Bruton Smith

Motorsports visionary Bruton Smith has passed. Smith was 95 and died of natural causes. Smith's road to stardom through his Speedway Motorsports brand, ...

“You never tell Bruton Smith you’re doing to do something and then you don’t do it. His contributions personally touched so many in the state of Tennessee throughout his businesses and philanthropic endeavors. “I love Bruton and I ran my big mouth this weekend,” Force said. “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 addition to his business interests, Smith founded Speedway Children's Charities in 1982 as a memoriam and legacy to his son, Bruton Cameron Smith, who passed away at a very young age. Smith’s highly decorated career is largely in NASCAR, but in 1996, he got into the drag strip business with the purchase of Sonoma Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway, where he revamped both facilities.

Bruton Smith, a longtime fixture in NASCAR and a Hall of Fame inductee for building and promoting auto racing events nationwide, died Wednesday at age 95 of ...

He oversaw the creation of speedways in new markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth, and races at upgraded facilities spanning from Sonoma, California, and Las Vegas eastward to Loudon, New Hampshire, and Dover, Delaware, would often comprise a large bulk of NASCAR's yearly schedule. We're here to entertain fans, and I want them to go home with a memory that will last forever." The track's first 600-miler was held at its grand opening

Smith's Speedway Motorsports owns 11 NASCAR tracks, and he also "founded Speedway Children's Charities in 1982 in memory of his late son BRUTON CAMERON SMITH." ...

Smith had "purchased part of North Wilkesboro Speedway in an apparent attempt to make sure that Texas had two Cup Series races when it opened in 1997." That "didn’t happen, and Smith long thought that NASCAR owed him a second race at Texas while North Wilkesboro hosted its final Cup Series race in 1996" ( SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/22). He "did everything big" and will be "remembered as a visionary" ( RACER.com, 6/22). As Smith’s track portfolio "grew in the 1990s he built Texas Motor Speedway." Smith "wanted to get two Cup Series races at the track." - Tony Stewart: "He helped grow not just NASCAR, but all kinds of racing. Along with former NASCAR driver CURTIS TURNER, Smith "built his first permanent motorsports facility" in CMS. The track "opened in June 1960 with a 600-mile race, the longest ever in NASCAR’s history." SBJ Facilities Writer Bret McCormick and Soccer Writer Alex Silverman say five U.S. cities are locks to host World Cup matches in 2026. He had a "knack for knowing not only how to knock the door down, but also how to put it back on its hinges when the time came" ( CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/23). RACER.com's Kelly Crandall wrote Smith was a "force to be reckoned with" when it came to business. His ambitious vision created growth and opportunities that I am forever thankful for." Speedway Motorsports Founder BRUTON SMITH died yesterday of natural causes at 95, and he will be remembered as "one of NASCAR's great innovators," according to David Scott of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Smith "began his career" in motorsports as a short-track race promoter, but along with former Speedway Motorsports President HUMPY WHEELER, Smith was "responsible for -- among many other things -- fan-focused innovations" at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including "building condominiums in Turn 1, the upscale Speedway Club high above the front stretch and installing lights." Smith was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s 2016 class. A SEISMIC LOSS: Smith's death is a seismic loss of perhaps the most historic NASCAR business icon who was still alive.

O. Bruton Smith, who emerged from North Carolina farm country and parlayed his love of motorsports into a Hall of Fame career as one of the biggest track ...