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From Speed TV:


LATEST NEWS
SMI buys New Hampshire track for $340 million

SCENEDAILY - 2:57PM ET FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2007 - BY SCENEDAILY STAFF REPORT

Speedway Motorsports Inc. announced Friday at a news conference at Texas Motor Speedway that it has purchased New Hampshire International Speedway for $340 million.

The purchase, according to a news release, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. The track will be renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway following the closing.

SMI founder and chairman O. Bruton Smith made the announcement Friday. NHIS is owned by the father-son team of Bob and Gary Bahre.

No changes to the track's current schedule, which includes two Nextel Cup races, were announced.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for our company to grow our business as we continue to invest in this sport and the motorsports industry," Smith said in a news release.

Smith added that he has offered Bob Bahre the opportunity to remain associated as a consultant with the track that he built.

SMI now owns seven tracks that host Cup races: New Hampshire, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

Smith also purchased Bob Bahre's interest in North Wilkesboro Speedway. The two had split ownership of the track since 1996, each moving one of the track's Cup dates.

New Hampshire opened in 1990, originally hosting one Cup race, starting in 1993. A second date was added in 1997. SMI officials said the track sits in 1,100 acres in Loudon, N.H. and seats 92,000 for oval track events. The site also includes a 1.6-mile road course.

Link to SMI press release:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....ar&id=1071914&