After wrapping up the Round of 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 13, where four drivers were eliminated, the action for the remaining 12 shifts to New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 21 for the Mobil 1 301. But NASCAR’s charm lies in its constant drama, whether it’s heated on-track rivalries or off-track disputes that pull in officials and even courts, keeping everyone on edge. The next race track is falling under one such trouble, and not for racing or other things, but for getting into trouble with its own town.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway, sitting on Route 106 in Loudon since opening in 1990, has long been a staple for NASCAR fans, with its unique 1.058-mile oval hosting races since 1993. Yet this iconic venue has a history of tangling with nearby towns over noise, events, and regulations, dating back to 1989, when environmental groups sued over renovations, settling just before opening. More recently, in 2017, locals from Canterbury appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court to block a proposed country music festival, arguing it violated old agreements, though the court sided with the track in 2019. These ongoing frictions, including failed pushes for track lights to enable night racing due to town pushback, have fans wondering if the relationship can still hold strong.
As shared in an X post by Adam Stern, the core of the current trouble stems from a motorcycle demo ride event during Bike Week on June 13, 2025, where New Hampshire Motor Speedway allowed rides without the required marshals to guide riders on public roads, sparking safety concerns from Loudon officials. According to a letter from the Loudon Board of Selectmen dated June 19, 2025, the event violated a special event license by not having marshals, leading to excessive speeding and inexperience among riders, posing dangers to the public.
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@NHMS clashed with Loudon after reportedly disregarding regulations the local town imposed on it for a motorcycle riding event this year: “The dispute underscored the deteriorating relationship between the town and the track.” – @ConMonitorNews https://t.co/iS1Jjj8jvI
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 18, 2025
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The town documented 50 traffic stops, 77 calls to police, and two accidents, with speeds hitting 83 mph in a 35 mph zone. Chief Dana Flanders called this “unacceptable,” emphasizing the risks in a follow-up meeting. The dispute echoes past tensions since Speedway Motorsports took ownership in 2007, like the 2010 police pay fight, where the track accused the chief of conflicts but ended up paying after local reporting exposed inconsistencies in their claims.
NHMS executives pushed back, arguing the marshal mandate would kill the event, as vendors like Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle wouldn’t participate under such rules. David McGrath, the track’s Executive Vice President, told selectmen, “You’re making a decision that is bad for our business,” during a heated exchange, suggesting more enforcement instead. Matt Goslant, Vice President of Operations, questioned the town’s authority, noting permits were historically for fees, not strict controls.
Selectman Jeff Miller countered, “I’ll look out for the businesses, but my job as a selectperson is to look out for the town, the residents who are within our town.” The town demands a $275 daily fine and a meeting to discuss future conditions, while NHMS seeks flexibility. If unresolved, this could strain the track’s ability to host non-NASCAR events, potentially impacting its viability and raising questions about its spot on the Cup schedule, especially with past date losses like the 2018 shift to Las Vegas amid declining attendance.
As details of this standoff spread through social media and racing forums, fans have started weighing in with strong opinions, blending frustration over local politics with worries about the track’s future.
How NASCAR fans are reacting
One fan vented frustration over neighboring towns’ influence, saying, “Can’t speak for Loudon, but I believe the neighboring town of Canterbury has been the biggest problem the track has faced for years. They repeatedly rejected attempts by NHMS to get a night race. Pretty sure that was a large reason the track decided to give one of its dates to Vegas.”
This hits on real history, as proposals for track lights in 2008, 2012, and 2014 aimed at night racing but stalled due to opposition from Canterbury and others concerned about noise and light pollution. That pushback contributed to NHMS losing its second Cup date in 2018 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s a reminder of how local decisions can ripple into national series changes.
“The worst part is how isolated the track is. It’s not like Nashville Fairgrounds in the middle of an urban area, NHMS is pretty isolated and the nearest town is a few miles away. The noise from the track isn’t that bad, but it does echo a bit through the mountains. The population around the track is minimal compared to a lot of other tracks, and it sucks that so few people can dictate what goes on, especially since the track has been there for so long and run NASCAR races annually for decades.”
Diving deeper into the isolation factor, another supporter pointed out the track’s remote setup. Located in rural Loudon with mountains nearby, the 1.058-mile oval indeed sees noise carry, but its distance from dense areas, about 10 miles from Concord, means fewer residents overall.
A common gripe in racing circles, complaints often circle back to newcomers disrupting established venues. As one fan put it, “Morons that never lived in that area in the first place move in and then cry. I’ve seen it in my own hometown. Disgraceful people, really.” This sentiment mirrors broader issues at tracks nationwide, where post-construction residents challenge operations, similar to the 2017 Canterbury lawsuit against the music festival, where locals who arrived after the track’s 1990 opening argued against added events despite the facility’s long-standing presence.
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With schedule stability on many minds, the conversation turns to potential losses. “Hmm, so first Dover lost its point race, and now maybe New Hampshire is falling off the schedule in the coming years,” lamented another commenter, highlighting a pattern of shrinking dates. Dover International Speedway, once with two Cup races, dropped to one in 2021 as NASCAR realigned the calendar to add new markets, a fate NHMS partially faced in 2018 when it went from two to one date. Such shifts often stem from attendance dips and venue disputes, fueling speculation about NHMS’s slot.