Bob Pockrass: Bruton Smith wouldn't move a race from New Hampshire over rift with police chief
SMI Chairman Bruton Smith has threatened to move a Sprint Cup race from New Hampshire Motor Speedway over a dispute with local police. // Archive, NASCAR Illustrated
COMMENTARY
Don’t worry, fans of New England, that one of the Sprint Cup dates at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be moved because of a $105,000 dispute with Loudon, N.H. police.
Even Bruton Smith is not that petty.
Smith is at odds with Loudon police over how much the department charges for protecting fans and the campgrounds at the track.
This talk about moving a race centers around a threat from Smith, the Speedway Motorsports Chairman, and he is known to do some things the average person wouldn’t do. But move a race over this? It’s hard to believe that someone who has spent $340 million – including taking out a $300 million loan – for a race track would move one of its races over a dispute that costs $100,000 a year.
Smith doesn’t like to be treated as if he’s not a community partner, and the $170,000 bill he gets from the Loudon police force irks him. So he’s going to politic to get it reduced by $105,000 or so and then pay for some private security.
Smith didn’t mention the possibility of moving a race from New Hampshire at Kentucky Speedway earlier this month when asked about the rift but it was reported as a possibility in New Hampshire last week. (Think the timing – NASCAR visits NHMS this week – is a coincidence?) But if he’s moving a race, this will not be the reason. He will move a race because he believes he can make more money somewhere else – and not over $100,000.
That’s why talk over whether New Hampshire might lose a race quieted to a whisper about a year after Smith bought the track in 2008. It appears to be a market that can sustain two Sprint Cup races.
The stands there are still fairly full and to move one of its races to Kentucky, Smith would have to feel that he could generate more money through ticket sales and corporate sponsorships at Kentucky. New Hampshire seats 96,000 and Kentucky currently seats 69,000 with plans to add as many as 50,000 seats. But whether Kentucky could truly draw more than 100,000 for a Cup race in this economy remains to be seen.
New Hampshire fans also shouldn’t think that an IRL IndyCar Series date for the track in 2011 can serve as a replacement for losing a Cup date. There’s absolutely no comparison. SMI gets 84 percent of its revenue from its NASCAR weekends and the rest of it from IRL, World of Outlaws, NHRA and other events, as well as its radio network and Legends cars sales. When talking about major race dates, SMI breaks out its Cup and Nationwide events but not IRL nor NASCAR Truck Series races.
Smith spent too much money on the New Hampshire track and made too many upgrades to move a race. If he wanted to move a race from New Hampshire, he already would have moved one to Las Vegas. As of Wednesday, NASCAR had no request from SMI to move a date, and NASCAR is well into the planning stages for its 2011 schedule.
The New Hampshire weekends are unique with the Modifieds running as well as the K&N Pro Series East there as well. And it might be hard to convince NASCAR to allow a move from one of its few Northeast races to the Southeast.
Smith likes to play hardball and likes to get what he wants – and he’s willing to use threats of moving races to get it. He’s not going to pay $170,000 for police protection without getting something (in addition to a big police presence) in return. Maybe it’s a new road. Maybe it’s the OK to put up lights.
But fans in New Hampshire shouldn’t worry about losing a race as much as wondering what concessions Smith will end up getting from the local government for what he considers astronomical fees to protect his customers.
