LOUDON – David McGrath had a good start to his weekend.
The executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway wore a wide smile as he told reporters Friday that the track will hold a two-day NASCAR event in September 2018, replacing the Cup series race that will move to Las Vegas beginning next year.
The event will feature three races from three of NASCAR’s developmental series, headlined by a 250-lap Whelen Modified race. The K&N Pro Series and Pinty’s Series will also run races in the event scheduled for Sept. 21-22. The event certainly will not draw the crowds of a premier Cup series event, but McGrath estimates – or hopes – the races will draw 15,000 to 20,000 fans.
The Modifieds and K&N series have raced at Loudon since the track’s inaugural year of 1990, combining for more than 135 races around the Magic Mile. It will be the first time Pinty’s Series, based in Canada, will hold a race on U.S. soil.
While there will not be a Cup series race with the popular names attached to it, McGrath is confident racing fans will be drawn to the track for this event.
“I think it clearly puts the stamp on that we’re going to remain a viable place to come in September to see some great racing, some of the best racing that NASCAR has to offer,” McGrath said. “I’m excited that it’s headlined by this huge Whelen Modified race. Two-hundred-and-fifty laps, it’s going to become the new can’t-miss event.”
McGrath announced in March that the track’s parent company, Speedway Motorsports, Inc., is moving the September race from New Hampshire to Las Vegas. The Cup series, NASCAR’s premier level of racing, has visited Loudon twice each year since 1997.
When the decision was made to cut New Hampshire’s share of races from two to one, McGrath said gears were quickly in motion to find a new offering for September.
“It was a big part of our company’s mission when there were schedule changes that this be accomplished,” McGrath said. “I applaud Bruton (Smith, SMI chairman), and (SMI CEO) Marcus Smith in making sure that this got across the goal line.”
This weekend is the last time Loudon will host a four-race event in the fall with the Monster Energy Cup Series, the Camping World Truck Series, the Whelen Modified Tour and the American-Canadian Tour. Vegas will get the Cup, Xfinity and Trucks series Sept. 14-16 next year. Vegas will open the Cup series playoffs while Chicagoland, this year’s playoff opening track, takes the second race.
The Whelen Modified 250 will be the longest race in the tour’s history since it debuted in 1984. The K&N Pro Series race will be 125 laps while the Pinty’s Series race will be 100 laps.
The Modifieds typically race 100 laps. Adding another 150 changes strategy for drivers while also testing their endurance.
“To win here is all about putting yourself in the position to have a shot at it with the last five (laps) to go,” said Modified racer Doug Coby, winner of last weekend’s race at Riverhead Raceway in New York. “So now with these 100-lappers we spend 95 laps trying to fine tune the car and find out who we can race with and where we can race just to be in the right spot, whether it be first second or third, maybe fourth, with five laps to go. Now to have to figure that out over a long course, it’s not going to be a boring first 245 laps because you have to be in the spot if you want to win. And we’re all going to want to win that one a lot more.”
NASCAR senior VP of Racing Operations Jim Cassidy worked with NHMS to coordinate this “Super Bowl of regional touring” to showcase the most talented drivers climbing the NASCAR ranks.
“It’s no secret that there’s a strong passion, a strong level of support across all of our partners for short-track racing and grassroots racing, developmental racing,” he said. “This weekend that will happen next September, I would say, is going to be one not to miss. It certainly brings in the developmental side of things, but at the end it is an action-packed weekend of some of the best racing you can find anywhere.”
NHMS is also in the process of planning a multiple-day country music festival next summer. The series of concerts would be held in one of the southern parking lots on the track’s 1,200 acres. The track is still working with the Loudon ZBA to get the town’s blessing for the festival. The plan received mixed reviews when brought to a public hearing earlier this month.
Source: Concord (NH) Monitor
