NHRA’S COMPTON EYES MARKETS AND GETS THEM
If NHRA President Tom Compton covets a market, chances are he gets it.
First there was Charlotte and Bruton Smith followed suit with the Bellagio of drag strips. And now, after years of making his desires known, Compton has added the Boston market to NHRA's reach with the addition of New England Dragway [Epping, NH] to the list of NHRA member tracks. Intentions are for the track to host a national event either in 2011 or 2012.
“We've been working with the folks at New England Dragway for many, many years now,” revealed Compton. “And, as you know, it's family ownership – there are a lot of people involved. Basically, they've got a group there that really wants to become part of the NHRA system and they've agreed to be sanctioned by NHRA beginning in January. We're going to put our full slate of sportsman programs in New England, including the Lucas Oil Series.
“What we are extra excited about is bringing in a national event. When I say that, people always ask, 'When?' We're going to bring it as soon as we possibly can. That could be as early as this summer. We don't have it on the schedule right now because there's a lot of things we have to do first. If we are able to pull it off, we'll do that, otherwise we're hoping to be there no later than the summer of 2012.
If NHRA President Tom Compton covets a market, chances are he gets it. 
First there was Charlotte and Bruton Smith followed suit with the Bellagio of drag strips. And now, after years of making his desires known, Compton has added the Boston market to NHRA's reach with the addition of New England Dragway [Epping, NH] to the list of NHRA member tracks. Intentions are for the track to host a national event either in 2011 or 2012.
“We've been working with the folks at New England Dragway for many, many years now,” revealed Compton. “And, as you know, it's family ownership – there are a lot of people involved. Basically, they've got a group there that really wants to become part of the NHRA system and they've agreed to be sanctioned by NHRA beginning in January. We're going to put our full slate of sportsman programs in New England, including the Lucas Oil Series.
“What we are extra excited about is bringing in a national event. When I say that, people always ask, 'When?' We're going to bring it as soon as we possibly can. That could be as early as this summer. We don't have it on the schedule right now because there's a lot of things we have to do first. If we are able to pull it off, we'll do that, otherwise we're hoping to be there no later than the summer of 2012.
“We're extremely excited to finally getting to the Greater Boston / New England market. It's the largest market in the country that we're currently not in.”
There is no drop dead deadline when it comes to the possibility of a national event in New England for 2011.
“I don't want to give a time,” Compton confirmed. “Let me put it this way. They have to be able to make the basic improvements that they would need to accommodate an event of that size. We would have to know (the improvements) are going to be able to get done by the June date.
“Secondly, we would have to know (the facility was ready) in time to promote it and market it. To let people know we're coming. When is that exact [drop dead] date? I don't want to say because I don't want to rule out different scenarios. Those two things have to come together before the event; to make it happen.”
The issue for New England Dragway isn’t one of space needed to host a national event, Compton confirmed, but rather one of providing the necessities needed for an efficient NHRA Full Throttle event. Those necessities include paved pit areas, as well as seating to accommodate the anticipated rush of spectators. These changes will not come overnight, essentially ensuring the upgrade of the facility will be a work in progress.
“We are going to work on a longer term plan with them to upgrade and bring on the amenities we see at many of the other tracks, over a period of time,” Compton explained. “We want to get into that market as soon as we can. We think the fans up there deserve that. I think they'll embrace it and enjoy it. It's been a long time coming.”
Speculation over the years suggested the New England date will provide the NHRA with a cushion should the New York market serviced by Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, be eliminated by measures outside of the NHRA’s control. However, in talking with Compton, the NHRA’s leader intends to make the markets a potent one-two punch for the northeastern United States.
“If you think about it, the New York market, New York City proper, is very different from Englishtown and they are not that far apart,” Compton said. “When it comes to distance between Englishtown and this track in Epping, New Hampshire, we have many tracks that are much closer. It's a completely different market in the New England area. We are totally comfortable with where it is.”
Initial thoughts are the two events could follow one another in June with no adverse effects to either market.
“It's possible that could happen,” Compton added. “They are far enough apart; you could do that.”
THE NEXT BIG THING?
With Charlotte and the New England markets in hand, where is Compton’s next conquest? Before either of those markets presented themselves, the NHRA had a
The NHRA has lost two tracks from their schedule in the last two seasons which essentially serviced the same markets – Memphis and St. Louis. Both tracks are owned by Dover Motorsports who decided financially, it was best to close Memphis Motorsports Park and will likely follow suit with their Gateway International Raceway property.However, the track is currently open and no official statement has been made regarding its future.For Compton, these losses have been painful. While Memphis has little hope of returning, St. Louis has a glimmer of hope if new ownership is procured.
“Times are tough,” Compton said. “They’re having their own challenges. We understand and respect that. Having said that we would like to return to the St. Louis market, if at all possible. We're certainly working with them and anyone they might be dealing with in the future, to try to make that happen.”
“I can tell you that for years we were looking at the Detroit market and just couldn't find the right situation,” revealed Compton. “We looked at so many different sites. Met with different townships and government entities and just couldn't make it happen. That was one of the reasons we moved our national event from National Trail Raceway, which NHRA owns, to Norwalk, Ohio – to get closer to the Detroit market. It pulls from a greater population area. We now advertise in Detroit and people do come down from Detroit. That's how we are hitting the Detroit, Michigan market right now.”
A lesser known play behind the scenes was made for the Miami market, particularly in the Homestead area. However, local government regulations halted the bid before it gained any steam.
“We're not in Miami,” said Compton. “I'm not sure that's the number one place we would look to go right now. We're in Gainesville. That race is huge and pulls from the entire state.”
Then there are potential venues in Kentucky and Grand Rapids [Mi.] both of which are intriguing to Compton and the NHRA. In addition, Compton is working to get back into the St. Louis market where Gateway Int'l was just recently closed down by it's owners.
“Anytime SMI wants to build a drag strip – we're all ears,” confirmed Compton of Bruton Smith’s newest NASCAR facility located between Louisville and Cincinnati.
Before anyone gets excited about the potential of NHRA expanding into new markets anytime soon, Compton believes it’s best the NHRA remains as is for now with a 22 to 23 race schedule.
“You know, we look at situations as they come up,” Compton said. “We just have to see how things go. Right now with 23 events, including New England, we certainly hope to get back into the St. Louis in the future and that would make it 24 if we were successful.
“We're probably not looking to expand the series beyond 22, 23, or 24; that range. Down the road, depending how things go, we might look at other markets. We're certainly not planning to expand to 25 anytime soon. We don't think it's the right time to do that.”
But, when the time is right, and Compton gets a hankering to go into a new market, he won’t hesitate to pursue the prize – and get it.
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