The France family, owners of privately-held NASCAR and majority stakeholders in the publicly traded International Speedway Corporation, has struck a deal to merge ISC into NASCAR. The merger is expected to be completed sometime this year, according to a joint announcement between NASCAR and ISC on Wednesday.
“We are pleased with the progress that the negotiation and execution of the merger agreement between NASCAR and ISC represents,” a statement from NASCAR read. "While important regulatory and shareholder approval processes remain, we look forward to the successful final resolution of this matter and continuing our work to grow this sport and deliver great racing experiences for our fans everywhere. With a strong vision for the future, the France family’s commitment to NASCAR and the larger motorsports industry has never been greater.”
ISC shareholders will receive $45/share for their stakes in ISC through the deal.
The announcement of the ISC/NASCAR merger comes about a month after Bruton Smith, who heads Speedway Motorsports Inc., and his family announced an attempt to privative SMI, parent company of eight tracks that host NASCAR top-tier races.
ISC is the parent company of 12 tracks that host Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, including Auto Club Speedway, ISM Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Michigan International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR already owns Iowa Speedway, which doesn't host Cup Series races but plays host to both the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
The merger would make it easier for NASCAR to move dates between ISC tracks. The already-announced national-series 2020 schedules feature significant changes from the 2019 schedule, and more changes are expected when current deals between NASCAR and race tracks expire after the 2020 season.
Discussion about this post