Winds of change blowing at New Hampshire track (cont'd)

"I think that was important. I think sometimes the media -- and not just the media, but people in general -- like to speculate," Gappens said. "And Bruton Smith is very vocal and very positive about what he's done in Las Vegas. He's made some significant improvements and a large investment in capital out there, and he certainly feels that with that market and with the success that they've had that he deserves a second date out there. I don't think too many people dispute that.

"But the big piece of the puzzle that everyone is trying to figure out is where does that second date come from? I just think it's a little too convenient to say, well, New Hampshire's got a date in September that would lend itself neatly to realignment. I just think everybody got way ahead of themselves as far as speculation on any movement of dates."

No move imminent

Even as Bruton Smith was announcing the sale of NHIS to SMI, he said there are no plans to move one of the Loudon track's race dates to Las Vegas.

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In fact, Gappens argued, why in the heck would NASCAR want to move a date out of a facility that has sold out 26 consecutive races? Why would NASCAR want to move out of a market that is unique and important to them?

"I think if NASCAR really looked at the current schedule, the people of New England are certainly supporting both races," Gappens said. "There is not another NASCAR track within [several] states. So I don't know. If they ever get to looking at the schedule or realigning any of the dates, I would think New Hampshire would be on the safe side, or at least the justifiable side, of keeping two dates -- compared to some other facilities right now that are struggling to sell out their one or two races a year.

"I spent time [as a reporter] at National Speed Sport News there in New Jersey, so I understand the Northeast with the Modifieds and the weekly racing that takes place in Pennsylvania and up in New York, and Connecticut and so forth. And you look at some of our [Sprint Cup] drivers now, like Martin Truex Jr., and they came from racing up in that area."

Mission Impossible

Gappens was working with the legendary journalist and race announcer Chris Economaki when Bahre first embarked on construction of the New Hampshire facility.

"When I was working with Chris Economaki at Speed Sport News, we had gotten the story that Bob had bought Bryar Motorsports Park, which was a rundown road course that wasn't on anybody's radar, and that he was going to build a speedway there. And we thought, 'Wow. That's like Mission Impossible. Why would you do that without any guaranteed dates?' Gappens said.

"But he did it, and he really earned his way with NASCAR. He started with a Busch race and then got a Cup race and kept growing and bought the second date through the Staley family at North Wilkesboro [the track Bahre bought along with Smith and closed down in 1996], and has continued to build on it. You've got to give him credit for having that vision. He made money from being a contractor and being a land developer. He didn't need the headaches of building a speedway -- but he had a passion for it and he did it."

What Bahre did in New Hampshire, Gappens said, is similar to what Smith has done at a number of other SMI facilities. He said that Smith respects that, and doesn't want to tear down or siphon off from what Bahre has built up -- but rather that he wants to add to it. Gappens said that he has hit it off with Bahre, who will remain at the track as a consultant, and that he believes Bahre would not have sold to Smith if he thought Smith was making the purchase only to pilfer a race date for Las Vegas.

"I think Bob Bahre is looking at this place like a child that he has nurtured and taken all the way through college. Now it's time to send the child off on its own, where some others care for it and can help it go on to even greater things," Gappens said.

Besides, from a purely selfish standpoint, Gappens said there is no way he would have accepted his new position if he didn't believe Smith was planning to build up rather than tear down or take away from the place.

"I didn't take the job to give anything back," Gappens said. "I think it's my job to go up there and implement Bruton's vision for it -- and to make it bigger and better and move forward from there. For the people that are skeptical and uneasy about a change in ownership -- and people there aren't as familiar with Bruton Smith as they are in the Southeast or other parts of the country -- my message is give him a chance. You are going to like what he does.

"If you look at everything he's done, from building Charlotte [now Lowe's Motor Speedway] in 1960 to basically buying and rebuilding Atlanta, Bristol and Las Vegas, and building Texas up from the ground and making it, I think, the showplace of all American motorsports facilities, plus the fact that he owns some of the nicest car dealerships in the country, he's got a history of making things bigger and better with his vision."

That could include any number of improvements at New Hampshire, Gappens added. (Continued)