FanHouse SpeedwayMotorsports

Friday afternoon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. graced the web pages of Sports Illustrated after writer Bruce Martin hung around with the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for a day's-worth of commercial work recently.

The piece was mostly centered around Earnhardt Jr.'s status as a commercial icon and previewed an ad for sponsor GoDaddy.com that will feature fellow Hendrick/JR Motorsports driver Brad Keselowski, but as we've come to expect from Earnhardt Jr., the driver didn't hold back when asked about some comments made during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media tour just a few weeks back.

Those comments centered around Speedway Motorsports, Inc., chairman Bruton Smith claiming that the drivers need to do a little more to help sell tickets in the struggling climate that faces the 2009 season.

Never will a season go by in the NASCAR world without Speedway Motorsports, Inc., chairman Bruton Smith stirring things up.

Fans got a glimpse of that earlier this week during the annual Sprint Cup Media Tour hosted by one of his tracks, Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Smith, answering a question from a reporter on attendance issues, brought up an interesting point for the sport as a whole to consider.

Should NASCAR be putting local blackouts on races that aren't sold out?

Geoffrey Miller is in Concord, N.C. for Sunday's Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He'll aim to eat as many elephant ears as possible while blogging away "Live from Lowe's" throughout Memorial Day weekend.

As I left Indianapolis Wednesday afternoon, I read that NASCAR's penultimate promoter, H.A. Humpy Wheeler of Lowe's Motor Speedway, was retiring effective after Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.

Humpy has long been the most recognizable track president on the Sprint Cup tour, and with that, he has been a fan favorite. His retirement, to say the least, was a shock.

Thursday the Charlotte Observer offered a little bit more into why Wheeler is exiting his role and it definitely helps affirm how big of a surprise his move is.

It turns out that Humpy is retiring, but not completely on his own terms.

H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler said Wednesday his retirement as president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway and as president and chief operating officer of Speedway Motorsports Inc. did not come entirely on his own terms.

"Some of it is," Wheeler said in officially announcing his decision. "I won't say it all is. We'll just leave it at that."

The "that" Wheeler is referring to is a rift between himself and the owner of SMI, Bruton Smith.

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?

(Yes, that picture IS the most ridiculous one you've ever seen. Anyways, back to the regularly scheduled programming...)

Jimmie Johnson looked a chef in the final laps of the Dickie's 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday night.

First, he sat Matt Kenseth on the table with a charge to his rear bumper with 15 laps to go.

Then, Johnson backed off and let Kenseth cool down -- as well as the tires on his No. 48 -- and read the perfect recipe for the win.

With four circuits left, Johnson pounced with a knife, cutting into Kenseth's lead and finally cutting him off out of turn two, grabbing the race lead and showing the No. 48 team's brilliance in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

So that Thursday announcement didn't pan out.

But the the Friday one certainly will. (At 12:30pm EST, actually!)

That announcement also won't likely carry any new news along for Lowe's Motor Speedway vs. Concord City Council, either, as Speedway Motorsports CEO Bruton Smith is expected to announce a purchase of Bob Bahre's independently owned track in New England -- New Hampshire International Speedway.

On Friday, Smith is expected to announce only the purchase of the track in Loudon, N.H., and not speculate on any plans to move either of its two Nextel Cup Series race dates, multiple sources said.

Smith has previously stated his desire to add a second Cup date to his track in Las Vegas. He also has expressed interest in an earlier date for his second Texas race to avoid a conflict with the opening of white-tail deer hunting season.

Yes, you read that correctly -- to avoid a conflict in Texas with not an open wheel race, a Cowboys game, or a rodeo but rather white-tail deer hunting season.

Think that just threw out every stereotype that the NASCAR bigwigs in Daytona have been trying so hard to abandon? You can bet Brian France is cringing to hear that a track owner is trying to help the fans that don't drink martinis or Perrier -- but rather is making them us a priority.

And to think, just Tuesday, I was questioning Bruton's commitment to the fans. (And well, I probably still would if he moves LMS, but as for now, he's got some points in my book.)

But the real announcement on this issue, apparently, isn't being made Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

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)

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.