approval.

NASCAR officials have stated previously that track ownership groups, such as SMI or International Speedway Corp. (which owns 12 tracks hosting Cup events) could possibly move dates within their own group of facilities, pending NASCAR approval. Smith has been trying for years to get a second date for the Las Vegas track and this could be the perfect opportunity. But a possible sale doesn't automatically mean a date or dates would be taken from the New Hampshire track. NHIS has had 25 consecutive sellouts and the recent crowds have exceeded 100,000 in attendance.

The following is the official announcement

Speedway Motorsports, Inc. has agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre for $340 million in cash. The agreement was announced today by O. Bruton Smith, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. To align with other SMI-owned speedway brands, the track will be renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway following completion of the acquisition.

The speedway, which opened in 1990 and hosts two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events each year, is located about one hour north of Boston in Loudon, N.H. According to the latest census numbers, the population within 200 miles of the speedway is more than 18 million people. The venue is easily accessible via Interstate highways from all metro areas in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Located on approximately 1,100 acres, the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England and features a 1.058-mile oval speedway, with chair-back seating for 92,000 spectators, (another 10,000 in the infield and standing room only) and a 1.6-mile road course.

The speedway hosts the only NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events held in the six-state New England region. Both NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races regularly sell out and exceed the NFL Super Bowl in attendance.

Johnson Wins Atlanta Race

Johnson Celebrates * CIA Stock Photo

One minute Jimmie Johnson was riding along in fourth spot, worried whether he'd have enough fuel to finish the race. Next moment he found himself in first place in a green-white-checkers finish that gave him the victory in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. With seven laps to go Kyle Busch was leading the race, Martin Truex Jr. was second, Kurt Busch third and Jimmie Johnson was fourth. Johnny Sauter blew a right front tire and smacked the wall, bringing out the 12th caution of the event. Everyone was short on fuel and all the leaders made a pit stop, all except Denny Hamlin. He stayed on the track to take the lead. Some drivers took four tires, some took two. Johnson took two tires and came out in second place for the restart. When the race restarted Hamlin failed to go, out of fuel and cars were stacking up behind him. Martin Truex Jr. who had led the most laps, crashed into Hamlin, putting both of them out of the race and setting up the green-white-checkers finish.

On the first lap of the final restart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., running third, had a left rear wheel come off. He smashed hard into the outside wall and collected Jamie McMurray in the process -- and the race was essentially over at that point. Johnson was in the lead and all he needed to do was to complete the remaining green-white-checker laps under yellow. This is the 31st victory of Johnson's career, his eighth of the 2007 season and third at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is Johnson's second consecutive victory, he also won last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Johnson credited the victory to the team only taking two tires on the last pit stop.

Carl Edwards finished second with local favorite Reed Sorenson in third. Matt Kenseth brought his Ford home in the fourth spot and Jeff Burton was fifth. Rounding out the top-ten were Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers. With Johnson's victory, the Nextel Cup point tightened up considerably. Jeff Gordon now leads Johnson by nine points in the standings with three races remaining on the 2007 schedule.
To read the full article...     (Insider Racing News)
For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)

Bud Man Injured In No. 8 Pit Box
Budweiser team's car chief Mike Moore, who mans the pit sign as Dale Jr. comes into his pit box, was struck in the mouth by a lugnut that had been shot like a bullet from underneath the spinning tire of a car leaving the pits two stalls in front of the Bud pit area. A bloodied Moore was taken to the infield care center where he was given four stitches in his upper lip. He was taken to a dentist immediately after the race to have his loose front teeth treated. Despite the injuries, Moore returned to the Bud pits after being released from the care center, and resumed his duties for the final 130 laps.

Reutimann Wins Busch Series Destruction Derby

Reutimann's First Win * CIA Stock Photo

It was painful to watch. It wasn't a race, it was a joke. Was it a full moon or just stupidity that drove the Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday? NASCAR should have impounded the purse and returned the money to the fans who sat through the ridiculous display of non-driving and the twenty-five cautions (117 laps). The old yellow flag record at Memphis was 16 but that mark was shattered just barely past half way in the Sam’s Town 250. And through it all 37 year-old David Reutimann managed to retain his composure in the crash marathon to win his first ever Busch Series race. It was Reutimann's 63rd start in the series. Reutimann led three times for 194 of 250 laps.

“The guys gave me a great car. I'm glad it is over with," said Reutimann. "Mike (Bliss) ran me clean there on the last restart. I know there were a lot of yellows today, but everybody that I raced with raced me clean. They could have gone in there and jacked me up, but they didn't and I appreciate that. We were solid and I'm glad we got this win.”

Mike Bliss had to settle for second place after getting up along-side Reutimann in the closing laps but couldn't complete the pass. Rookie David Ragan finished third and pole sitter rookie Marcos Ambrose was fourth. Jason Leffler brought his Toyota home in the fifth spot followed by Scott Wimmer, Jamie McMurray, Jason Keller, rookie Brad Keselowski and his brother Brian Keselowski to round out the top-ten.

Carl Edwards was looking to wrap up a Busch Series title but one of the many wrecks got in his way. Edwards crashed on lap 130 but the team put the car back together for Edwards. He clawed his way back to the lead lap and 10th place but was caught up the last lap crash, finishing 25th. “It was a very frustrating race but I feel good. The silver lining is that David Reutimann won the race and he’s a [heck] of a guy. So, that’s good for him," said Edwards. "We got caught up in some stuff. We had a great race car, I think we had the fastest car on one of the runs that we made once we got five or six laps at a time. Still, we had a fast car and that’s how it goes. All we do is the best we can do. We did everything we could today and that’s what we ended up with. It’s not a fair thing, you can’t count on anything until it’s done. We’ll keep racing.”

Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti had a rough debut in the Busch Series. Franchitti had some brake troubles, running into the back of Brandon Miller on lap 192, causing damage to the right front of his Chip Ganassi Dodge. NASCAR held Franchitti one lap for rough driving and requested his presents in the NASCAR trailer after the race. Franchitti was involved in another accident before the race was over and finished 35th.

Kyle Busch Wins Truck Race

Busch Salutes Crowd * CIA Stock Photos

Kyle Busch, as usual, drove the wheels off of his truck to win the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. It was the fifth career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series, his second at Atlanta became the first Nextel Cup regular to win in the series in 2007. Busch also became the first repeat winner in the series at Atlanta. “I had to go somewhere and those guys ran the middle the first part of the corner, then went to the bottom. I just kept it up on the middle and got a run on the outside,” said Busch. “I never lifted after that. That’s what you got to do to get around this place fast.”

Busch got a big break with 22 laps to go - his window net had come loose and he was holding the device with one hand and driving the truck with the other. He was holding it for 12 laps. Just as NASCAR noticed what he was doing, he was black-flagged and called into the pits to fix the net. But the caution came out as he was preparing to come in. He was able to get the problem fixed under yellow, rather than going down a lap by pitting under green, but had to restart further back in the field. It didn't take Busch long to drive back to the front and he took the lead for the final time with seven to go. “Having to hold the window net made my arm a little tired,” he said. “I was on my last couple of laps of being able to hold it up," Busch said. "I kept trying to keep it inside the pane of the windshield. As soon as the caution came out I said, ‘Thank goodness.’ I just let it fall after that. I didn’t care.”

Ron Hornaday held on for second place and held off the advances of a hard charging Johnny Benson, who finished third. Mark Martin brought his Wood Brothers truck home in the fourth spot followed by Mike Skinner, rookie Joey Clanton, Matt Crafton, Brendan Gaughan, Ted Musgrave and Terry Cook to round out the top-ten. Clanton took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the fifth time this season. Hornaday and Skinner swapped the points lead once again. Skinner led Hornaday by 11 points coming into the race but left on the day trailing Hornaday by four points. "We finished second and we had a good truck," said Hornaday. "I'm sure Skinner will get it back next week."

Ganassi Hires Steve Hmiel
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced today Steve Hmiel, former director of technical operations at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., has accepted a new position with the organization to serve as manager of competition of its Concord racing operation. ”I have said many times in reference to drivers that when good ones become available you owe it to your organization to make a run at them, well the same is true for leaders,” said Team Owner, Chip Ganassi. “Steve became available and I got him. I couldn’t be happier. He brings over 30 years of hands-on NASCAR experience with him and a skill set that perfectly complements those of John Fernandez.”

Fernandez will continue to manage the long-term strategic direction of the CGRFS race operations while Steve will focus more on the competition management and preparation – including race engineering. Both Hmiel and Fernandez will report directly to Ganassi. “I really couldn’t be happier about this move,” said Hmiel. “I knew that the next role that I would accept would have to be in the perfect situation and this one is. Chip and Felix have an organization that is on the verge of great things and I really look forward to helping take them to the next level.”

Hmiel’s move to CGRFS follows what was already a stellar career in NASCAR. He began working in NASCAR over 30 year ago with Petty Enterprises and promptly helped Richard Petty win Cup championships in 1975 and 1979 as car chief and the Daytona 500 in 1979 and 1981. He would then go on to win another championship in 1984 as the crew Chief for Terry Labonte and Bill Hagan Racing.

In 1987, he along with NASCAR executive Robin Pemberton, helped Jack Roush and Ford step up from Trans-Am racing to NASCAR to form the foundation of Roush Racing as their first general manager. From 1989-96 he helped to create a racing dynasty, as Roush never finished out of the top-six in points during that span. In 1998 he left Roush for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and that same year brought home both their first Craftsman Truck and Busch titles. He would go on to work closely with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. while helping him win 17 Cup races including the 2004 Daytona 500. Hmiel and his wife Lisa reside in Pleasant Garden, NC and have two sons, Shane and Tyler. He is originally from Syracuse, NY.

Yates Wins Appeal
The National Stock Car Racing Commissioner, Charles Strang, has advised the National Stock Car Racing Commission of the following...As the final appellate authority within NASCAR, the Commissioner held an appeal hearing on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 concerning penalties imposed following the inspection of the shock absorbers on NASCAR Busch Series car No. 90 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on August 4, 2007.

The National Stock Car Racing Commission (the first level of appeal) had previously reduced the original penalties imposed by NASCAR following a hearing it had conducted on September 18, 2007. The Appellants elected to further appeal that decision to the National Commissioner as provided for in Section 15 of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Subsequent to this second-level, final appeal hearing, Mr. Strang found that “the results of the inspection process are not adequate to prove culpability on the part of the appellant or his associates.”

Mr. Strang therefore ordered that:

Monitor Texas Motor Speedway Traffic
Texas Motor Speedway unveiled on its website (www.texasmotorspeedway.com), a free program that gives race fans the ability to monitor traffic flow while traveling to and from the speedway for this week’s Dickies 500 NASCAR triple-header. The program, in partnership with 1310 The Ticket, is a text messaging system that sends automatic traffic alerts out via text message, providing updates on the status of the route fans are taking to and from the speedway this week. Fans can sign up for this service by visiting the Texas Motor Speedway website and clicking on the “Traffic Alert” button on the home page. Then each fan will input what route they use to visit the facility and that will activate the service for them.

“If we can find an amenity that assists our fans in any form or fashion, we are going to try and implement it to enhance their overall experience,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “The TMS Traffic Tracker should be a big plus for our fans, informing them when an accident is the culprit in slowing the traffic flow and giving them the option to seek an alternative route if need be.”

In addition to having this service for race weeks, Texas Motor Speedway plans to keep the service active 365 days a year to also assist the numerous visitors to the facility throughout the year.

Kevin Harvick Day In Houston
The City of Houston has declared November 1, 2007 as Kevin Harvick Day. The proclamation honoring the RCR driver and the No. 29 NASCAR Cup Series team, sponsored by Houston-based Shell Oil Company, were delivered by Mayor Bill White. A full day of events across the city with personal appearances by Harvick, team owner Richard Childress and many members of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team attended the event for Houston’s Kevin Harvick Day. The event kicked off with a public event at City Hall when the proclamation was read.

ISC Sells New York Land
International Speedway Corporation is about to officially close the book on the Staten Island speedway project. According to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ISC subsidiary 380 Development has agreed to sell the 676-acre parcel to a Maryland real estate investment trust for approximately $100 million in cash, net of commissions and other transaction related expenses. The transaction is expected to close in December.

ISC reportedly purchased the property at the end of 2004 for $100 million, with plans to build a .75-mile, 80,000-seat racetrack on the site within five years, at a cost estimated at $600 million. But the company was forced to abandon those plans last year because of widespread local opposition and lack of political support.(nascar.com)

Darrell Waltrip Sells Truck Team
Darrell Waltrip, appearing Tuesday on the Daytona 500 Champions Chat Series delivered by UPS, confirmed the sale of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team to concentrate on the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2008.

Three-time Grand-Am Rolex Series champion Andy Lally will drive the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Tundra in the remaining three races of the 2007 season, beginning Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. TRG (The Racer’s Group sports car team) will announce the details of the purchase Thursday in Texas, in preparation for a full-time run for Lally in the truck next season.

“Yes we are selling the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team,” Waltrip said. “I think it’s the best series, week in and week out, but we decided it was time to move on and use the Busch Series for driver development, and not the truck team.”(autoracingsport.com)

Water In Atlanta Gas Puzzling
NASCAR has its own "Water-gate." The racing organization conceded last Monday that water got into the fuel supply of more than two cars during the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, apparently leading to a crash that took out several top contenders in the closing laps. Denny Hamlin was leading the Pep Boys Auto 500 with three laps to go when his car stalled while taking the green flag after a caution period. Martin Truex, who led the most laps Sunday, smashed into the back of Hamlin's car and finished 31st. Hamlin slipped to 24th. Both were in the Chase for the championship.

"There are multiple teams that are showing positive for some level of water contamination level in their fuel," said John Darby, NASCAR's Nextel Cup director. "I can't tell you the exact number. It's more than two and less than (the full field of) 43 at the moment." Darby dismissed sabotage as a possible explanation, saying too many teams were affected for anyone to have been singled out. "For those who have their evil, twisted conspiracy hats on, we want to put that to rest," Darby said. "If it was sabotage, it would have to be the kind of thing where someone hates NASCAR racing across the board."

He said extensive testing done by Sunoco, NASCAR's official fuel supplier, showed no signs of problems in the underground storage tanks at the suburban Atlanta speedway. The problem likely occurred in the piping that runs from the tanks to the pumps, or in the pumps themselves, which teams use to fill the high-tech cans that are used for fueling. "It's a brownish-colored water," Darby said. "If it was just water, it would be more clear. That should help us understand if it came from a failed pipe or a failed pump or some other source that allowed it to enter the fuel."

In a "huge majority" of cars that tested positive for water in their fuel systems, the amount was so small that it didn't affect performance. For example, winner Jimmie Johnson had water in his carburetor during the post-race inspection. But the contamination was enough to affect at least two drivers: Hamlin and Dave Blaney, who had performance issues all day and finished 38th, 66 laps behind Johnson. After a yellow flag came out late in the race, Hamlin stayed on the track, believing he had enough fuel to get to the finish and more concerned about his tires holding up. But, as he crept slowly toward the start-finish line to take the green, his car began to sputter. "When I hit the gas, it took off, then it stopped. It took off again, then it stopped," Hamlin said. "I was just waiting for the hit from behind."(ap.google.com)

NASCAR Considers Changes To Nationwide Series
NASCAR officials are considering alterations to the point system for the Nationwide Series that would deny points for most, if not all, Sprint Cup drivers in 2009, several sources have told NASCAR Scene. Beginning in 2009, drivers in the top 35 in the Sprint Cup standings would not be eligible to receive points in the Nationwide Series, under a proposal being considered by NASCAR.

NASCAR officials declined comment on the plan since it is under consideration. The sanctioning body, sources said, has also talked to teams in the series about other possible rules changes for 2009 in an attempt to differentiate itself from the Cup Series. If the proposed point system were in effect for this season, the series standings would be drastically different.

Nextel Cup drivers currently hold the top two positions, four of the top five and five of the top 10. Cup driver Carl Edwards leads the points standings, with Cup drivers David Reutimann second, Kevin Harvick fourth and David Ragan fifth. The first non-Cup driver is Jason Leffler in third, 758 points out of the lead. Harvick won last year's Busch championship while also running full time in Cup, while Edwards has all but clinched this year's title.

The specifics of the plan are apparently still being worked out, but Cup drivers would still be eligible for money and victories. It's also unclear what effect, if any, the rule changes would have on the owner point standings. Also, NASCAR is reportedly still working out how points would be awarded. For example, if a Busch-only driver such as Leffler finished 10th behind nine Cup drivers, it's unclear whether he would receive 10th-place points or first-place points. Proponents of the plan say it would greatly reduce the involvement of Cup drivers in the series, which might create a more level playing field for independent Nationwide teams.(scenedaily.com)

Peter Sospenzo Back To Work
Peter Sospenzo was back in the garage at Atlanta Motor Speedway less than a week after being hospitalized because of dizziness. The 50-year-old crew chief for Robby Gordon said doctors still are unsure what caused the dizziness last Sunday. He went to the infield care center at Martinsville Speedway when the dizziness didn't go away, and the doctors were concerned that he was having a transient ischemic attack, a condition created when a blood clot temporarily clogs an artery.

"I wasn't feeling right," Sospenzo said Saturday following practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "I knew something was wrong. When your body tells you something is not right, especially when it comes to dizziness and everything like that, it's not worth taking the chance. I said, I could go back and do the race and they said 'No.' We don't want to take the chance.'"