NASCAR Daily News Headlines * November 4, 2009

SMI: Fans Still Coming To Races

Admissions revenues that are comparable were down only 8 percent from July to September, which includes NASCAR Sprint Cup weekends at Bristol and New Hampshire as well as a couple of National Hot Rod Association events and a Camping World Truck Series event, SMI Chief Financial Officer Bill Brooks said during a conference call Wednesday to report third-quarter results. The industry trend has been about 15 percent.

“Our main objective with admissions has been to keep race fans coming to races, and rather than seeing those seats go unused, we reduced the price to meet the customers’ needs in difficult financial times in those locations that would be considered entry-level,” SMI President Marcus Smith said in the call with financial analysts.

“That was met with great appreciation from thousands of our fans and kept them coming to our races.”

One thing the SMI tracks have done less this year is offering special limited-time ticket specials leading up to the race.

“[We’re] maintaining the price integrity,” Smith said. “We don’t want to have the situation where somebody is sitting next to somebody else and you have a different price on your ticket that causes some angst among our fans. We’ve made that mistake before.”

SMI owns tracks in or near Charlotte; Las Vegas; Sonoma, Calif.; Bristol, Tenn.; Atlanta; Sparta, Ky.; Loudon, N.H.; and Fort Worth, Texas.

For the first nine months of the year – which isn’t totally comparable with 2008 because the company had 19 major NASCAR events (Sprint Cup and Nationwide) in the first nine months at its tracks in 2009 compared with 17 in the first nine months of 2008 – SMI reported a 4.2 percent drop in revenues from $480.3 million to $460.0 million.()

Rookie Orientation Program In February

The annual program will be designed for rookies and drivers 22 and under, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday. It will focus on NASCAR rules and policies as well as the adjustment to competing on the national stock-car circuit.

“It’s something we’ve been looking at for the last two or three years,” Poston said. “We looked at what all the other leagues do, and one thing we realized is all the other leagues do this, and there seems to be a lot of benefit both for the league and their participants.”

The program will include University of Central Florida professor Dr. Richard Lapchick of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports to address professional and personal conduct and Aegis Laboratories’ Dr. David Black to address the NASCAR substance-abuse policy. NASCAR Chairman Brian France also would be one of the presenters with other NASCAR executives, NASCAR’s medical liaisons, series directors, veteran drivers and track operators.(scenedaily.com)

Buescher To Run Full-Time In 2010

Buescher’s passion for racing started at an early age and the youngster has achieved success at every level that he has competed. In his first ARCA RE/MAX Series race at USA International Speedway, Buescher claimed the victory and became the youngest winner in ARCA history, a title that he still holds today.

In 2008, the Texas native competed in six NNS races, claiming a career-best finish of seventh and one pole position at Memphis Motorsports Park. This season, Buescher has participated in four ARCA RE/MAX Series races, where he has collected two wins and three top-five finishes. His first 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series win came in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway (February 2009), which he followed by winning his second race of the season at Kentucky Speedway (May 2009). Buescher currently pilots the No. 10 Circle Bar Racing entry in the NCWTS, where the young gun has established himself as a contender for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award.

“I’m very excited about my plans for the 2010 season to run in the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series,” said Buescher. “Both series provide young drivers a place to learn and compete at the highest level. I would like to thank James Finch, Marc Reno, and Miccosukee from Phoenix Racing and Steve and Sandra Turner from Turner Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to have as much seat time as possible next year. Mr. Finch has proven that his organization can compete up front in contention for wins every week and I’m honored that I get to drive the Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Chevrolet full-time. Also, to be a part of an organization like Turner Motorsports, who is just starting out in the NASCAR garage, is something that I’m looking forward to. Hopefully next season, I will take both Chevrolets to Victory Lane.”

Phoenix Racing continues to be a staple in the Nationwide Series, as the James Finch-owned team has recorded one win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and 14 top-10 finishes so far this season. Newly to the NASCAR garage, Turner Motorsports, owned and operated by Steve and Sandra Turner, will make its debut this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in the NCWTS.