NASCAR Hall of Fame pioneer, promotor Bruton Smith dies at 95

Bruton Smith, a key promoter and track operator and a pioneer in auto racing, died at 95, NASCAR reported and Speedway Motorsports Inc. announced Wednesday afternoon. Smith, a native of Oakboro, North Carolina, was born March 3, 1927.

Smith was executive chairman of Speedway Motorsports, which owns and operates auto racing speedways across the country. He was named executive chairman in 2015 after serving as SMI chairman and chief executive officer since 1995. He was succeeded as SMI CEO by his son, Marcus Smith.

SMI's holdings include 11 racing facilities that currently host 15 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2022, including four of the series’ 10 playoff races.

Bruton Smith, one of the richest people in the United States, according to Forbes magazine, was known for his auto racing empire but also owned and operated automobile dealerships across the country under Sonic Automotive, launched in November 1997.

Smith began promoting dirt-track races in North Carolina as an 18-year-old. In 1949, he ran the National Stock Car Racing Association, a Georgia-based racing sanctioning body that was a rival to NASCAR, which Bill France Sr. had formed in 1948.

France and NASCAR won that competition, as the NSCRA faded. But Smith returned to the sport in 1959, joining driver Curtis Turner to build Charlotte Motor Speedway after he and Turner had announced separate plans to build tracks in the Charlotte area. The track construction costs ran well past budget, and Smith eventually lost control of the speedway in bankruptcy proceedings.

After building a successful chain of car dealerships, Smith re-entered NASCAR in the mid-1970s, buying enough shares in CMS stock to regain control of the speedway. He and former track president H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler turned the track, actually located in Concord, N.C., into an auto racing palace, adding huge grandstands, condominiums and other innovations unheard of in racing circles at the time. The track was the first major speedway to host night races.

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Smith assumed control of several other tracks, including Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and formed Speedway Motorsports, Inc. to run the facilities. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995.