NASCAR will now own a majority of the tracks hosting races on its Cup Series schedule GETTY IMAGES
NASCAR's $2B purchase of sister company ISC will impact the sport "when it comes to drawing up the schedule of races," and it will offer a "more balanced strategy when it comes to finding sponsors," according to Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. Fox' Mike Joy said that he "sees the NASCAR-ISC alignment as a good thing." Joy: "Companies that want to come in as sponsors, that will pay dividends for this sport." Since NASCAR will own a majority of tracks hosting races, it will be "able to adjust the schedules of its three national series to meet an ever-changing demand." Even before the deal was announced yesterday, NASCAR had "made some big changes" to the '20 Cup Series schedule, including moving Daytona’s July 4 Weekend race to August. There should be "even greater changes" to the '21 calendar, now that NASCAR and ISC will "soon be one entity, literally under one roof." Joy said, "We could see new tracks being added, maybe tracks (currently) with two dates having only one. I keep hearing them say, 'Everything is on the table for the 2021 schedule'" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 5/23).
AROUND THE NEXT TURN: In Daytona Beach, Ken Willis writes despite the merger being announced, the "real fun and games will have to wait just a little longer." Assuming the Smith family completes its buyback of SMI shares, 34 of the current 36 Cup Series races "will be run on privately owned speedways." Without the "possibility of shareholder rebuke," the France and Smith families could create a "condensed season, new venues (Nashville will be a start), midweek races, etc." But right now, everything "is speculation" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 5/23).
