Two SMI presidents deny tracks may lose race dates

The presidents of two Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks firmly dismissed the notions that their facilities could lose Sprint Cup dates in order to provide Kentucky Speedway with one. New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway have been mentioned as tracks that could lose a race, but NHIS President Jerry Gappens and AMS President Ed Clark shot down the idea that SMI Chairman Bruton Smith would ever do that. In fact, both presidents said they are planning to finalize sanctioning agreements with NASCAR on Friday morning for two races each in 2009. "Bruton has not given me any, any indication at all that he's looking to change anything," Gappens said. "…I don't think this will have any impact. I think there's more to the puzzle that he's got to finish completing to do some of the things he's thinking." Clark vehemently denied that his track, which has struggled with attendance recently, would have a date moved elsewhere. "I'm tired of people bringing that up, because I get so sick of answering it, I'm about to scream," he said. "You can go ask Bruton, you can ask me – there is no chance. It is not going to happen." SceneDaily