New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Oval

New Hampshire Motor Speedway sits at Loudon, a short drive northeast of Concord, and is the largest sporting venue in New England. It occupies the site of the former Bryar Motorsports Park, a 1.6-mile road course opened in 1964 that hosted Trans-Am, lower-tier NASCAR racing and AMA Superbike events before falling into decline. Bob Bahre bought the property in 1989 and, working without consulting engineers, built a new 1.058-mile four-turn oval in just nine months, opening it in 1990. The relatively flat, mile-long course quickly earned the nickname the "Magic Mile." NASCAR debuted there with a Busch Series race in July 1990, the Winston Cup Series arrived in 1993, and a second Cup date followed in 1996 after Bahre and Bruton Smith jointly bought North Wilkesboro Speedway and transferred one of its dates to Loudon. Drivers long criticised the original 12-degree turns for making overtaking difficult, so in 2002 the corners were reprofiled with progressive banking, ranging from about four degrees in the lower lanes to roughly seven degrees up high, with SAFER barriers added in 2003. Speedway Motorsports completed its purchase of the track from the Bahre family in 2008. An attempt to revive IndyCar racing brought the open-wheel cars back in 2011, but a rain-marred and controversial event saw the series depart again. A binding local agreement signed by Bahre still prohibits night racing at the venue. Alongside the oval, an adjoining road course continues to see regular club and track-day use.

Operated by: NASCAR (Speedway Motorsports LLC)