Is Bruton Smith Really Moving The Fall Charlotte Race To Vegas?

By foxsports
Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:14 p.m. ET

Bruton says a lot of things, many of them outrageous.

He said he was going to build a copy of the Nurburgring outside Las Vegas.

He said he was going to move the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge to zMax Dragway.

Neither of those happened.

Keep in mind, he has sued Concord/Cabarrus County, claiming he's owed $80 million.

The threat to move the race could well be his attempt to increase his leverage in the suit.

Or it could be his attempt to create a sense of urgency among ticket buyers.

Or it could be legit.

Take your pick.

All are equally possible. 

 

UPDATE: Response from Speedway Motorsports, Inc.,

CONCORD, N.C. (May 21, 2013) – The following is a statement from Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, O. Bruton Smith:

“The ‘done deal’ report by WBTV regarding moving a race is false. No final decision has been made regarding any race date move, and I have not discussed this with NASCAR.

“Instead of what ‘could’ happen, let’s set the facts straight about what has happened. We’ve invested $100 million in the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex in the past six years to make it even better for the fans. We’ve expanded our fan zone, added pit road suites and built the world’s largest HDTV for every fan to enjoy. We’ve put more people to work with these projects and we’ve added more events to the calendar to bring in more tourists and fans. And we’ve done this during the worst economy since the Great Depression.

“We’ve done this without asking for a handout from the government, like we’ve seen from so many other sports facilities, teams or franchises, and yet at the same time property values are falling during the recession, our Cabarrus County taxes have doubled since 2005. We absolutely love the fans that come to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s frustrating to think about the future and consider that the local government doesn’t share the same excitement about Charlotte Motor Speedway that our fans do. The Cabarrus County politicians may say nice things to the media, but raising taxes does not support the tourism business, the area economy or companies trying to grow.”