LOUDON, N.H. (AP) – From portable toilet rentals to hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, the sale of the New Hampshire International Speedway could have a major economic impact on the state and its residents.

O. Bruton Smith, who heads a conglomerate that runs six other NASCAR tracks, said Friday in Texas that he has purchased NHIS from Bob Bahre of Paris, Maine and Alton, N.H.

Bahre opened the track in the early 1990s, and it has had at least one of NASCAR’s premier NEXTEL Cup events since 1993, two since 1997. Each race attracts about 100,000 spectators, about 75 percent reportedly from out of state.

However, Smith has been trying for years to get a second race for his Las Vegas track, opening the possibility that he could move one of NHIS’s races there.

Many New Hampshire businesses stand to lose.

Out-of-state race fans spend more than $80 million on race weekends in New Hampshire, an average of $225 per person, according to a study by RKM Research and Communications, provided by the state’s Division of Economic Development.

Steve Boucher, communications manager for the division, said the races are “like having two Super Bowls in the state a year.”

“It’s in the heart of Loudon, but it really disseminates through our state,” said Celia Phillips, communications manager at the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association.

Besides buying race tickets and race memorabilia, race fans eat at restaurants, shop at markets, drink at bars, book lodging, shop and pay gas taxes and tolls. Many come to the state a week before the big races, setting up hundreds of RVs at the track for mini vacations.

At the Boar’s Tavern bar and restaurant in Loudon, business triples the week before a big race, bartender Rebecca Rosenkrans said. At the 106 Beanstalk, a Loudon convenience store and gas station, gas sales double during race weekends, owner Russ Smith said.

Rooms rates nearly double at some lodging places and hotels are packed all over the region on race weeks.

The races also make money for people near the track who rent out scores of parking spots in their yards for about $20 per spot.

Then there is Darlene Johnson, owner of Best Septic Service, which services campers ands rents portable toilets for those impromptu parking lots. On a normal summer weekend, she rents 50 to 60 toilets; on race weekends, she rents 100, charging $100 a toilet, she said.

The two NEXTEL races also create 2,500 jobs those weekends and generate $103 million in earnings, according to the New Hampshire Economic Labor Market Information Bureau

“The races are not only our livelihood, they bring New Hampshire alive. Loudon is a gem, and it would be like a pirate, someone coming and taking it,” said Sheryl Ollie, who owns the Black Swan Inn in nearby Tilton.

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Information from: Concord Monitor, http://www.cmonitor.com

AP-ES-11-02-07 1514EDT