His first year on the job as executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway nearly complete, Jerry Gappens took some time to reflect on the weekend that just was at his facility.

That included not only the first race in the Chase, last Sunday's Sylvania 300 won by Greg Biffle, but also a pre-race visit from U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain and the usual scrutiny any track operator in the Speedway Motorsports Inc. family faces from fans and enigmatic SMI chief executive officer Bruton Smith.

“

NASCAR fans are the greatest in the world. [They] continue to amaze me. They are very loyal to this sport and very passionate about it.

”

-- JERRY GAPPENS

Q: You had to fight through some weather, but it seemed like all ended well in the long run last weekend at your track. How did you think it all went?

Gappens: I think it was an excellent race both on track and off. I thought the Cup guys put on a great show Sunday. We had side-by-side racing, we had lead changes, we even had a couple times where they were four-wide in certain parts of the track, especially on restarts. I thought the on-track product was excellent.

And from an event standpoint, we had the challenges of the weather and then having a visit from Sen. McCain. Running for president and being the high-profile person that he is, that presented a different challenge for us. Our staff stepped up and did an excellent job of working around those challenges, and other little things behind the scenes that no one would ever know about, to put on a great event. The fans walked away happy. The rain certainly can put a damper on things, especially when you start out the way we did -- with qualifying and everything washed out on Friday. Saturday's card was a race fan's dream with all the racing and activities we had on. So the initial feedback from fans and everyone has been very positive.

Q: It seemed most of the fans weren't deterred in any way by the weather, which was really bad with it pouring down throughout the morning there on race day. Were you impressed by that?

Gappens: That's why I think NASCAR fans are the greatest in the world. I've been to different markets with different other stick-and-ball type sports, where there are some fickle fans -- where either the team has got to be winning or the weather has to be perfect and sunny and other variables just right for them to even go and participate. Race fans continue to amaze me. They are very loyal to this sport and very passionate about it.

Q: What kind of challenges did having a guy like Sen. McCain and his entourage in the house Sunday present for you and your staff?

Gappens: The challenge is the preparation. We had several meetings with the Secret Service, for our staff to prepare and kind of figure out what they call 'the footprint' of where he would be, and look at those areas and make sure the proper security was in place for what he was going to be trying to do. Then we talked a lot with his campaign people. The biggest thing with them was that plan was almost guaranteed to change -- it was not subject to change, it was guaranteed to change. So there were a lot of man hours invested in trying to plan and execute a visit of that magnitude.

Q: Did you get the chance to shake his hand or visit with him at all?

Gappens: Sen. McCain and his wife, Cindy, were excellent. They were very gracious about being here. They were grateful for the opportunity to come to a NASCAR race and have the exposure, I think, to one of the main, core pieces of Americana. And he did a nice job.

Richard Petty spent a lot of time with him. The picture of Petty and McCain ran on the front page of the Union Leader, which is the state's largest newspaper -- and I think that photo made its way around the country. The Senator, I think, felt like there was the King and then there was Sen. McCain right next to the King, pretty much in that order.

Q: What were your impressions?

Gappens: Someone put it in perspective by saying, 'I could be watching history being made right here before us.' Because you don't know what impact his visit before 100,000 people and a national television audience will have on swaying votes. How many of those people are saying, 'Well, if he's a race fan, I'm voting for him.' What he did here on Sunday might help him win the Presidential election. That makes you feel good to know you had him here. And I thought that when I met him, too. I was like, 'I could be shaking hands here with the next President of the United States.' But at the same time, he was a human being and was very courteous to the people around him.

To think all that and watch the bus drive out of the tunnel, I thought, 'That could be the next President right there. This could have had a major impact right here.' And God bless him. We talked about the Sprint Cup schedule; I think the campaign schedule is more grueling than a season of NASCAR racing.

Q: I guess he'd better make sure he has good equipment and quality pit stops, too, huh?

Gappens: The neat sidebar was that the windshield wipers on his bus weren't working when he got here. So one of our shop guys fixed his windshield wipers while he was doing his visits and everything. Our guys fixed the bus under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service. That was kind of neat, too.

Q: So when did he take off anyway?

Gappens: He took off right after the start of the race.

Q: Does he have your vote then?

Gappens: Oh, yeah. He had my vote already. He didn't do anything to change it. I would maybe fire some of the campaign people, though. I say that joking, but with someone like that it's no different than a celebrity or a rock star. The personality is usually really easy to get along with and pretty neat once you get through all the layers to get to the actual person. There just are a lot of layers you have to go through to get there, and that's what can be challenging.

Q: Changing subjects a bit, it was a little surprising to see a Ferris wheel poking up on the skyline around the camping and parking areas adjacent to the track. What was that and the other amusement rides located there all about?

Gappens: You know, Bruton challenges us as general managers. He gives us enough latitude. Even though he's in charge and he owns and operates all these different facilities, he does let the general manager kind of put their own personality into it and try to let the track have its own personality as well, and make it unique from all the others. We were in a meeting in December in New York, and he was talking about how he feels NASCAR races are today's version of the state fair. When we were younger, the big event that you looked forward to every year was the state fair, if not the county fair. I come from the Midwest, so I went to a lot of county fairs and state fairs.

Track just fine

After two exciting NASCAR weekends at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bruton Smith, president of SMI, has decided to leave the track alone.

• Complete story, click here

That left an impact on me, and then with what Bruton was saying, I was like, 'You know, he's right.' And I thought it would just add some entertainment value and some atmosphere to our fans who come in and stay for the weekend. So we went ahead and made plans to bring it in. I think the impact is two-fold: one, it's exciting to see a Ferris wheel and rides; and secondly, it gives our fans who are here for an extended stay in our camping areas something else to do when the track activities shut down for the day. They can go ride rides and play games. I would like to continue to do it. I think it also gives the kids something to do if they get a little bit bored with hanging out at the track. There is some kid in all of us.

Q: So have you discovered any new hobbies since moving north from Charlotte to the great state of New Hampshire?

Gappens: I had a couple people try to sell me snowmobiles when I first got here, but I avoided that temptation. I've not purchased a snowmobile, but last winter I got indoctrinated pretty quickly with the 130 inches of snow we had. It was a record snowfall. I did do snow skiing for the first time in my life. Guys that are built like offensive tackles and aged 46 years old probably shouldn't be making their debuts on skis. I wasn't Franz Klammer, but I didn't break anything -- so that was a major win.

Q: Have you been to Fenway Park in nearby Boston yet?

Gappens: I've been to Fenway several times. I enjoy it. I grew up a Cubs fan and used to go to Wrigley Field. I always wanted to go to Fenway Park and never had the opportunity. It's a great atmosphere for baseball. And that's one of the things that I think New Hampshire Motor Speedway offers. We may not have all the amenities, but I tell people all the time that I think our facility is a combination of Wrigley Field and Fenway Park and a state fair type of atmosphere, and there is nothing wrong with that. We're hosting major-league events, and I don't ever want to lose what we are through brick or mortar or renovations. I think you still want to keep that feel to it. I think the fans have a comfort level here, much like they do at Fenway. People have fun going to the ballpark there, and that's always what we want the people who come to our racetrack to have as well. That's why our company has always been big on things like the pre-race stunts and concerts, things that you don't see in your everyday walk of life.

Q: So are you a Red Sox or Cubs fan now?

Gappens: I still like the Cubs, and I'm still holding out hope that they'll win a World Series some day. But I will say that the Red Sox have moved up the flagpole to a strong second there. They certainly are my favorite in the American League, and if it came down to a Red Sox-Cubs' World Series, I'd like the Cubs to try to at least win one World Series. I remember watching the Cubs on WGN with my grandfather, and he never got to see them win a World Series -- so I hope my Dad and I can before we move on to the greener pastures of heaven someday.