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and general manager David McGrath. “But I think of Prior to 1993, NASCAR hadn’t ventured further
other tracks where I think maybe this driver might northeast than upstate New York in the sport’s 45-year
be a shoo-in at Dover or this driver might be a shoo- history. Competing in New Hampshire meant exposing
in at Texas, but it’s always kind of a wild card at New NASCAR to untold tens of thousands of fans who had
Hampshire, and over the years, I don’t think anybody’s never witnessed a NASCAR Cup Series event from
really mastered it who I would say is consistently, year anywhere besides their couch.
in and year out, the perennial top favorite to win this
event. So, I think over the years, the speedway has kind “There’s a passionate base of race fans in New
of come into its own and created its own kind of charm, England,” said McGrath, who assumed his current role
if you will.” with the speedway in 2015. “We all know the roots of
our sport is that it’s a Southern sport that began on the
Among the first to recognize that charm was 1989 beaches of Daytona. So to have the national series at
NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace, who was the Cup level actually partake in a national race at New
fortunate enough to score a victory in New Hampshire Hampshire Motor Speedway in New England is pretty
Motor Speedway’s inaugural Cup event in 1993. But darn cool. And, I don’t want to discount our Canadian
Wallace will remember that first trip here as much contingent; our Canadian fans are passionate about
for what it meant to NASCAR as he remembers it for their motorsports.”
adding to his personal trophy collection.
“For me, it was a big deal, because we were going up
into the extreme Northeast and we were going to see a
whole bunch of people that we had never seen before,”
he said. “We were used to seeing everybody around
the Carolinas and people out in California and all that,
but all the way up in the Northeast? That was a new
one for us, and that was a chance for NASCAR to really
penetrate an area which had a lot of people and to be
able to get up there and spread the word of NASCAR –
not only NASCAR, but myself and our sponsors.”

“IT’S ALWAYS

KIND OF A WILD

CARD AT NEW

HAMPSHIRE.”

15