This past week track mogul Bruton Smith announced the acquisition of Kentucky Speedway, upping his company Speedway Motorsports’ total track count to seven (six of which host Sprint cup races currently). When combined with the tracks owned by the France family under International Speedway Corporation, they now control 86% of Sprint Cup Series tracks and just over 61% of tracks that host a major NASCAR event. The latest rumor is that Bruton Smith is sniffing around Dover, which may or may not be for sale. Even without Dover, these two organizations exist almost wholly as a duopoly in the sport.

In addition to Dover, Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are the last tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule that aren’t owned by either ISC or SMI. Pocono is owned by the Mattioli family that has owned the track since it was built in 1974. In a recent interview matriarch Dr. Rose Mattioli said that the facility will never be available for sale. She said that her husband Dr. Joseph Mattioli has “stated that over and over again.” The management of the track has been passed onto their children and grandchildren and as long as the Drs. Mattioli are around it is very unlikely the track will change hands. Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been owned by Hulman and Co. since 1945. The company and track are controlled currently by Hulman grandson Tony George, the same Tony George that operates the Indy Racing League. Obviously both of these facilities are firmly in the hands of their current owners.

So that leaves Dover as the last facility up for grabs. In the same article about the Mattioli’s, president of the Dover Motorsports Co. Denis McGlynn said that they routinely receive offers for the track. He sounded more than willing to entertain those offers.

So the question is, is this duopoly a bad thing for the sport? If you oppose the corporatization of NASCAR the answer is absolutely. SMI and ISC have, through the years taken control of facilities and used them merely for their race dates. For instance North Wilkesboro, which Bruton Smith bought with Bob Bahre (former owner of New Hampshire Motor Speedway). They used it to add dates to their Texas and New Hampshire tracks. Wilkesboro now sits in a state of decay about an hour north of Charlotte. A group has been working to save the track but the chance of that happening has become slimmer with each passing year. The North Carolina Motor Speedway (now the Rockingham Speedway) was purchased by ISC in 2003, they in turn transferred one of the dates to their California Speedway. ISC then sold the track to SMI who transferred the final date to Texas. It sat until just recently when racer Andy Hillenburg purchased the track attracting an ARCA and Hooters Pro Cup race.

SMI and ISC have worked to systematically increase revenues by removing tracks that they deemed no longer profitable. They removed historic facilities replacing them with identical mile and a half tracks, but in turn helped to increase the fan base and the reach of the sport. Both have sold corporate naming rights to their tracks and in turn are currently pulling in revenues in excess of $500 million.

People often forget that just like anything else, NASCAR is a business. Unfortunately for any track owner trying to enter the elite level of the sport, ISC and SMI have a deadlock on the track side of that business. The strategic business dealings between the two corporations have allowed this control to continue, and barring any major developments the duopoly will live on.

By the way, I’m no legal expert, but would someone mind explaining to me how Kentucky Speedway owners weren’t able to make a case for an antitrust suit?

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