Las Vegas gets 2nd NASCAR Cup Series race in 2018; New Hampshire loses 1 Cup race

Speedway Motorsports Inc. will transfer one of New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s two Monster Energy Cup Series races to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2018, giving the Nevada track two NASCAR race weekends annually.

New Hampshire will retain its July Cup Series race, with its fall race going to Las Vegas. The reallocated date is part of the 10-race Cup Series playoffs, though its exact place on the schedule is still to be determined.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials made the announcement on Wednesday, 30 minutes after the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority convened a special meeting of its Board of Directors, where it approved a contract paying Las Vegas Motor Speedway $2.5 million a year for seven years to promote two races at the facility.

“We have outstanding support from the LVCVA and other Las Vegas leaders, and we’re supremely confident that we’ll host two top-notch race weekends,” Las Vegas Motor Speedway president Chris Powell said. “Today’s news will create lasting memories for our fans and will provide immeasurable economic impact for Southern Nevada.”

Located 16 miles northeast of The Strip, Las Vegas Motor Speedway opened in 1996 and has hosted a spring NASCAR Cup Series race since 1998. Citing nearly 100,000 out-of-town visitors and an economic impact of $139.2 million, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has been seeking a second Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an initiative supported by SMI founder and executive chairman Bruton Smith.

But not wanting to expand the Cup Series beyond the current 36 points races and two exhibition events, NASCAR has resisted adding races to a calendar that already runs between mid-February and mid-November. The sanctioning body last expanded the Cup Series schedule in 2001, when Chicago Speedway and Kansas Speedway each received single dates.

In 2011, SMI shifted one of Atlanta’s two races to Kentucky Speedway. The company also owns Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and Texas Motor Speedway.

“We’re honored that NASCAR has entrusted us with a second NASCAR weekend,” Powell said. “We’ve pursued a second NASCAR premier series race weekend for quite some time, so this news is monumental for everyone at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as well as everyone in our wonderful city.”

NASCAR’s aversion to expansion left SMI with two options if it wanted to add a second race at Las Vegas: 1) purchase a race from a track outside its portfolio, or 2) shift a date from one of its existing properties. With no tracks outside of SMI indicating a willingness to sell, the first option wasn’t feasible, leaving realignment the lone alternative.

Among SMI’s tracks, moving the fall New Hampshire race to Las Vegas was most practical. SMI recently spent a significant amount on capital improvements at Bristol, Kentucky, and Texas, and is considering repaving Atlanta, a costly expenditure it wouldn’t undertake if it was contemplating transferring its lone date elsewhere. Nor would it take away a race from Sonoma, one of only two road courses the Cup Series races on.

As for Charlotte, the track’s Memorial Day weekend race is considered one of NASCAR’s marquee events, and its fall race will transform from being solely an oval race to utilizing the infield road course in 2018, according to NBC Sports.

Like many tracks recently, New Hampshire has experienced a downturn in ticket sales, but its woes extend beyond just the number of spectators in the grandstands. Neither of its two races has a title sponsor this season, while its July race last year also lacked a sponsor.

Moving Charlotte’s All-Star race in May or New Hampshire’s race in July to Las Vegas was not considered due to Las Vegas’s high temperatures during the summer months, sources told SB Nation.

According to SMI’s 2015 annual report, New Hampshire’s seating capacity is 89,000. Las Vegas is listed at 104,000.

Both the spring and fall Las Vegas NASCAR weekends will also feature Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series races, making it the lone track to host two triple-header weekends.

As part of the revised schedule, SMI will move the Truck Series race at New Hampshire in September and the standalone Xfinity race at Kentucky in September to Las Vegas, which already hosted Xfinity and Truck Series in March and September, respectively.

“It’s taken a tremendous amount of work to make this happen,” SMI CEO Marcus Smith said. “We are very thankful to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and NASCAR for their support in our endeavor to create a triple-header NASCAR weekend in such a world-class destination.”