Local Sports

Racing officials keep wary eye on Hanna

CONCORD, N.C. -- The most ambitious schedule in motorsports – that’s how Lowe’s Motor Speedway Officials are describing the next six weeks.

The Food Lion Auto Fair, the Bank of America 500, and a new drag racing event are keeping them busy –- but so is Tropical Storm Hanna.

Drag Racing has arrived in Concord and Tuesday one of the top drivers from the NHRA met with one of the top NASCAR drivers.

Kyle Busch and Tony Shumacher raced a pair of street legal cars down the Z-Max dragway lanes. Busch won all three of the races.

It’s those two sports that are attracting hundreds of thousands of fans to the area in the next six weeks, so it’s no surprise that hotels here sold out of rooms over a month ago.

"It happened very quickly once the event was announced. We had a lot of the teams coming here and the press," said Terry Crawford with the Embassy Suites Hotel Resort and Spa. He says September is a huge month for his hotel as well as others near the racing venues.

He’s been working overtime to prepare for the crowds and so have speedway crews.

The executive vice president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Lauri Wilks, says they’ve never hosted crowds as large as they're expecting with the NASCAR and NHRA events in the next several weeks.

And in the forefront of their mind is Tropical Storm Hanna, which could strike the Concord area this weekend during the Food Lion Auto Fair.

But gravel for the unpaved roads, straw for the grassy areas and a back-up plan for rainy weather are already in place.

"We can move the displays to our turn 2 grandstands or our diamond tower terrace so everything can be covered. So rain or shine we’re going to have our show and it’s going to be fabulous," said Wilks.

That may not be the case with the two racing events, however it’s still too early to know if weather will play a role with them.