UNREQUITED LOVE?
Bruton Smith says his Speedway Motorsports (SMI) company
will make a formal presentation in the next seven to 10
days to purchase NHRA. According to an interview with
Smith on PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show (www.goprn.com),
the proposal was postponed from last week due to the death
of Wally Parks's wife, Barbara. If the purchase is completed,
Smith says he would move NHRA headquarters from Glendora,
CA, to Las Vegas.
We're waiting to see what happens next, as we've heard
this from Mr. Smith several times before.
In a copyrighted article by motorsports writer Jeff Wolf
in the Feb. 1, 2006 edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,
Smith also said that SMI would spend $300 million over
the next 30 months making improvements to Las Vegas Motor
Speedway, including rebuilding almost all of the speedway's
1.5-mile tri-oval. No word yet on changes to The Strip
at LVMS. (Jeff Burk photo)
[2-1-2006]
IHRA NOT SOLD
Rumors abound that the IHRA, a subsidiary of Clear Channel
Entertainment, has been sold to a company called Live
Nation. Actually, it's just a part of restructuring at
the giant communications company. Live Nation recently
was spun-off by Clear Channel Communications and began
trading as a separate company on December 21, 2005.
Live Nation will focus on music, theater, and motorsports
events. Clear Channel Communication's primary business
is billboards and its network of radio stations. At this
point in time, it appears everything is status quo in
Norwalk, Ohio. [2-1-2006]
WHO MADE OUT THIS SCHEDULE?
Our item yesterday about the new Schumacher team Mopar
Pro Stocks brought an email from a reader saying that
the team would not be in Houston at the Feb. 4 Pro Stock
SuperBowl, but would be in Las Vegas at the Feb. 4 Pro
Stock Showdown. The information we got was from Mopar
and it said the "SuperBowl." So, where will
the Schumacher Pro Stocks be? We don't know. And whose
brilliant idea was it to schedule these events for the
same date? [2-1-2006]
CONNOLLY BACK ON TRACK
Dave Connolly is one racer that will definitely
be in Las Vegas -- although in the press release from
the team it is called the Pro Stock "Shootout"
(and you thought this job was easy).
Terry Adams and the crew of the Connolly-driven SKULL
GEAR Pro Stock Chevrolet Cobalt finished rebuilding the
car just in time to head out for the track with no time
to test the car’s horsepower which now comes from
Victor Cagnazzi Racing.
An accident that sent Connolly into a concrete barrier
while testing three weeks ago caused more damage to the
car’s front end than was first thought and meant
a longer stay at car builder Jerry Bickel’s shop
in the St. Louis area.
“It turned out we practically had to rebuild the
car,” said Adams, the team manager/crew chief. “It’s
a long drive to Las Vegas and I don’t think we’ll
have an opportunity to make a run until Friday.”
[2-1-2006]
