Speedway Motorsports, which currently owns seven race tracks on the current NASCAR National Series circuit, will apparently add two more to their portfolio as they have landed a deal to acquire Dover Motorsports, the company that owns Dover International Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway.
In a deal that was announced on Monday evening, Speedway Motorsports, LLC will acquire Dover Motorsports Inc. for $3.61 per share, which equates to a total equity value of $131.5-million.
For Marcus Smith, President and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, it’s all about continuing to build his investment in the sport.
“We’ve been committed to working for the fans and growing the sport of NASCAR for more than 60 years,” said Smith. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to continue growing our investment in motorsports. “I’d like to thank Denis McGlynn and the Dover Motorsports board for their cooperation and support in our goal to exceed customer expectations and create amazing lifetime experiences for all NASCAR fans.”
Dover had been independently owned and operated for more than 50-years. But for Dover Motorsports President and CEO Denis McGlynn, the time was right for this move.
“While this marks the end of our 52 years as an independent operator in NASCAR,” said McGlynn, “our future advancement is best secured by joining forces with a major player in the sport and we are happy to be able to become part of the Speedway Motorsports family and to be able to work with Marcus Smith as NASCAR embraces its future.”
Dover and Nashville hold one date each on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, which will bring Speedway Motorsports to 15 dates when you include the Texas Motor Speedway All-Star race and the event at Circuit of the Americas which is a track not owned by Speedway Motorsports, but it’s an event promoted by Speedway Motorsports.
Nashville Superspeedway returned to the NASCAR National Series track lineup in 2021 after being dormant since 2011. 2021 marked the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series date for the 1.333-mile oval.
This is explosive news on the day after the conclusion of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
With the acquisition, WWT Raceway in Gateway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Road America are the only tracks left in NASCAR that are not owned under the Speedway Motorsports umbrella or owned directly by NASCAR.