Dave McGrath had conflicting feelings about New Hampshire Motor Speedway losing one of its two annual NASCAR Cup Series races.

“As a fan, I understand the disappointment of having an event moved,” said McGrath, the general manager of the track for parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc., ahead of Overton’s 301 on Sunday. “But as a general manager, I understand the business side of the decisions that get made.”

Speedway Motorsports opted to move the September race – the crown jewel on its calendar because it falls during the NASCAR playoffs – to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which it also owns. The schedule change will go into effect next year, ending a two-decade run of NASCAR’s top series making two yearly stops in New Hampshire. The last fall race at the track will be Sept. 23 – the second race in the Cup Series playoffs.

The Magic Mile management team has a two-fold response to the void it will face next year. McGrath plans to enhance its July race and possibly schedule local modified and lower-tier NASCAR series for the lost September weekend.

“At the end of the day, I think what our fans are going to see in the years ahead is a fantastic July event,” said McGrath. “It is a beautiful time of year to be in New England and we are going to focus all the team’s energy and attention on that event so that fans are going to be happy for years to come.”

Tickets for the September race have not sold out the past few seasons. The playoff race comes at a time when NASCAR faces stiff competition for fans’ time with the NFL and college football in season, and with kids back in school.

McGrath is hoping for a nice sendoff this September.

“We’ve got a big commemorative ticket that we are giving away to all the fans that buy a ticket for the September race, marking 20 years of us having a Chase race in New Hampshire,” he said. “Of course it will be great for the fans to see retiring legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. one last time in the last Chase race in New Hampshire. It will be one more opportunity to see one of the greats of the sport of auto racing.”

NASCAR PROMOTED Brent Dewar from chief operating officer to president.

Dewar becomes the fourth person ever to hold the title of NASCAR president.

Dewar joined NASCAR as a chief operating officer in 2014. NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said in a statement that Dewar “has helped lead a cultural transformation of NASCAR” and has “spearheaded some of the most impactful enhancements NASCAR has implemented in its history.”

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