Speedway Motorsports Inc., headed by Bruton Smith, added
Sears Point Int'l Raceway in Sonoma, CA to its roster of tracks
in a deal announced yesterday, according to Tom Higgins of the
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Speedway Motorsports bought the track for an
undisclosed amount from Californian Steve Burke. The addition of
the 2.52-mile, 11-turn road course, which serves as the site of a
NASCAR Winston Cup event each May, gives Smith control of the
only Winston Cup date in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
market. In what Smith called his "first venture into drag
racing," Speedway also will take over operation of the drag
racing strip at Sears Point, which holds NHRA events (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 11/14). In Richmond, Ben Blake notes Speedway "may
exercise a purchase option for the real property, which includes
approximately 800 acres of land and permanent structures, after
three years" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 11/14).
ON TRACK IN CHICAGO? International Speedway Corp.,
controlled by NASCAR President Bill France Jr., said that it is
joining the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and businessman John
Menard in studying whether to develop a new Chicago-area
motorsports track, according to Bill Koenig of the INDIANAPOLIS
STAR-NEWS. France said they have started to study the
feasibility of a new Chicago track, but talks are still in the
early stages (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 11/12).
