By Lou Modestino
Hampshire Motor Speedway officials announced today the entitlement sponsorship extension of OSRAM SYLVANIA, which will keep the SYLVANIA 300 on the Magic Mile marquee for another five years. The deal, which was revealed at the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour, will partner New England’s largest sports and entertainment facility and one of the world’s largest lighting companies through the 2017 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. SYLVANIA has sponsored the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at NHMS for the last decade.
Since taking over as the entitlement sponsor in 2003, SYLVANIA has seen nine different drivers win its race, one claiming the SYLVANIA 300 as their first-career victory – Clint Bowyer in ’07. The SYLVANIA 300 also served as one of the races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship since the NASCAR playoff’s inception in 2004.
“This day and age, long-term business relationships are becoming more of a rarity,” said Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Working together for the past decade, we have built a tremendous partnership together and continue to work hand-in-hand in making the SYLVANIA 300 one of the marquee events in NASCAR’s 10-race, Chase for Sprint Cup playoff.”
The extension will take the sponsorship to 15 consecutive years, making it one of the lengthiest in NASCAR. New Hampshire Motor Speedway joins sister Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) facilities Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway as three of the five longest tenured entitlement sponsors in the sport.
“The relationship with NHMS for the past ten years and 3,000 miles of the SYLVANIA 300, has been valuable to our company and brand,” said Osram Sylvania’s GM. “Just like the nature of NASCAR racing, OSRAM SYLVANIA has strived to build a high-performance culture that is reflected in its people, products and services and we are looking forward to the next five years of exciting NASCAR racing and engaging the brand loyal fans.”
The SYLVANIA 300 will be the 27th race of 36 on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. And being the second race in the 10-race Chase, the September race at the Magic Mile routinely draws crowds of approximately 100,000 at the speedway, one of the largest crowds in the Chase.
Last year, Denny Hamlin used Twitter to call his shot, saying “we will win next week,” referring to the SYLVANIA 300. He did just that, leading 193 laps en route to the checkers. Following the race, Hamlin climbed out of his car, stood at the Granite Stripe and pointed to the grandstand before taking a swing, referencing Babe Ruth’s infamous called shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series.
According to Don Thomas, the Norwood Arena webmaster, he had a serious conversation about New England motorsports cannot be conducted without the name Carl Merrill being included. For over 60 years, Carl had his guiding hand in the sport at many tracks including Westboro Speedway, Thompson Speedway, Monadnock Speedway and most importantly, Norwood Arena Speedway. Merrill passed away last week.
It was a warm Saturday afternoon in 1949 when 24-year-old Carl Merrill was sitting in traffic on Route 1. As he approached the cause of the traffic jam he discovered that an auto racing event was taking place. He knew nothing about the sport and just as much about cars in general, but he was curious and followed the crowd. He was bitten by the racing bug and was in the stands the following Saturday.
Carl was running for the office of Aldermen in the town of Newton, where he lived. He noticed a number of Newton residents in the crowd. After the race, he went into the pits seeking to get his political message “Merrill for Aldermen” painted on a car. Car owner Ralph Legendre agreed to do so for $10 a week. In 1949, that was enough money to make Carl a co-owner with Legendre. It was now official; Carl Merrill was in racing, where he stayed for the next 60 years.
Carl’s history as a car owner only lasted a year or two. His true skills as an organizer and business manager are what carried him from Race Association Manager to Official to Flagman to finally Chief Stuart. Some of this history took place in the early days of the New England Stock Car Racing Association (NESCRA) and New England Auto Racing Association (NEARA). Things came to a head at Norwood Arena in 1959 when Carl Merrill, business manager for NARA and the Independent Race Car Owners Association (IRCOA) put the Board of Directors of Norwood Arena on notice that a strike was possible for the 1960 season.
With the IRCOA and NARA both on the ropes financially and in terms of track bargaining power, it was somewhat obvious to Merrill that neither organization would likely survive the 1961 season. Norwood Arena, in particular, was growing and didn’t need the cut downs. For racing in eastern Massachusetts for 1961 the smart money was on Norwood Arena and NASCAR and over the winter, probably with a few nights of restless sleep, Merrill signed on to be the Chief Steward of Racing at Norwood Arena.
As with all authority figures, Carl Merrill was often the adult in the room when he came to competitive disagreements and that did not make him popular with some competitors. Others found Merrill’s management style was right for the time. Speaking with Norwood Arena driver Doug McCarthy today, he had this to say about Carl. “He really had a difficult job back at Norwood in the old days. As you know, it was “rough and tumble” stuff at times…and being the head man, he was often in the middle of it. By virtue of that, I don’t think he was well liked at the time, but he was in a no-win situation. I always found him to be diplomatic and fair with me.” A lesser man would have failed where Merrill excelled at keeping the Norwood Arena family in check. He did so in a fair and even manner, but not all saw it that way.
For the next 11 years Carl Merrill and NASCAR held court at Norwood Arena, one of the best short track racing facilities in North America. The track closed for the last time at the end of the 1972 season. Despite Carl’s attempts to resurrect it, arson put an end to all hope when the track facilities burned.
Carl Merrill continued on as Director of Racing at other tracks until retiring from it in 2011. He attended the Norwood Arena reunions and truly enjoyed reminiscing with the old drivers, fans, mechanics, car owners, Officials and anyone else that wanted to talk racing.
I do want to say, as creator of this website, that it would not exist today if it were not for Carl Merrill showing me at age 8, back in 1963, the inner workings of Norwood Arena. He addressed me as an adult, answered my questions honestly and instilled that sense of fairness and respect that each person deserves. I didn’t have a favorite driver. All the drivers had my support from the stands. That’s why this website is a tribute to the Norwood Arena family and not any specific car or driver. That wouldn’t be fair. That’s what I learned from Carl Merrill.
The RI Convention Center in Providence hosts the International Auto Show from Thursday thru Sunday starting at 10 a.m. each day, On Saturday night the Zander Shetwood Inn in Wellington, CT offers a Connecticut Dragway reunion and slide show at 6 p.m. Earlier in the day at 1 p.m. the Wyndham Hotel in Andover will host the New England Dragway 2012 Awards Dinner starting at 1 p.m. Sunday’s offering is an automotive flea market at the Red Barn in Enfield, CT at 9 a.m.