Crowds pour in for NASCAR race as temperatures soar

Tens of thousands of race fans heading to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Sunday will find many ways to enjoy themselves on and off the track.

“It’s a mixture,” Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce said of the visitors coming into the area for the only NASCAR race in the northeast. “It’s time at the race, and time at the lake.”

With temperatures expected to reach into the 90s both Saturday and Sunday, Gifford predicted many businesses will be busy as race fans and other tourists look for ways to cool off.

“Restaurants, for example, should be really busy,” she said, explaining that with the scorching heat most people will especially be looking to have their meals in air-conditioned comfort.

There are plenty of races scheduled throughout the weekend, including three big races on Saturday and the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday. In addition to the races themselves, there will be musical entertainment at the track, both tonight and Saturday night.

More than 90,000 spectators are expected to converge on the speedway during the course of the weekend, according to Shannon Stephens, the track’s communications manager.

She said NASCAR fans from 45 states and eight countries had already purchased tickets online, including one from Hong Kong.

Locally, lodging establishments are expecting this to be one of their busiest weekends of the summer.

Barton’s Motel in Laconia was sold out for the weekend, said owner Chris Barton.

Ravi Patel, of the Best Western Plus Landmark Inn, said more than half of the hotel’s 104 rooms had been reserved as of Wednesday. The hotel, owned by her husband, Mike, just underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Tim Sink, president of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce said most of the 900 hotel-motel rooms in the Concord area were already booked, some for the entire week.

“We get a lot of (race) teams and technical people who stay around here,” he said.

Gifford said that, in the Lakes Region, people have other lodging options besides hotels, motels, and cottages.

“There are a lot of Airbnbs, and rental houses all around the lake,” she said. “They have other options.”

In addition to various accommodation choices, visitors can also take advantage of a variety of activities away from the track. Gifford noted that there are concerts virtually every night at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion through the end of the month.

Thousands of RV campers will be staying at campsites on the speedway grounds, Stephens said. The popularity of camping at the track has grown so much in recent years that there is now a two-year waiting list for some of the prime campsites, she said.

Both Gifford and Sink were unable to give figure on just how much of a boost the race will make to the area’s economy. But Sink said, “If you get 60,000 to 70,000 people coming into Loudon that’s going to have a pretty strong impact.”

As in years past, special traffic arrangements will be put into effect on Sunday in anticipation of the 33,000 vehicles which will be entering and leaving the speedway for Sunday’s major race.

Locally, a special traffic pattern will be implemented Sunday in Belmont on Route 106 in the vicinity of Route 140. Traffic congestion is expected to be greatest between late afternoon and early evening, according to state officials.

In Belmont, Route 106 will be one-way northbound between the Concord Street-106 intersection and the intersection of Routes 140 and 106. This section of roadway will be converted to a temporary two-lane one-way northbound roadway between approximately 4 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. On Route 106, two northbound left-turn lanes and one through/right lane will be provided at the Route 140 intersection. Southbound traffic on Route 106 will be detoured onto Route 140 west to Concord Street, and then back onto 106. North Main Street will be temporarily closed. All other streets in Belmont will continue normal operations.

Other traffic control measures are:

I 93 Corridor

The I-93 Exit 12S southbound on ramp from NH 3A will be closed from approximately 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Motorists will be directed to use I‑93 northbound to reverse direction at Exit 13 (use northbound off ramp and turn left to southbound on ramp). Access to I‑89 is available at the NH3A/I‑89 intersection in Bow.

Special measures will be used on I‑93 from approximately 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on July 21, 2019. Three southbound travel lanes will be provided for five miles on I‑93 from Exit 15 (I‑393) to south of Exit 12. This will be accomplished by using the right shoulder as a third southbound travel lane. As traffic approaches Exit 15 from the north, traffic from I‑393 west will be received on the shoulder as a new lane. All southbound I‑93 traffic destined for I‑89 or Exits 12 and 13 should use the shoulder travel lane after the Exit 15 interchange.

The I‑393 eastbound off ramp to I‑93 south will be closed from approximately 10:45 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. Motorists attempting to use the ramp will be diverted to Stickney Avenue from which they can access I‑93 south at Exit 14.

The I‑93 Exit 14 southbound off ramp and the I‑93 Exit 15E southbound off ramp to I‑393 eastbound will be closed from approximately 10:45 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. Motorists will be directed to use Exit15W to reach Exit14 destinations and use Exit 16 to reach I‑393 eastbound.

The I‑393 Exit 1 westbound on ramp from Fort Eddy Road will be closed from approximately 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

At the I‑393 and I‑93 interchange, the I‑93 northbound off ramp to I‑393 west (Exit 15W) will be closed from approximately 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Special measures on I‑393 westbound will also be in effect at Exit 15 to enhance access to I‑93 southbound. From approximately 3:15 p.m. to 9 p.m., the loop ramp for this movement will provide two lanes of traffic. The two lanes will be merged onto the I‑93 southbound shoulder travel lane.

Route 106 Corridor

On race day morning, Route 106 will be two lanes northbound and one lane southbound from I‑393 to the intersection of Goshen Drive. There will be three lanes northbound and one lane southbound from there to the NHMS south access road.

Between 3:30 p.m. and approximately 10:30 p.m., Route 106 will be closed to northbound traffic from I‑393 in Concord to NHMS. During this time, three temporary southbound lanes will be provided on NH106. For safety reasons, the intersections of the following roads with NH106 will be closed during the one-way conversion: Josiah Bartlett Road, Wales Bridge Road, South Village Road, Sheep Rock Road, Currier Road, North Village Road, Clough Pond Road, Mudgett Hill Road, and Hollow Root Road.

Motorists using Clough Hill Road, Voted Road, Beck Road, Shaker Road, Soucook Lane, Goshen Drive, NH129, East Cooper Street, Hemlock Hill Drive, Chichester Road, Staniels Road, and Autumn Drive will be able to enter NH106, but only for southbound travel. During the approximately seven hour period, NH106 is limited to one-way southbound traffic. Safety vehicles will be stationed at four strategic locations to respond to emergency calls.

NH106 in Belmont will again be made one-way northbound between the Concord Street/NH106 intersection and the intersection of NH140 and NH106. This section of roadway will be converted to a temporary two-lane one-way northbound roadway between approximately 4 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. On NH106, two northbound left turn lanes and one thru/right lane will be provided at the NH140 intersection. Southbound NH106 traffic will be detoured onto NH140 west to Concord Street, and then back onto NH106. North Main Street will be temporarily closed. All other streets in Belmont will continue normal operations.

From approximately 3:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., the I‑393 Exit3 eastbound off ramp will be open to southbound NH 106 traffic only, and the northbound106 travel lane will be closed. The I‑393 Exit3 westbound off ramp will be closed to all traffic.