Penske Motorsports Inc. (PMI), which purchased the
Phoenix Int'l Raceway last week, and Int'l Speedway Corp.
(ISC) announced yesterday that they have each purchased a
40% interest in Homestead-Miami Speedway LLC, the operators
of Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex (M-DHMC) in FL.
M-DHMC founder Ralph Sanchez and partner Wayne Huizenga will
each keep a 10% interest in the track. Sanchez will remain
President and will continue to oversee operations, while he
and Huizenga will be members of the speedway's Management
Committee (M-DHMC).
TRACKING THE DEAL: In Raleigh, Gerald Martin values the
deal at $29.5M, with ISC and PMI each making cash payments
of $11.8M. ISC President & NASCAR VP Jim France, on the
possibility of bringing a Winston Cup race to Homestead:
"[T]hat was never part of our proposal to Ralph [Sanchez].
... We're here strictly on the merits of the existing
facility and schedule" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/24)....In
Tampa, Tom Ford writes that ISC "views the South Florida
market as 'vibrant,' a place that mirrors the hip,
mainstream persona NASCAR wants to project in these times of
great change in motorsports" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 7/24).
