iNSIDE SCOOP: Set 'Em Up

Bruton Smith made waves this week by flat-out saying that he was 70 percent sure he was going to take the fall Bank of America 500 out of Charlotte Motor Speedway and move it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Of course, he made that revelation in the media, not through any official channel, and has not yet consulted with NASCAR to get that process moving.

So, where does that leave us? More important, where does it leave Cabarrus County?

I think, and this is purely my opinion, that Bruton wants Cabarrus County to sweat this out, just like they sweated out his bombshell that he was going to move Charlotte Motor Speedway somewhere else, away from Concord and away from the place it has been since 1960.

This is a move in the game, one designed to ratchet up the heat on the city and county councils and get them to pay Bruton what he says he is owed…some $60 million for improvements and other things he wants to do.

Smith is a wheeler-dealer from way back, a man comfortable with using the cutting edge of his wealth and power to make more wealth and more power. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, because that’s how it’s done in the U.S. of A. 

County government, from a resident’s point of view, is merely a minnow swimming in the same tank as a shark, and they know it. Sure, they grease the wheels of government, but Bruton probably could grease them better and faster. Bruton Smith has a net worth that begins with a “b” and as such is used to having things go his way. Of course, he’s also 86 years old, and that could be one of the factors involved in what appears to be a gigantic spitting match with countygov.

From a completely objective point of view, Bruton can do anything he wants with CMS. It’s his, and his shareholders. If he thinks he can make more money in Vegas, then that’s what he has fiduciary duty to do. 

He doesn’t have to build a track. It’s already there. He owns it, he and his shareholders. Charlotte has long been the crown jewel in his NASCAR empire, but hey, time marches on. He has a race there in May, the one we’re getting ready for this weekend, and for now he has the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. That could change, and that would cost, but hey, I did say his net worth begins with a “b,” didn’t I?

It’s a business decision, in other words. 

From a biased perspective, that of a NASCAR writer who has seen the elephant, it’s a scheme designed to get money out of government. We all know that works really well, (cough, cough, IRS) right?

Losing the fall race to Vegas is no big deal, schedule wise, but it is a pain in the bumper cover because, instead of spending 10 days at home, you’re back on the road out West. That plays with teams and their families.

It also guts the economy of Cabarrus County, which isn’t in that great a shape overall. Two of the largest employers in the county are Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, both based within a couple miles of the speedway’s Gate 26 tunnel.

It also hits the pocketbook of SMI, which typically has baseline revenues that count on ancillary monies from race week like parking, concessions and the like. You’ll get some of it back in Vegas, but not all. In Concord, the race is the big ticket. In Vegas, Siegfried and Roy do better.

This needs to be worked out, for a number of reasons. The county has to make good on what it promised, and Smith has to quit playing schoolyard games with it. 

Otherwise, everyone is going to wake up sorry and sore from what didn’t have to happen.