Bob Bahre, Chairman of the Board of New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS), on the agreement to sell NHIS to Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

“Gary and I would like to thank all of our employees and loyal fans for their continued support of New Hampshire International Speedway over the past 18 years. Our success is due to their dedication and to the loyalty of our corporate partners including SYLVANIA, LENOX Industrial Tools, and Camping World. We look forward to working closely with Bruton Smith and his team during the upcoming transition and for years to come.”

Statement from Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO

Today’s announcement that Speedway Motorsports Inc. has purchased New Hampshire International Speedway is yet another indication that the NASCAR industry continues to grow and thrive.

Capitalizing on NASCAR’s national appeal and growth, the Bahre family created a passionate fan base and developed a valuable venue that has hosted the largest sporting events in New England including 26 consecutive sellouts.

The success of NHIS, and the desire of the Bahre family to sell, made the track very attractive to SMI and several other interested buyers. SMI has a highly regarded record for hosting some of the most successful and enjoyable race events in all of NASCAR, and there’s no doubt that will continue.

While we don’t have any details about SMI’s plans for NHIS, all sanctions for 2008 have been signed and finalized. As a result, there will be no location changes to the 2008 schedule that was released last month. This is important to the fans, competitors, broadcast partners and sponsors who have already made plans for the 2008 races.

Looking beyond 2008, NASCAR will continue to consider requests by any track operator, including SMI, to relocate race dates. Under NASCAR’s “realignment” plan, we have worked with track owners to relocate race dates to meet the needs of our growing national fan base. Ultimately, any change must meet NASCAR’s objectives and serve our fans.

The industry owes Bob and Gary Bahre a debt of gratitude for their leadership and commitment to NASCAR. All of NASCAR wishes the Bahre family well during this time of transition. They will always be considered pioneers in NASCAR.

It's official, the new owner of New Hampshire International Speedway is Bruton Smith, CEO and Chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which now owns seven tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol and now NHIS.

Among others that were interested in purchasing NHIS were Jack Roush and Roger Penske.

Smith was in New Hampshire last week to seal the deal with Bob Bahre. The acquisition will close in the first quarter of 2008. In the teleconference held at 12:30 EDT at Texas Motor Speedway, he was asked if he was going to take a race away from NHIS to secure a second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. As of right now, he has no plans to move dates of the races, though he was vague about answering this question.

He also said New Englanders shouldn't be nervous. His main goal is to make the track better and more fan friendly.

I will download the complete transcript later today when it's available - probably around 5:30.

More to come later.

Brace yourself, this is a long one…it was a fabulous weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway. The highlight of my weekend, of course, was meeting Boris Said.

All in all, I felt much more comfortable with things than the first time I came in June. A lot of the same faces and this time I knew where I could and couldn't go. I learned this time around that I have to be careful vocalizing my happiness about drivers making the field (Boris).

The race: I was really glad to see Clint Bowyer win his first Cup race. He dominated that entire race.

A journalist friend of mine asked me why I don’t blog during the race and immediately following the race. To me, it would be like a die-hard Patriots fan watching a game and having someone talk in their ear. But in this case, I’m a die-hard NASCAR fan and I just can’t seem to focus or concentrate on anything but the race. I do think that journalists are trained to do so but I am not.

And the reason I don’t blog after the race? Well after waking up at 4 a.m., I was completely beat. Immediately after the race the top three finishers head to the media center for questions from the media. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart were there when I walked in after making my way down from the press box.

That had to be the funniest interviewing session ever. OK, I’m going to say it …this weekend, I may have actually turned a corner and now might like Tony Stewart. He is a wise-ass to the media, but he is REALLY funny about it. And in this post-race interview session, he and Gordon just played off one another. It was the best. I'm going to try to get the audio so you can hear it for yourself.

The traffic: Thursday, Friday and Saturday is relatively smooth sailing in and out of the track. The traffic is completely dealable. Sunday is a different story. I know I told you that I arrived at the track on Sunday morning, dark and early, at 5:30 a.m. and even at that hour, there was already a bit of traffic. After the race is a different story.

I put my “patience cap” on and left the media center at around 7 p.m. to make my way back to my hotel room in Manchester. (The tunnel access to the media center is closed for an hour after the completion of the race) I breezed out of the infield with hardly any traffic and then I hit Route 106. It was almost at a complete stop. I thought there had to have been a wreck somewhere.

I give New Hampshire a ton of credit. They shut that road down to through traffic. The entire road becomes a 3- or 4-lane road leaving the racetrack. It does move along, just slow. Now if only they could do something about those impatient idiots who are granted a drivers license.

There was a wreck on I-93 South. So what normally would take about 40 minutes to get back to the hotel room took 2 hours because (and I’m assuming) someone was a moron and wasn’t paying attention.

It's going to be real hard to focus on my other duties at work on Tuesday. I am already feeling like I am ready to go to another race and see what other tracks look like and how they operate and all that. I think I may be turning into an addict.

Getting up at 4 a.m. is starting to catch up with me. I am glad the race is getting started. I'm sitting up here in the Press Box, as I did for the June race here at New Hampshire International Speedway.

I think I'm going to go with Jeff Gordon for the win today.

Here's a few more pictures taken this morning and a couple of the pre-race festivities.

That's all for today ... enjoy the race!

It's way too early in the morning. I am certainly not awake yet. When I walked in to the media center here at New Hampshire International Speedway, I hadn't even had my first cup of coffee because everything was closed when I left the hotel. I love racing but this early stuff is for the birds. And if you want to beat the traffic, you've got to be an early bird. I am a bit cranky to say the least.

I had honestly thought about leaving yesterday afternoon and going back to the hotel room. Because of the weather, all the Cup drivers had packed up for the day.

Then I decided to make my way up on the hill by the big flag poles on the backstretch to enjoy some time with friends as a fan instead of working. I did snap a few pictures up there though. (I don't typically go anywhere without a camera while I'm here.)

Snoozing during the truck race ... yup this pretty much sums up my thoughts on that race.

Here's a few other pictures from up there ...

There are just rows and rows of RVs and motor homes.

Police patrol

These gals don't really care about the racing.

As for beverage pong this weekend ... didn't do it. I just didn't make it up to Frontier Land to give it a try. Maybe next time.

Now the long wait begins for the Cup race.

I walked outside the media center and saw all these people gathered down by the entrance and wondered which driver was standing there. As soon as I turned the corner ...

I'm not really sure what that was all about... They walked through the pits and I heard someone say they were heading to the Cheerios hauler. That's all I know about that.

The rain has stopped. The dryers are on the track. Final practice for the Cup cars has been canceled because of the weather.

Here's a few more pictures from this morning ...

This is Carl Edwards that everyone is gathered around.

All for now. I'm getting a little stir crazy. I'm going to grab some lunch and go take a walk. Be back later.

It's pouring at the moment. Practice for the Cup cars was supposed to begin at 9 a.m., but that's not happening.

It's supposed to clear off here in the next couple hours, or so they say.

When I walked in this morning, the media director, Fred Neergard, pulled me aside and had a chat with me regarding something I said here in the media center yesterday. Apparently, some folks talked with him about a comment I made out loud when Boris Said made the field because of John Andretti being disqualified when the post-qualifying inspection determined that his car was too low.

So I guess it's a really good thing that I didn't sport that wig yesterday, huh?
The journalists in here surely would have had a field day with that one. I am first and foremost a fan. I'm not a journalist but I guess I need to learn quickly the "rules" of working in a media center.

Boris Said IS IN THE RACE ON SUNDAY!!!
The 49 car was disqualified because it was too low in post qualifying inspection! I am absolutely thrilled!

And here are a few other pictures that I took while qualifying was taking place...

John Andretti

Okay, I have absolutely NO mercy! I nabbed Andretti when he came out of the portapotty on pit road and had my picture taken with him. The only reason I'm not posting it is because it is an absolutely hideous picture of me. I'll keep it for sure but I don't think I care to share it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Honestly, I was standing there on pit road and all of the sudden you could hear fans cheering and screaming. I just knew it had to be Junior based on all the commotion. And sure enough, it was.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kevin Harvick and team

And lastly...here you go racefan....I was able to get a couple shots of Smoke during practice. I hope you enjoy these...

That's it for me today. I will be back bright and early tomorrow.

If NOTHING else works out the way I want, I will be a happy woman because I met Boris Said.

I HATE pictures of myself, but am so completely proud of this one with Said. The only thing that will make me happier is WHEN he makes the field for Sunday's race.

I must say that now that this is my second Cup race I feel like I am taking the same pictures as last time. But here are a few snapshots as I walked around the garage area.

Ricky Rudd

Kyle Busch

And here's a couple from the media center:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Jeff Burton

All for now, be back later with more pics. Gotta go grab some lunch...

It is 9:30 and I am just getting settled in here at the media center at New Hampshire International Speedway. I am kind of playing musical chairs today as I don't have my own spot to call my home until tomorrow...

Even with good old mapquest directions, I managed to get a little turned around on the way back to the hotel last night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is supposed to be making his way to the media center for a press conference.

There's not a cloud in the sky this morning. Thank god! Looks like Boris Said will get his chance at qualifying without weather being a factor.

All for now, will be back in a bit with pictures. Things are just starting to come to life now.

Traveling-- First, I'm not a huge traveler so there's a little angst when I get ready to head out by myself to New Hampshire International Speedway. I must confess both last time and this time I have printed out directions on Mapquest from my house to the hotel, from the hotel to the track, from the track to the hotel and finally from the hotel back home.

I follow those directions to a T. And even doing so, I managed to get turned around each time I left the track to go back to the hotel. This is absolutely ridiculous, but true. This time, I NEED to master that route.

Extra Curricular Activities-- When I went to NHIS in June, it was suggested that I stay away from this place called "Frontier Land" or at the very least not go up there alone at night. So naturally, my first thought was I HAVE GOT TO GO THERE! I am one to go against the grain whenever possible.

So when I got an email from someone inviting me to play "beverage" pong, there was NO way I was going to decline. (Hi boss, this will be on my own time.) I have never played but am very much looking forward to this. I'm a bit on the wild and crazy side, so I should fit right in.

Have you ever played? Is there something else you would suggest that I should see or experience up there in "frontier land?"

Boris Said-- Have I mentioned that he will be going?! Does anyone know if you can buy those wigs at the track? It's all about Boris for me this weekend.

I was catching up on some reading last night when I read on my pal Travis' blog that Boris Said will be trying to qualify in to the Cup race in New Hampshire this weekend.

Imagine the smile on my face. That little tidbit of information made my day. I may even have to sport one of those wigs in support of him.

You can bet that I will be ALL over the pits trying to get pictures of him. This is just going to be the coolest thing. It just added a whole new level of excitement for me heading down to NHIS.

Just think about it for a second... He has only had four starts in the Cup series this year. That poor excuse of a driver, Michael Waltrip, has had eight starts and is ONLY 20 points ahead of Said.

I think Teresa Earnhardt should have considered Said the next driver to drive the No. 8 car. People love him. I, for one, would have rooted for him each and every week.

If I had to choose which driver I would want to see in the race between Ward Burton and Boris Said...it would be Boris, hands down. Go Boris!

As tired as I am and was during the weekend, I would do it all over again.

The experience was fantastic. I met a lot of great people. Hank, who showed me around that first day. Rob, who drove me to and from in the golf cart.

There is one person who stands out above the rest and I don’t even know his name. This past weekend he was driving the shuttle van to and from the parking lot to the media center.

He called me: Ms. Portland Press Herald. That was my name the entire weekend. That is how he introduced me to anyone who may have been in the van while he was picking me up. He drove me to turn 3 and showed me the view from up there. And even though I didn’t catch his name, he is certainly one person that I won’t forget.

The folks in the media center were also very attentive and always asking if I needed anything. They had lunch brought in each day and had snacks in the afternoon.

Fred Neergaard, director of public relations, pretty much told me that if I needed anything to just ask and if there was a way, they would make it happen. So thank you, Fred.

Some disappointments –

Seeing things from the media perspective did reveal the ‘not so pretty’ side of things. Television makes racing look a bit glamorous and also, to me anyway, makes it look like the drivers are accessible for the most part. Boy, was I mistaken. Or at least it appears to me that it is harder to get a minute of time if you are print or online media.

I made friends with a couple of reporters who kind of took me under their wing, being a rookie and all. Travis Barrett from our sister paper, the Kennebec Journal, and also Shawn Courchesne from the Hartford Courant.

Anyone who knows me knows that I really liked Ward Burton. I always LOVED to listen to him talk. I had had that discussion with Travis and Shawn the night before at dinner.

So, on Friday, when Travis was heading out to see if he could grab a moment of Ward’s time, he stopped by to see if I wanted to tag along. I was absolutely thrilled. I was quite excited at the prospect of hearing him in person!

We knew there were about 10 minutes or so before Ward had to go qualify his Busch car (I believe that is where he was heading…) He said no and for Travis to try to catch him later and then he walked into his hauler.

Travis tried for two full days to speak with him without success. And of course, Ward didn't circle back with him.

The same Ward Burton who CAN'T even qualify to get into each and every cup race. He should feel lucky that someone from the media wanted to talk to him. It definitely changed my perspective about him.

I know drivers are busy, don’t get me wrong, but so are car owners. Lucky for Travis, he found Richard Childress to discuss the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited. Richard gave him about five minutes. Here’s a link to the story if you are interested.

The thing is if you want to talk to a driver, you have to schedule a time with a PR person. But, WHERE ARE THE PR PEOPLE? I think THEY were in hiding also. So you then go directly to the driver and the driver says to schedule something with the PR rep. It is a vicious cycle, so you give up and try to do the story with a different angle, I guess.

So there you have it. Even with the disappointments of being able to catch a moment of time with a driver, I would definitely do it again. Maybe next time, I will get the chance to hear Ward Burton talk….in person.

As promised, here are a few more pictures:

This will be the last entry of the weekend for me. I provided pictures and thoughts right up to the start of the race. I am now in the press box and am finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but the race.

I will continue to take shots from up here and will upload them tomorrow. I am hoping to get some images that television doesn't capture.

This weekend was really tough work and I have a new-found appreciation for journalists and photojournalists. They make it look effortless and I am here to say that it is far from easy.

Because I want to try to put together a slide show for you, when I was trying to get audio, I was also holding the camera to get an image to go along with it. My hair is long and while I was juggling both pieces of equipment, I was quite busy making sure strands of hair didn't go in front of the lens.

I would then come back, download the pictures onto the computer and try to select the ones that I felt you would like to see.

Here are a few more pictures...I will have more tomorrow also.

That's all for now, I want to go enjoy this race!

I feel like I am sleepwalking, I am so tired. Stayed up a little too late. Had to get up at 5:15 a.m. to try to beat some of the traffic. I got in at almost 7:30 this morning.

I feel a bit out of sorts as I am not sure what I should be doing. So I went out to the pit area to check things out and got a few pictures. People are just pouring in. There are tours throughout the pit area and track.

There's going to be a concert as part of the festivities around 12:45, Hinder is playing. I will get some pictures of that for you as well as what pit road will look like from above, prior to the race.

Here are some shots that I took while walking around this morning:

Now I may go out to my car and catch a few zzz's before the race. I do, after all, have to drive home afterward and I hear the traffic is a killer.

It was entirely too much fun walking around and watching people. No one seemed to mind me snapping shots of them either. It could have been that some of them had had their share of "beverages."

It amazes me how many people bring their kids with them. They made it a family affair. What lucky kids...

Here are a few more pictures...

These next few were taken way up high on turn 3. Don't ask how I got up so high...

That's all for now. I hope that seeing some of these images has inspired you to get up off the couch and attend one of these fabulous events. I will be watching the Cup event tomorrow from the Press Box. It is an amazing view up there so I should be able to get some good photos.

What lucky kids...

I made my way up on the hill on the back stretch. What a fabulous view. When the cars are going by, I could actually feel the vibrations. I went up during the Modified race.

Here are a few pictures from the view up there...

There is also an ESPN cut-away car up there.

Have you ever camped up there? Do you have any stories you would like to share? I would love to hear them.

The Busch race is about to begin. I am going to watch that and also stroll around the garage areas. I may have one more update today. I think it will be around 5:30 or so with more pictures. I hope you are enjoying what I am showing and that it is gives you an idea of how popular this sport is.

Wait until tomorrow, there will be wall to wall people as this place sold out for tomorrow's NASCAR race.

The Busch cars just finished qualifying. Yesterday, I was asked to get some pictures of Bobby Santos. I was able to get a few...

He qualified 4th for the Busch race today.

This is a pretty good shot of just how much chaos there is on pit road.

Ryan had asked for a shot of Kyle Busch. I haven't gotten anything better than this, I will try again a little later:

I got several pretty good pictures of Dale Jr. after today's first practice:

What a completely surreal feeling of being in the same vicinity of this man! Unbelievable.

I'm now going to grab a quick bite to eat and then go capture some images of the fans here. I am going to go check out where people camp and stay during the weekend festivities.

As always, let me know if there is something you want me to capture.

I am exhausted. I have put some serious walking miles on today. I have a few more garage area pictures to share and a few from pit road. You can get a real good sense of how big this place is when you look up at the grandstands from pit road.

Ward Burton after the first practice. He qualified 25th!

This picture was taken on pit road.

Jimmie Johnson waiting to qualify.

Ricky Rudd waiting to qualify.

Jeff Gordon walking to his car to qualify.

Richard Childress, watching his drivers qualify.

I hear this is one of the best places to watch the events of the weekend. It is on the hill on the back stretch and you can see the entire track from here.

I will be walking up there at some point tomorrow to check it out. Maybe I can watch the Busch race from up there. I know a few people around the flag poles.

I have taken over 100 pictures so far and am going to be taking a whole lot more. Are there images that you would like to see? Drivers you want pictures of? Busch or Nextel Cup? I will make it my personal mission to accomplish those images for you. Please email or post an entry of who or what you would like to see and I will check my emails throughout the day

It is lunchtime and also practice time for the Cup drivers. The garage area is extremely busy, with cars coming in and out. Officials are throughout the area blowing whistles when drivers enter or leave. Seems to be the only thing you can hear over the noise.

Here are a few more pictures...

Jeff Burton - I wished him a Happy Birthday--he wasn't all that talkative, but said "thanks."

Here he is....Juan Pablo Montoya!

Scott Riggs and Kasey Kahne

After this image...I went in and got some lunch. The smell of hot dogs and burgers cooking on the grill while I took these pictures was killing me.

During the final minutes of practice, I was standing near Ward Burton's garage area with a friend. One of his crew members was walking over to us and almost got pegged by a car. It is so busy and hectic and people are running all over the place, so that if you even for a minute get distracted, you can get hit.

I think the garage area during practice may be much more dangerous than pit road during a race. It was quite scary.

I should have one more update, with pictures, by the end of the day.

Yesterday when I arrived in the media center, it wasn't all that busy, which was good because to say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement.

A man named Hank showed me around the garage and pit areas. I am set up at a work station in an air-conditioned media room. I am right by a window so when I look up, I am looking at pit road. Pretty cool.

Took a walk around the garage a bit ago and saw a few folks...

Sterling Marlin!

Not a very good pic...but Jeff Burton.

Bobby Labonte - I had a chance to talk to him...but I am just getting warmed up. Will try a bit later, if I get the opportunity.

There was a press conference regarding the penalities given to the Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson teams. From left to right: Ron Malec, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Meendering, Jeff Gordon.

Obviously, they feel the penalties were too harsh, given that they couldn't practice or qualify last week.

I am heading out to see if I can capture a bit more. I will update again a bit later. Next week we may try to run some audio that I have taken also. I am not talented enough to get it done for the weekend, but I did get some audio of the Gordon/Johnson press conference.

I couldn’t pass up an invitation to go down to New Hampshire International Speedway. Fred Neergaard asked if I was going to be credentialed for the race Sunday. Apparently, he has read my blog. The question made its way through many people here at work, and in the end, I was given everyone’s blessing to attend this event.

I have never been to a live NASCAR race. I have never really wanted to go, to be perfectly honest. I enjoy the comforts of my own home…or my Dad’s, which is where we usually watch the race on TV.

I've been credentialed to go in the pits, garage, media center, press box and racetrack. This is all quite foreign to me. I will be leaving Thursday and will be there for all the events taking place throughout the weekend.

I will probably spend most of my time in the garage area, as I might have a pretty good chance of seeing many of the drivers there. If all goes well, I will be doing updates to the blog and uploading photos a few times throughout the day.

Have you ever been to NHIS? Any tidbits you would like to share with me? Are you going to the race? I would love to hear from you.