610 Sports racing show Inside Motorsports in Kansas City Saturday, December 3rd at 12:30pm/cst was the first nationally to break the story that Kansas City, Kansas would reportedly get the NASCAR hall of fame. Co-Hosts Mark Merrell and Ryck Sanders stated that a source had reportedly told them of a meeting in New York this week between NASCAR officials, International Speedway, and Speedway Motorsports Incorporated. Reportedly in that meeting, Brian France, relenting to pressure from SMI president Bruton Smith, reportedly told Smith that NASCAR would award the NASCAR Hall of Fame to Atlanta (an SMI owned track), but that the track would have to give up a race date, and that that race date (Nextel Cup) would go to Kansas Speedway (an ISC owned track) (creating two NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas). Smith at first reportedly agreed to the deal, but days latter reportedly re-approached NASCAR with the idea to take a NEXTEL CUP race date from the Texas Motor Speedway, and move it to Atlanta, leaving Texas Motorspeedway with one date, and Atlanta with the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and two NEXTEL Cup race dates, and Kansas Speedway with two NEXTEL Cup race dates. NASCAR officials, reportedly tired from Smith, pulled the deal, and reportedly will award Kansas Speedway with the NASCAR hall of fame, all according to an unnamed source. The story was related to race fans live on Inside Motorsports, a weekly comprehensive racing show hosted by Mark Merrell and Ryck Sanders Saturday, December 3rd at 12:30pm central. A subsequent story was posted on their web site, insidemotorsportskc.com [don’t see it there], and also presented on KCPT, TV-19, a PBS station in Kansas City during a pledge break by Merrell while co-hosting show featuring the 25th anniversary of Motorweek latter that same day. The show aired live in Kansas City at 2:30pm/cst. The story is unconfirmed by NASCAR and ISC officials as of today’s date. They also report that the Sprint Nextel Challenge date would go to Kansas Speedway now as well as the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as the Sprint Nextel All Star Challenge Hall of Fame race (previously the Nextel All Star Challenge at Lowes Motor Speedway) with induction ceremonies, etc as a May date.(Mark Merrell/Inside Motorsports/The Race Report/610 Sports KCSP)
UPDATE: haven’t heard from Kansas Speedway but have heard Kansas Speedway says the story is untrue, and are very upset. They (Kansas Speedway) hope this doesn’t hurt their chances of getting the HOF.(12-5-2005)
UPDATE 2: and a David Poole article refutes most of the above story: Smith says no such meeting happened. “I hope people who know both Brian and I know that we wouldn’t talk about junk like that,” Smith said Monday. “That’s just idiotic reporting. Maybe they won the award for the week where facts do not interfere with a story.” But just to make sure, calls were placed Monday to the principal figures involved in the Hall of Fame process. One NASCAR official called the story “nonsense.” Another said it “has no validity.” See the ull article/report at: Yep, they sure ‘broke’ that NASCAR Hall story.(12-6-2005)
