Pocono to Sell?

[MountaineerTom]

Pocono to Sell? UPDATE 2 Nope: The Mattiollis, who own Pocono Raceway, once again may be fielding offers for their track, which sits 90 minutes from Manhattan. Bruton Smith and Bill France have both made offers over the years, and each time the Mattiollis have rejected the overtures. Now it appears that France, who is also trying to put together a deal for a speedway at the Meadowlands, across the Hudson River from New York City, is again trying to persuade the Mattiollis to sell to him(Winston Salem Journal)(6-2-2001)

UPDATE: Dr. Joseph Mattioli was loyal to Bill France Sr. when the NASCAR Winston Cup Series was a financial bust, and he's remained loyal to the family that started NASCAR now that each race at his Pocono Raceway creates millions of dollars in profits. All along, Mattioli and his wife, Rose, have been one of the holdouts in the bidding wars between France's International Speedway Corp. and Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports Inc. to gobble up every raceway on the Winston Cup circuit. After 37 years of struggles, hard work and success, the Mattiolis apparently are close to cashing in. Sources inside the ISC family said the Pocono Raceway may soon become part of the sport's biggest corporation. The deal is worth about ? million.(Savannah Morning News)

UPDATE 2: Dr. Joe Mattioli, owner of Pocono Raceway, strongly denied reports that he would sell his track to International Speedway Corporation, and he said he would have two Winston Cup races again in 2002. Mattioli responded to reports which said Pocono would be sold to ISC and that one of his dates would be moved elsewhere. The same reports said that dates would either a) be added at Kentucky and California, or b) be moved to those two tracks from elsewhere. "I've refuted it and refuted it," Mattioli said of the recurring reports. "I went public in 1965 and it took me 35 years to buy it back, and I'm not about to sell it. If I did sell it, the France family [which controls ISC] would get first dibs. That's been said to Old Man France [the late Bill France Sr.], said to Billy and Jimmy, said to Brian and Lisa. I don't know how the #### else to say it. That's it."(SpeedVision)(6-15-2001)