NASCAR may buy NHRA

NHRA drivers and crews will spend part of the season wondering who is going to buy the series. HD Partners Acquisition Group was set to purchase the NHRA and its assets for $121 million, but the company's board voted down the deal last week, citing the uncertain economic climate. No one is sure when or if the series will be sold this season. Bruton Smith, head of Speedway Motorsports Inc, which owns Texas Motor Speedway, had expressed an interest in buying the series. He is building a drag strip at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. "We'll wait, and sometime down the road we'll probably take a look at it," Smith said this week. "I see that the sport is growing. We'll see." Dallas Morning News [Editor's Note: Smith could just be a front for NASCAR who would like nothing more than to expand their motorsports monopoly in the USA]