As excited as I know a lot of people get around here for anything that goes insanely fast on four wheels (NASCAR, NHRA, open-wheel, etc.), here's something that may get everyone seriously fired up.
Relax. It's only talk at this point, but a certain track owner has made the first big step.

Bruton Smith, the owner of Speedway Motorsports, which includes Las Vegas Motor Speedway, has a "major announcement" in the works set for Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. XM Radio's Claire B. Lang reported on her "Dialed In" talk show earlier Thursday that the announcement will likely say that a deal has been made for Smith to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway, giving him ownership of seven tracks of the 23 NASCAR runs on every year.
Las Vegas should start getting excited because New Hampshire runs on two dates every season - one in July and the other as the first race for the Chase in September. Las Vegas only has one and Smith has made no secret of the fact he wants to get a second date there desperately. LVMS debuted a complete remodeling of the pit road and garage areas that debuted for the race weekend in March.
Heck, even I had a gut feeling something was brewing at that point.
Smith had a similar history of this when he purchased the track in Rockingham, N.C. That facility ran its last Cup race in 2004 and Texas got a second race as a result the following year.
I can't see New Hampshire closing its doors - the Cup weekends there pack the fans in at 90,000 strong - but Las Vegas holds around 160,000 people. The economic impact would be impressive in Vegas (as if it needed any more help), especially if a second Cup date there comes in around the Chase.
And Smith loves Las Vegas. Good for him. Good for race fans, too.
Viva Las Bruton. Here's to the possibilities.

Posted by Tom Zulewski at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )

And now, the Chase for the Nextel Cup is really on. We're going to have some drama after all.
The current champ - the one trying to repeat - is trying to get past his teammate, who's looking for his fifth title in a 15-year career.
With three races left to run in the 2007 Nextel Cup season, the margin for error has officially become razor-thin.
Check out the latest power rankings after the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

1. Jeff Gordon - It's his title to lose, but he's starting to feel the heat.
2. Jimmie Johnson - Defending champ got the right breaks at the right times to sweep the season set at Atlanta.
3. Clint Bowyer - Making up only four points out of a deficit of 115 isn't title worthy. He's still alive in the championship hunt, but not for much longer.
4. Tony Stewart - Oh, what might have been.
5. Carl Edwards - Second-place run at Atlanta has soothed hard feelings after the Kenseth tussle.
6. Matt Kenseth - Former champ will be better in 2008.
7. Kurt Busch - Led a bunch of laps on Sunday; trying to get to top-5 finish.
8. Kyle Busch - Won the Trucks race on Saturday; gaining some respect knowing his time at Hendrick is coming to close.
9. Martin Truex, Jr. - Bad break when he ran into an out-of-gas Hamlin.
10. Denny Hamlin - What in the world was he thinking?
11. Jeff Burton - Needs some of Bowyer's magic to rub off.
12. Kevin Harvick - We've said it before, but having 12 in the Chase in '07 saved his season.

Texas track fact: Burton became the first driver to repeat at the 1 1/2-mile oval when he won the Samsung 500 in April. On the other hand, Texas is the only track where Jeff Gordon hasn't seen Victory Lane yet.

Posted by Tom Zulewski at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBacks ( 0 )