NASCAR legend Bruton Smith, whose company owns Nashville Superspeedway, has died at 95

NACAR Hall of Famer Bruton Smith, founder and executive chairman of Speedway Motorsports which owns Nashville Superspeedway, died Wednesday. He was 95.

Speedway Motorsports purchased Nashville Superspeedway from Dover Motorsports in December.

A tripleheader NASCAR weekend will take place at the venue this weekend with the Camping World Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 set for Friday (7 p.m., FS1), Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 Saturday (2:30 p.m., USA) and Cup Series Ally 400 Sunday (4 p.m., NBC).

Smith had trailblazing careers in motorsports, philanthropy and automotive retail. Along with his position with Speedway Motorsports, he was founder and executive chairman of Sonic Automotive and Speedway Children’s Charities

He was the youngest of nine children and grew up on a small farm in Oakboro, North Carolina, before building his business empire.

"Bruton Smith is synonymous with stockcar racing and NASCAR," Nashville Superspeedway president and general manager Erik Moses said. "He was a true visionary who was responsible for so many innovations in our sport and for really being almost the P.T. Barnum of stockcar racing. I'm happy to be part of the company that he built and happy to hopefully extend his legacy with what we do here at Nashville Superspeedway."

Smith founded Speedway Motorsports by consolidating his motorsports holdings in December 1994, and in February 1995, he made it the first motorsports company to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

IN THE KNOW: What to know about NASCAR races at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend

JR's EXPECTATIONS: How Hendersonville's Josh Berry is living up to Dale Earnhardt Jr's expectations in NASCAR

SCHEDULE: NASCAR at Nashville Superspeedway: Full weekend schedule, TV info for races

The company now owns and operates 11 motorsports tracks. Along with Nashville Superspeedway the facilities include Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Kentucky Speedway.

Bristol Motor Speedway president Jerry Caldwell, who is trying to bring NASCAR back to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, said he learned the business under Smith.

“It has been a true honor and privilege to have grown my entire career working for and being mentored by entrepreneur titans, Bruton Smith and his son, Marcus,” Caldwell said in a statement.

“Together they have created a family-like atmosphere at Speedway Motorsports, making today’s news of Bruton’s passing a sad day for all of us at Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway. The impact of Bruton’s contributions to the sports and entertainment world are too many to name, but his lasting legacy of building world-renowned destinations will stand the test of time.”