Friday, July 11, 1997 | 9:17 a.m.
LOUDON, N.H. -- With NASCAR constantly gaining new fans and more media attention nationwide, it's easy to see why people are spending millions to build tracks throughout the country.
Among the major facilities constructed during this decade were those in Las Vegas, for $210 million; Dallas-Fort Worth, for $200 million; Fontana, Calif., for $110 million; and Homestead, Fla., for $60 million.
The man who started the boom did so in northern New England, a long way from NASCAR's traditional southern base. Bob Bahre was well ahead of the curve.
Although it was the middle of a recession, Bahre, who doubles as president of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, risked building the first new track in 25 years, in 1989. The New Hampshire International Speedway rose in one of the most unlikely of places, Loudon -- a country town of 4,200 about 80 miles north of Boston.
He bought the old Bryar Motorsports Park, known only for its annual national motorcycle race. Bahre and his son, Gary (an LVMS vice president), converted it into a one-mile oval with 55,000 gleaming new seats and 30 luxury boxes high above nearby corn fields along two-lane Route 106.
They paid about $2 million for the land, and millions more to build -- far less than it would cost today. Construction was cheaper during the recession, Gary Bahre said.
Still, they had no guarantees, only the hope if they built it the fans would come and so would NASCAR -- with a Winston Cup race in tow. They were the keys to success.
"They took a tremendous leap of faith," NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. "They were the first in 25 years to say, 'Hey, we can build a speedway with a lot of seats and be successful here.'
"They were really the first to get the ball rolling. They were the first new area, an entirely new market. That's something you're seeing a lot of now."
The Bahres' success in turning New Hampshire into a NASCAR hotbed was the principal reason LVMS chairman Richie Clyne brought them aboard in May. Their involvement, according to insiders, is expected to assure Las Vegas of landing a Winston Cup date, probably as early as next spring.
Denis McGlynn, the president of Dover Downs, said that looking back, the Bahres made "a pretty gutsy move" in New Hampshire.
NHIS opened in 1991, and NASCAR gave the Bahres a Busch Grand National race each of the first three years. But that was not enough to maintain a positive cash flow.
"There was a risk, but it never bothered me," said Bob Bahre, a banker and shopping center developer who had turned a small track in Oxford, Maine, into a success and ran it for 23 years before selling in 1986. "I missed it (racing).
"I told Gary if it doesn't work out, I'll leave you less of an estate some day."
Bob Bahre had known Bill France, who runs NASCAR, for about 30 years, and asked him about the chances of getting a Winston Cup race.
"He told me slim to none," Bahre recalled. "But at least he didn't say no. He wouldn't even come up and look at the place."
But France's son, Brian, came up, "and I know he talked to his father, and he finally flew up and looked at it," Bahre said.
"Two or three weeks later, he called me, and said, 'We're going to give you a date.'
"I said, 'Bill, are you sure you haven't got the wrong number?'
"It was a little bit of a shock because it happened so fast. I think he saw something he didn't think he was going to see."
Racing experts say France saw one of the finest tracks in the country.
Gary Bahre said he and his father were just lucky to build a track when they did.
"We probably wouldn't have gotten a Cup race later," he said, alluding to the competition from the rash of tracks built since.
Some still are without the big cash cow -- a Winston Cup race.
The reputation of the Bahres also played a role in their success story.
"They are much smarter than people suspect, largely because they have a quiet demeanor and don't go around beating their chests," McGlynn said. "They are some of the smartest people you're going to meet in racing.
"They know what they want to do, and they go out and do it. They're the kind of people who can do a deal on a handshake and they will back it up. Their word is their bond.
"It's clear to me that they wanted to make that place a show place in New England, and they're well on their way to doing it."
Triplett confirmed the Bahres' dedication.
"When you see the president of a facility ... with a canvas bag with a stick and point picking up trash after a race, it doesn't take a genius to figure out they'll do what it takes to have a successful track," he said.
Seventy-year-old Bob Bahre, who still lives in Maine, and his 34-year-old son, who handles day-to-day operations, have slowly raised the seating capacity.
The track will accommodate 80,000 in the grandstand -- and many more in the infield and on the hill behind the backstretch -- Sunday for the Jiffy Lube 300. There also is a Winston Cup race scheduled for Sept. 14.
The second event was one of two run annually at North Wilkesboro, N.C. The Bahres bought a half-interest last year in the grassroots North Carolina track, which gave its other date to the new Bruton Smith-owned facility in Texas.
Now, the Bahres envision crowds of more than 100,000 as soon as improvements to Route 106 make it possible to handle the traffic. That's a virtual guarantee at a track where every Winston Cup event has been a sellout.
"It turned out to be a wonderful event in a beautiful facility in an area that we were missing on our map," Triplett said of the first New Hampshire race.
But for Bob Bahre, it is a case of risking millions to follow a vision and have some fun doing what he enjoys most.
"I see 80,000-85,000, and I don't think of the money," he said. "I think it's nice that we did something right to get all these people here."
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