Loudon

The state’s highest court is giving the New Hampshire Motor Speedway the green light to host a three-day country music festival. The decision comes after more than a year of court challenges brought by neighbors concerned about noise.

A group of neighbors concerned about noise are asking the state Supreme Court to step in and block a proposed country music festival at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

In May, a Superior Court judge ruled that the racetrack can go ahead with a multi-day concert despite an agreement signed in 1989 that prohibits stand-alone concerts at the track.

It’s NASCAR weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which means traffic could be a problem for anyone traveling near Loudon, Concord and surrounding towns. 

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is cleared to stage a country music festival this summer after a Superior Court judge ruled the terms of 1989 agreement do not apply to property acquired in more recent years.

A group of concerned neighbors and the previous owners of the Loudon race track signed the agreement, which stipulated that the track couldn’t host concerts unless they were held in conjunction with a race.

Owners of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway told a Superior Court judge on Monday that a 1989 agreement prohibiting them from holding music concerts doesn’t apply to land acquired since that contract was signed.

A group of residents are taking legal action to try to block a three-day country music festival scheduled for next summer at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, but officials for the track say they are confident the event will go on as planned.

A group of residents say they are still considering their legal options after the Loudon Zoning Board on Thursday approved a variance for a multi-day country music festival at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Loudon Zoning Board heard more than four hours of arguments Thursday both for and against a variance request made by the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The track is hoping to host a three-day country music festival next summer.

The event would draw an estimated 20,000 music fans per day, with an estimated 5,000 attendees camping out on the Speedway grounds.

“Our team is geared specifically for these types of events, and have honed our skills over the years, and to not be boastful, but we are pretty good at it,” said David McGrath, the Speedway’s general manager.

NASCAR is back in New Hampshire this weekend. Races will be held Saturday and Sunday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where a hundred thousand fans are expected to watch some of the country’s top NASCAR drivers burn rubber.

Drivers are entering the second half of their race season, and they’ll find themselves on an unforgiving track here in New Hampshire.