FanHouse Bruton Smith

The "Lowe's" in Concord, N.C.'s Lowe's Motor Speedway may or may not be around in 2010, depending on who you've listened to this weekend.

Bruton Smith -- he's the owner of the LMS' parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. -- said Saturday that he doesn't envision seeing the home improvement store chain involved with the flagship track of the nine he currently he owns thanks to contract discussions that aren't even close to agreement.

Meanwhile, Smith's son Marcus heads the Charlotte-area track and disputed the report in the SportsBusiness Journal that the two sides had walked away from the bargaining table -- leaving lots of questions and not many answers.

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR has a "town hall meeting" scheduled with its drivers next week.

The sport's longtime rival, Bruton Smith, held one of his own Saturday.

Smith, the outspoken, multimillionaire chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., ripped NASCAR for choosing not to disclose the banned substance involved in driver Jeremy Mayfield's suspension, for dropping record penalties on underfunded driver Carl Long and for the kind of racing created with the Car of Tomorrow.

Consider the effort to get NASCAR Sprint Cup racing in the Bluegrass State officially underway.

Monday, Speedway Motorsports Incorporated's Bruton Smith talked at Lowe's Motor Speedway about how he's revamping his recent Kentucky Speedway purchase, and more importantly, his plan to lobby NASCAR for a Sprint Cup date at the track in 2010.

But, come on, does NASCAR really need another 1.5-miler on its schedule -- even if it likely replaces another cookie-cutter track?

Whether you always agree with Bruton Smith or not, you've got to appreciate the way he keeps NASCAR's power brokers honest and on their toes.

This week the outspoken and oft-controversial Smith suggested that NASCAR move the season finale from Homestead-Miami Speedway back to Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the champion was crowned through 2001.

Some late-breaking Friday night news from the Charlotte, N.C. area:

Firefighters put out a small fire about 9 p.m. tonight at the home of the Lowe's Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith.

An electrical short in the wire of outdoor Christmas lights caused a spark that lit the shrubbery in front of Smith's south Charlotte house, fire officials said. A passerby saw the flames and flagged down a police officer, who called firefighters.

Battalion Chief Tom Link said Smith was home at the time of the fire, but "he actually didn't know (about the fire) until we tried to get to the door."

Now, I'm really glad Smith didn't lose his house, and that he wasn't injured in the situation, but it certainly strikes me as a little more than a coincidence.

After all, this happened to a guy who threatened to rip down a Charlotte-area & NASCAR landmark because he was a little peeved at initial opposition to building a drag strip on the property.

The effect would have been mind-boggling for Concord and Cabarrus County had Smith uprooted Lowe's Motor Speedway. Not only does the track bring in $169 million + to the local economy each year, but it has created massive development in the northern suburb and would create a major economic problem for a region that has seen thousands of layoffs in the past few years.

He eventually relented after tax incentives, back rubs, and a street were named after him. The street name change was confirmed Thursday by the State of North Carolina.

And now a minor electrical fire at his home? Is that karma for his method of forcing government into private business matters or plain bad luck?

Most likely, it's just a good reason on why you should always turn off your Christmas lights before you go to bed.

HT: The Charlotte Observer

You've really got wonder if now-former New Hampshire International Motor Speedway owner Bob Bahre really believes the words that are coming out of his mouth:

"He didn't make any promises, I want to make that clear," Bahre said. "But I don't think he's going to move any dates out of here.

Bahre's speedway was sold last week to Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports, Inc. SMI owns the tracks of Atlanta, Bristol, Infineon, Las Vegas, Lowe's, and Texas.

There was rampant speculation last week -- including here at the Fanhouse -- that Smith would immediately move one or both of New Hampshire's Nextel Cup race dates to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Smith denied that such a plan was in place during the announcement, but he didn't necessarily say anything that denied the move could happen, either.

Now we've heard Smith deny that, but he also gave another plausible idea:

Ship a date away from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

If you think about the idea, it makes sense on the level of selling tickets. Atlanta had noticeably open seats two weeks ago while NHMS has sold out for years. Obviously, Atlanta is a bigger market, but California has proved how much that doesn't matter when it comes to selling tickets.

So one date at Atlanta for two at NHMS and Las Vegas? I don't know what I think about that. The history in Atlanta -- albeit an old configuration -- might be a little too much.

What say you?

We've seen and heard the battle that the City of Concord (N.C.) and Lowe's Motor Speedway have had in the past month.

Thursday could be the day of reckoning on whether or not LMS' parent company, Speedway Motorsports Inc., and CEO Bruton Smith will either ruin yet another fantastic piece of the NASCAR history (remember North Wilkesboro?) or if he will remember the fans that earned his his wealth and keep the legendary speedway.

From NASCAR.com's Ron Lemasters:

There is talk of an announcement on Thursday that will go a long way toward determining if Lowe's Motor Speedway will remain in its present location or go on the road to a neighboring community, as Smith has threatened.

I honestly feel a little bit sick to my stomach knowing that such a place could potentially be leveled -- and for what, a billionaire owner on a power trip?

That really sounds like a track owner who is touch with the fans.

The city council has given Smith the go-ahead to build a NHRA drag strip, are willing to help with tax incentives on new building projects at LMS, and most importantly -- they want to rename a street already named "Speedway Boulevard" to "Bruton Smith You Are Our King Street" (or at least something or the sort).

What else could he possibly want? (other than some Carolina-fave Bojangles Famous Chicken 'n' Biscuits, of course)

This whole flap with the City of Concord, North Carolina and Speedway Motorsports CEO Bruton Smith really is turning quite comical. Speedway Motorsports owns Lowe's Motor Speedway, the race track in Concord.

First, Concord re-zoned Bruton's land to specifically deny him the right. Or, more easily, the equivalent to finding the meanest dog at the pound and smacking it on the nose.

The dog, Smith in this case, bought back -- and hard. Wild claims that he's raze the speedway and find a new location were thrown out.

With Concord backed into the doghouse, a quick reversal of fate was in order, and to this day, the city council is overwhelmingly behind the drag strip for a potential NHRA event (and tons of annual tax money from LMS events). However, Smith still seems a bit peeved at the whole situation, saying last week that a 90% chance of moving LMS was possible.

So what would any logical, ethical, and self-confident do in this drastic situation?

Well, I don't know if I can fully answer that, but one way of doing it -- at least in the mind of Concord -- is to rename a street after said differing civic figure.

Yes, Concord plans to keep LMS in its current location by giving Bruton Smith his own boulevard, conveniently right in front of the speedway.

That's a nice touch, isn't it?

Bruton Smith is a man who likes to grab attention.

So last week when the Concord, N.C. City Council voted to change the zoning of Lowe's Motor Speedway to eliminate a possible drag strip, he swung back -- and connected.

The CEO of Speedway Motorsports declared that he was ready to spend over $350 million and completely rebuild a new version of Lowe's Motor Speedway in another Charlotte suburb. That left NASCAR fans (including diehard LMS fans like myself), Concord city leaders, and Cabarrus County leaders all saying the same thing.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt?!"

I personally can't imagine the 1.5-miler south of Concord on Highway 29 as a boarded up, non-used ruin. That would be a sad day, even if a newer facility was built

Fortunately, Concord has changed their mind, and Smith might be stepping down -- a little bit.

Specifically, council members voted Tuesday to ask the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider amending the speedway's zoning to allow drag strips on the property -- a use that the City Council unanimously banned just last week.

In other words, Concord is getting out of their brain fade and realizing that no matter how bad it ethically seems, LMS does so much for the city and surrounding area that giving in is normally a better idea than not giving in.

Yes, you, as well as I, can start to breathe that slight sense of relief, for one of NASCAR's most-storied tracks is staying put for now.

... a piece of it anyway.

As Bristol Motor Speedway's surface gets thrown to the chopping block this week in favor of a new, progressively banked concrete base, the lovely folks in charge at Thunder Valley have announced that you can now own a piece of the start/finish line that was installed just 15 years ago. Available in three sizes, you can buy a piece of concrete that Terry Labonte slid across for a win. Or that Jeff Gordon drove across twice for the win after bumping Rusty Wallace out of the way. Or that Kyle Busch did a burn out on just last Sunday.

Oh, and don't forget. Kurt Busch's rear end did the snow angel on it in last year's Food City 500, as well. Wouldn't that be a treat to put above the fireplace?

The pieces are going to be available for order on July 1 and apparently in limited quantities because the start/finish line is the only place that is going to be sold off.

I think I'm going to hold out, though, because I think the rest of the concrete there will eventually have its price. After all, where's the love for turn 3 or the backstretch? I'm sure Bobby Labonte might want a piece of that concrete under where he stood to let loose on his wrecked Interstate Batteries Lumina in 1996.

So note to Speedway Motorsports owner [and BMS owner] Bruton Smith, don't smash up the backstretch because I need a new driveway. And my backyard? It could definitely use a nice section of turn 4 (banking included).

I can't wait.