Know Your Tracks - New Hampshire International Speedway

New Hampshire International Speedway

New Hampshire International Speedway is one of the most unusual tracks on the Nextel Cup Series.

How unusual? The track has been described as "Martinsville on steroids."

The Bahre family owns NHIS. Its roots in New England racing go back to 1964 when Bob Bahre acquired a track in Oxford, Maine, which he and his son, Gary, operated until 1986.

The Bahres' efforts to bring a major racing facility took off in 1989 when ground was broken for New Hampshire International Speedway on a site about 10 miles north of New Hampshire's capital city, Concord.

The track opened its gates for the first time in June 1990 and played host to its first NASCAR touring series event, the Budweiser 300 for Busch Series. The Cup Series followed in July 1993, with Rusty Wallace getting the victory.

In July 2000, NHIS became the first facility to draw more than 100,000 sports fans for a single-day event.

Jeff Burton is the career leader with four Cup victories at NHIS. Burtonýs list of victories at New Hampshire International Speedway includes the Dura Lube 300 in 2000 in which Burton led every lap.

In 2004, New Hampshire International Speedway played host to the first race in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. As it turned out, that race played a big role in how that battle for the championship played out.

Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield were involved in a wreck that put an early dent in their championship hopes, while Kurt Busch - who had won the July race at New Hampshire International Speedway as well - completed a season's sweep that propelled him toward the 2004 Nextel Cup championship.

Contact Information

P.O. Box 7888
Loudon, NH 03307
(603) 783-4931

Know Your Tracks - Nazareth Speedway

Nazareth Speedway

The modern day Nazareth Speedway was originally Nazareth National Speedway, a semi-banked, dirt, D-shaped 1-18 mile oval built in 1966. The track lay dormant for nearly a decade starting in 1971, then hosted special events only before going into backruptcy. Penske Speedway, Inc. purchased the 90-acre facility in 1986 and immediately began an extensive renovation project which included paving the track.

Contact Information

P.O. Drawer F
Nazareth, PA 18064
(888) 629-7223

Know Your Tracks - Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville Superspeedway, built in 2000, is one of only three concrete tracks on the NASCAR circuit. The pavement, consisting of 7,500 cubic yards of concrete, was placed full-width for the entire length of the track by a concrete paving machine that was specially constructed for this project.

Contact Information

4847-F McCrary
Lebanon, TN 37090
(866) 722-3849

Know Your Tracks - The Milwaukee Mile

The Milwaukee Mile

Since 1903, The Milwaukee Mile has been one of the premier venues in American motorsports. It is the oldest operating motor speedway in the world, as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway began contesting events in 1911.

During the past century, the facility has played an integral role in shaping the face of auto racing. The Milwaukee Mile has hosted a variety of events from turn-of-the-century "speed contests" and 24-hour endurance races to AAA and USAC-sanctioned Indy car and Stock Car events, to NASCAR Busch Series competition.

The roster of past winners at Americaýs Legendary Oval is a veritable "who's-who" of racing history, including names like Barney Oldfield, Rex Mays, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, the Unsers, the Andrettis and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

The venerable grand dame of racing has undergone many improvements in just the last few years, including a new all-aluminum bleacher and grandstand seating, a new pit wall, a new scoring pylon, a repaving and retrofit of the infield road course, and the construction of a permanent infield care center building.

The new fan-friendly grandstands seat nearly 40,000 as well as provide significantly enhanced restrooms and concession areas. Competitor areas and paddock space has been enhanced at the state-of-the-art facility.


Contact Information

7722 West Greenfield Ave.
West Allis, WI 53214
(414) 453-8277

Another Round For Everyone...

Diageo's sponsorship of Jamie McMurray's No. 26 Ford
has grown to race sponsorship. Credit: Autostock

Diageo buys another round of sponsorship

By Ron Lemasters Jr., Special to NASCAR.COM
April 18, 2006
06:33 PM EDT (22:33 GMT)

One has only to look at Diageo's corporate strategy to figure out why, in the last two weeks, the company has announced two new motorsports initiatives.

Last week, during the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Diageo, which makes Crown Royal among other adult beverages, announced a short-track initiative for Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway.


On Monday, the company announced it had bought the presenting sponsorship for the spring race at Richmond International Raceway for the next several years.

As you know, the company is the primary sponsor for Roush Racing's No. 26 Ford Fusion driven by Jamie McMurray in the Nextel Cup Series, as well as the Crown Royal International Race of Champions series. Its Crown Royal Special Reserve brand is also the presenting sponsor for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series and for that series races at Long Beach and Watkins Glen.

A quick look at the company's broad strategy shows that this recent flurry of activity is just another day at the office for Diageo.

The first strategy pretty much says it all: "We will invest more to take leadership positions in every category, market and consumer occasion in which we choose to compete."

That's word-for-word from the company's Web site, and it matches -- word for word -- what the company has done over the first few months of the 2006 racing season.

Since NASCAR opened the door to spirit sponsorship in late 2004, Crown Royal has been buying rounds for the house, so to speak.

The latest announcement, title sponsorship of Richmond's spring race, is simply the most recent aspect of company strategy.

"We are honored and proud to have such a significant presence during a race at one of NASCAR's most entertaining and popular tracks," said Jim Lorenz, Senior Brand Manager, Crown Royal, in making the announcement.

"Richmond International Raceway will always be special to Crown Royal and our consumers as it was the site of our first-ever victory. The promotional agreement for the race name provides us with yet another platform to advance our 'Be a Champion. Drink Responsibly.' message."

That message is the centerpiece of all of Crown Royal's motorsports endeavors, and it is central to their presence on the midway as well. Crown Royal has one of the most popular displays every week it is on the road, with thousands of fans flocking to the black tents with purple trim.
Crown Royal replaces Chevrolet as sponsor of the spring race, which brings us to another strategy point.

"We will invest more resources behind these ... brands with the best growth prospects."
In other words, Diageo has focused on NASCAR and motorsports as the vehicle it will use to drive sales of Crown Royal, and as long as growth potential remains, it will continue to pump dollars and effort into the marketing of its involvement.

RIR President Doug Fritz is all for that.

"Having Crown Royal on board is a great fit for Richmond International Raceway," said Fritz. "Two top, historic brands are coming together to form a terrific partnership. We are looking forward to an exciting promotional relationship that will benefit race fans for years to come."
Richmond, founded by Paul Sawyer and recently purchased by the International Speedway Corp., has sold out 28 consecutive Cup Series races, will become just the fourth track in NASCAR history to host 100 races on May 6, when the Crown Royal 400 gets the green flag. Only Daytona, (118) Martinsville (115) and Darlington (105) have hosted more races than Richmond.

Crown Royal, according to the company, is the top-selling brand of Canadian whiskey. It was first blended in 1939 to celebrate a grand tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain.

With its expansion into NASCAR racing and motorsports, Diageo is getting about fulfilling another key strategy point: premiumization. That's why the Crown Royal Special Reserve brand is involved in sports car racing with the ISC-controlled Grand American Series building its luxury brands profile.

Diageo, the parent company of Crown Royal, is considered the world's leading premium drinks business, and looking at its lineup, one can understand why. In addition to Crown Royal, Diageo produces Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Of those, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys and Guinness are the most global trademarks. Smirnoff, the company announced last week, is the top-selling premium distilled spirit in the world for the second year in a row, surpassing Bacardi in terms of sales volume and value.

The global company is traded in more than 200 countries around the world and is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE).

Roush shuffles crew chiefs; Osborne to No. 26

By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
April 15, 2006
12:18 PM EDT (16:18 GMT)

Roush Racing announced Thursday that two of its Nextel Cup teams will have new crew chiefs at Phoenix next week.

Bob Osborne will assume crew chief duties for the No. 26 team and driver Jamie McMurray.

Osborne moves from the No. 99 car, where he helped Carl Edwards to a third-place finish in the point standings last year.

Roush Racing's lead engineer, Wally Brown, will take over the No. 99 team.

"Bob Osborne and Wally Brown are both very talented engineers and crew chiefs," owner Jack Roush said in a statement. "Bob has certainly proven his ability to win and I have no doubt that Wally will do the same."

Jimmy Fennig, who was the crew chief for McMurray, now will head Roush's Busch Series program. Fennig was the crew chief for Kurt Busch when he won the 2004 Nextel Cup championship.

"Jimmy Fennig will provide unparalleled knowledge, expertise and leadership for all six of our Busch teams both on and off the track," Roush said. "He will also help to mentor our young drivers."

However, Busch was released from his contract last year to sign with Penske Racing South, opening the door for McMurray to leave Chip Ganassi Racing and join Roush.

After placing five cars in the Chase last year, Roush Racing has endured a rough start through seven races this season. In 35 combined starts, the organization -- which also fields cars for Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle -- has one win, seven top-five finishes and 15 top-10s.

Last year the Roush stable totaled 15 wins, 61 top-five finishes and 93 top 10s in 180 starts.
Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, currently is second in points, 15 behind Jimmie Johnson. Martin is fourth, 46 points behind.

Kenseth has Roush's only win this year, at Fontana.

McMurray, Edwards and Biffle are 21st-23rd, no closer than 388 points behind; Edwards and Biffle currently are outside the 400-point barrier that is used for the cutoff to determine the field for the season-ending, 10-race Chase for the Cup.

Know Your Tracks - Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway -- home of the state's largest single-day, paid-admission sporting events since 1992 -- is a track rich in racing tradition.

Groundbreaking took place on Sept. 28, 1967. More than 2.5 million yards of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. Charles Moneypenny, who had designed the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, designed the Michigan oval.

The original layout included infield and exterior roads, which could be configured into a 3-mile or two 1.9-mile road courses. The road courses were designed by Formula One great Stirling Moss The last interior road course race was held in 1984, and the last time the exterior road course was used was in 1973.

The prime mover in the venture was Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4 million to $6 million.

Cale Yarborough won the first NASCAR race at the speedway on June 15, 1969, in a thrilling duel with LeeRoy Yarbrough.

Since then, MIS has hosted a number of historic races and many legendary drivers. Richard Petty, Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, Gordon Johncock, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Buddy Baker, Bruce McLaren, Jeff Gordon, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, and Rick Mears have all celebrated victories in Winner's Circle at Michigan International Speedway.

In 1973 - when the oil crisis and rising gas prices threatened all of racing - Roger Penske envisioned turning MIS into a premier motorsports facility. After purchasing the deed to Michigan International Speedway off the Lenawee County courthouse steps for an estimated $2 million, Penske went right to work to improve the speedway to his standards.

During Penske's ownership, the grandstands were expanded from 25,000 seats to over 125,000, added several buildings to the property, including three garages, 26 pit terrace suites, the administration building, two ticket offices, a maintenance building, Motorsports International (now Americrown) and CompTire buildings and warehouses, a sign shop and entertainment shop.

Other improvements over the years include building timing and scoring stands, corporate suites, chalets, pavilions, concession stands, restrooms, first aid stations, an infield hospital, pedestrian bridges, roadways, offices, maintenance facilities and garages. Approximately 400 acres have been purchased for additional free parking.

In July of 1999, PMI merged with the country's leading force in motorsports -- International Speedway Corp. ISC was founded by another visionary -- Bill France -- who built the world-famous Daytona International Speedway and founded NASCAR, the country's most popular racing series.

In August of 2000, the Speedway unveiled a new logo and announced it would add the "International" back to its name, which had been changed to Michigan Speedway in 1996 to align itself with the three other Penske-owned facilities (California, Nazareth and North Carolina). The new logo was designed by ISC Creative Supervisor Jerry Stanley. Today, Michigan International Speedway is considered one of the country's premier racing facilities, and yet, it still focuses on constant improvements. In 2000, a new 10,800-plus seat grandstand was built in Turn 3, providing a magnificent view of the entire Speedway and surrounding Irish Hills. In 1995. During the last resurfacing, MIS became the first track to use a polymer-enhanced asphalt especially formulated for high-banked racing -- and harsh Michigan winters. Previous surfaces were milled off and used to pave access roads leading to parking areas.

In 2005, MIS took on the largest renovation in its storied history by adding 870 additional seats with a new Club Level seating area called the Champions Club.


Contact Information

12626 U.S. 12
Brooklyn, MI 49230
(800) 354-1010
Official Web site

Would You Pay To See The Women Of Kurt Busch And Greg Biffle Fight?

... did NBC get exactly what it wanted this week?

By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM
April 10, 2006
10:34 AM EDT (14:34 GMT)

As I listened to Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne express dismay when they were told Friday about Dateline NBC's attempt to generate conflict between Muslim and Arab "spectators" and NASCAR fans at Martinsville, a strange thought came across my admittedly often-misguided brain.

Is this exactly what the news magazine wanted?

Let's face it: Dateline NBC and shows like it are facing an uphill battle. Namely, increasing apathy among Americans across the board. Need proof? Dateline's Friday edition was bumped from NBC's schedule back in March after producing less-than-robust ratings and its current Sunday edition is noticeably floundering.

Meanwhile, American Idol continues to shatter ratings records and kill brain cells, but that's another story.

Dateline received a bit of publicity earlier this year when it aired a series of shows that nabbed pedophiles in the act. While exposing prejudice against Muslims and Arabs is hardly the same thing, the NASCAR community is already talking about the segment -- and it hasn't even been fully produced yet.

Some have said that Dateline's methods were born of ignorance. Maybe. But maybe the show's producers knew how fiercely loyal NASCAR's fan base is and also knew that calling it into question would get folks talking about -- and watching -- the show even before the piece aired.
Bruton Smith will be. He told us so Friday.

"We're going to be very watchful to see that things are done properly," he said.

It's unlikely Smith will be the only one.

... has anyone in the Nextel Cup Series worn a hairpiece?

Ryan Newman accused Sterling Marlin of having a little scientific help with his hairline Sunday after Newman was wrecked out at Texas. The quote -- which you'll certainly see again at the end of the year in our top-10 countdown -- got us thinking what drivers -- past or present -- did the same.

Talk amongst yourselves.

... can we please get Kurt Busch a victory celebration coach?

If you missed Saturday's Busch Series event, you missed one of the great unintentionally comedic performances of our time. Kurt Busch, a winner in his first career Busch Series start, kissed the hood of his car -- with his helmet on -- ran out on to the Texas Motor Speedway infield, promptly tripped over his own feet and did a face plant.

Now, the more reserved of us would just laugh it off and move on, but not our boy Kurt. He followed it up with a snow angel.

In Texas, where it was in the 70s and sunny.

Couple this with his other bizarre celebrations -- like kissing the start-finish line at Richmond -- not Indianapolis, but Richmond -- and Busch making "what the ...?" his own personal phrase.
As FOX was waiting for the green-white-checkered finish for the race, Larry McReynolds announced that Busch and fiancée Eva Bryan are to be married in July.

Can't you just picture Busch doing the ol' Tom Willis at the reception?

Speaking of the future bride ...

... who would win in a fight between Eva Bryan (Busch's fiancée) and Nicole Lunders (Biffle's girlfriend)?

I smell a big pay-per-view buy here. Someone get Vince McMahon on the phone. You can almost here Jim Ross screaming, "Oh my God!" after Lunders hits Bryan with the dreaded steel chair after throwing her over the top rope.

Good times, indeed.

... is the Nextel Cup schedule robbing the series of its best drivers?

When Rusty Wallace left NASCAR's top series last season, he made no bones about the fact that he was leaving because he couldn't take the schedule, (some would argue his schedule is pretty busy now, but that's beside the point). Mark Martin has said the same thing for the past 18 months.

Neither of these guys were -- or are -- just turning laps. They both made the Chase last season and Martin is poised to do so again this season. Both have fiercely loyal fan bases and sponsors lining up for their services.

At the same time, the Cup Series roster is looking more and more like roll call for a freshman-level English class and we're forced to endure stories about how younger drivers -- who are better equipped to handle sponsor commitments -- aren't going about things the right way on the racetrack.

The sport may not be approaching any sort of watershed moment, but true change never happens all at once. It happens in little, vague situations just like this one.

... wait a minute, Cooter was a congressman?

Last week I asked if Carl Edwards would make a good congressman. I mentioned other celebrities that have been elected. Over the past seven days, I received an alarming number of e-mails alerting me that I had omitted Ben Jones, aka Cooter on The Dukes of Hazzard.

Turns out, Cooter was a Georgia congressman from 1989-93. What's more, he once ran against Newt Gingrich -- and lost -- in Georgia 6th District in 1994.

When I was a kid, Daisy Duke was certainly the first lady.

Know Your Tracks - Memphis Motorsports Park

Memphis Motorsports Park

Memphis International Motorsports Park was founded in 1986 by Ed Gatlin who, along with a group of investors, bought a 400-acre tract of land in northeast Shelby County, Tenn., and built a drag strip with an adjacent road course, a dirt track and go-kart track.

The drag strip drew the attention of the NHRA and was awarded a sanction in 1988 as the host site of the Mid-South Nationals. While the NHRA has 140 member tracks, Memphis is one of only 23 to host a national event, and one of only two to host night racing.

The entire facility was purchased by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in 1996, and in 1997, a .75-mile paved tri-oval was added on the site of the old dirt track, while a new dirt track was built on the site of the former go-kart track. The name of the facility was also changed -- to Memphis Motorsports Park -- and the tri-oval opened on June 5, 1998.

The following month, the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach was acquired by Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc. On Sept. 13, 1998 before a sold-out crowd and a national television audience, the facility hosted its first NASCAR event -- the Craftsman Truck Series Memphis 200.

From those humble beginnings, Memphis Motorsports Park has established itself as one of the most popular and versatile racing facilities in the country, playing host to more than 215 events a year, including the best that the NHRA and NASCAR have to offer.


Contact Information

5500 Taylor Forge Drive
Memphis, TN 38053
(866) 407-7333

Know Your Tracks - Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway

As NASCAR has grown, so has Martinsville Speedway.

Martinsville Speedway ran its first NASCAR race on July 4, 1948. In 1949, Martinsville ran the sixth race in the series that eventually became the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

Martinsville Speedway opened in 1947 with 750 seats and has grown continuously over the years. But, other than being paved in 1955, the track configuration has not changed since Red Byron won the inaugural event.

Martinsville Speedway, located three miles south of Martinsville, Va., is the only original NASCAR-sanctioned track still running NEXTEL Cup events.

Richard Petty, now a car owner, remains the track's leading winner with 15 victories.

The speedway's founder, the late H. Clay Earles and track President W. Clay Campbell have always insisted on beautification. "We like to think of our track as a family-type facility," Earles said. "We like to see a man bring his wife and children to our events and be comfortable."

Campbell became track President in 1988 and, since that time, the speedway has more than doubled its seating capacity. Under Campbell's leadership, the track has constructed 25 corporate suites, a chalet village for hospitality entertainment, high-rise grandstands, and twice as much free parking.

Some of the other improvements, in the past several years, include a new entrance for race day traffic off the U.S. 58 Bypass, all pits are now on one pit road, an overhead walkway from the grandstand to the parking area, an infield media center, new scoreboard, infield tunnel and competitors' garage.

"Martinsville Speedway is constantly growing and we expect to continue that trend for many years to come," Campbell said.


Contact Information

P.O. Box 3311
Martinsville, VA 24115
(276) 956-3151
Official Web site