Tom Compton, NHRA President, appeared a bit overwhelmed by the hundreds of media attending the recent Speedway Motorsports Inc., announcement concerning the construction of a state of the art drag racing facility in Concord, North Carolina which will host it's first event, The Carolinas Nationals, on the weekend of September 11^th through the 14^th.

Compton's laid back style stood out in contrast to the high energy, high profile manner of SMI Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith. Even following the announcement, Compton relaxed under the weight of two or three reporters while Smith looked more like the Ring Master at a three ring circus.

Yet, if was Compton who had to face the fire first as the presentation moved into a traditional NASCAR-style question and answer session. Half a year after announcing the proposed sale of NHRA assets to HD Partners, Compton didn't have a decisive answer to the question of when the sale would close.

“I'd be lying if I said that the economy wasn't slowing things down a bit right now when it comes to the HDP deal,” said Compton from up high on the podium. “There is a shareholder vote coming up in the near future and I'll guess we'll find out what happens then.”

HDP's reported offer of $180 million dollars for the most lucrative of NHRA's assets is stalled by the economy. It is possible the deal could fall completely apart if the U.S. Economy slips into a recession, a state some economist are saying already exist.

By contrast, Smith in just the past two weeks completed a $340 million dollar cash transaction taking over ownership of the newly named New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The construction of his fourth drag facility will give Smith control of 20 percent of the NHRA schedule, and if the HDP deal is flushed away, a position of great strength in the drag racing world. The new, yet to be named, facility will put pressure on both existing facilities and the NHRA to make further improvements.

“Well, I think when you come to this facility or any of the SMI facilities you see what a great drag racing facility really can be,” admitted Compton. I'm sure it will nudge others along, including NHRA, to do what we can. It's an economic situation in many places. The right to race is threatened in a lot of areas because of all kinds of issues. We try to work with the tracks we have to make sure we maintain the right to race. The right to race, the right to drag race, is precious around the country. We work with the groups we have and we certainly encourage them to do what they can to step up. Not all of them have the means to do this, but if you look back over the last ten years you've seen more positive facility development than in any period in the history of the sport I would venture to say.”