Concord lifts drag racing ban for Bruton Smith, names street after him
Quote selected text Published October 27th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Bruton Smith got his way Friday night. The billionaire owner of Lowe’s Motor Speedway had threatened to move his track after Concord barred him from building a drag-racing strip on his property. On Friday, council members voted unanimously to remove that restriction. But it’s not clear whether Smith wants to make up with the motorsports city.
“I think that would show a lot of friendship,” Smith said Friday afternoon when asked whether a vote in his favor that night would keep the speedway in Concord. But he said he would continue to consider suitors in other cities.
They’ve offered to let him build his drag strip. They may offer him a tax break. Now Cabarrus County officials are offering billionaire Bruton Smith the ultimate form of civic love if he keeps Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord: his own road.
Concord City Council members and Cabarrus County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to ask the state to change the name of Speedway Boulevard to Bruton Smith Boulevard.
- Smith: ‘90 percent chance’ I’ll move Lowe’s speedway, track would be demolished
- Is Bruton Smith being paid off to stay?
- Lowe’s Motor Speedway will stay in Concord
- Bruton Smith thinks Dale Jr should go to RCR
- Lowes Motor Speedway incentive package could surpass $70 million
Wow they are sure sucking up to him big time
Nascar should’ve just let him build the drag strip instead of causing a big deal over it and now we are all going to pay for the track to stay in this county big time. He is already a “BILLIONARE” why should he get a tax break, road named after him and the revenue from Lowes Motor Speedway and from the drag strip. Who was the fool who said no to him over the noise next to their homes…To me shut up and let the people with the noise problems sell thier houses and go build away from the speedway and drag strip. It only takes a small amount of thinking. Now it takes a whole lot of extra spending for the tax payers….how dissapointing
I still say if he is such a big Billionaire than let him buy up all the homes affected by the noise.
If you were one of these people who would be impacted by this track would you still be saying
“shut up and move”.
To those that say whats the big deal it will only be a couple of days a year… WRONG drag strips run on Wed night Friday night and every weekend for local racing as well as the Big Events Bruton wants to bring in.
These people were there before the proposed drag strip so why do they have to move to have peace and quite. City’s are to quick to through the little people to the wolves for the sake of money.
If Bruton wants it let him buy at a fair market price ALL the affected homes after all he is a Billionaire.
bruton doesnt owe those people a dime. i am from the area and have been going to charlotte since i was a kid, have not missed a cup race in atleast five years, and go to the dirt track there as well. the dirt track sees frequent use, as does the main speedway. in addition to the nascar events, the track host over 300 other events a year, from bandelero’s to club cars, late models and sprints. those people already have to deal with regular racing noise, and it their fault. the woods around that track have been just that as long as i can remember. now, up on a hill beyond the parking around the dirt track on the other side of the front stretch there is this huge neighborhood of brand spankin new houses, they are still building and expanding these homes in the direction of the track. they can blame their brokers for fooling them, or they can blame themselves for being foolish, but they cant blame a racetrack for noise when its been there 50 years and they just moved in. next they will whine about the smell from the landfill thats right there too. im sure they got great deals on those homes and this is why. they are prob already po’ed and now they just have something to focus their anger on. its pretty simple, if you move next to a racetrack, you will prob hear some engines, now learn a lesson, and make smarter decisions.
Racefan07 wrote:
NASCAR had nothing to do with the original ban, nor the lifting of the ban. This was the city of Concord.
If that track closed, no one would visit that area, property values would plummet and taxes would soar. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Go, Bruton!
Well, I say, let the Racing being. The track has been there for over 50 years. For families moving into the area, they should first know the track is there and then Know that that comes with engine noise. This is racing country. If they do not wish to hear engines running, dont buy near a Track or drag strip. Anyone that is or was born in this area, KNOWS this !!!!!!!
Get a clue and a Life. And anyone that is a true Racing Fan could care less about Noise from a Track. In fact, its’ music to the ears if born in Racing Country.
Go for it. Start Your Engines…
how much did he have to pay the people to change the vote?
This article is old but the issue continues. The drag strip is nearing completion as I write this.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the foolish people who basically say “Sell your house and move! Too bad! Race tracks are loud, deal with it or get out!” These people, astonishingly, miss the entire point. I guess they couldn’t be bothered reading the article. This is the United States, though, and 100-word articles are, I suppose, pushing it as to what people are willing to concentrate on.
The issue isn’t the race track that “has been there for over 50 years”. The issue was with the PROPOSED DRAG STRIP. I live in the Parkway Crossing apartment complex, which is a couple miles down the street from Lowes Motor Speedway. The noise from the NASCAR races isn’t a problem at all for me–and I’m not a person who appreciates noise. However, I have no idea what to expect from the NHRA (drag) races. I’ve been to NHRA events, and let me tell you, top-fuel dragsters and funny cars make stock cars sound like VW Beetles. I really hope the noise abatement they install is effective.
I’m also concerned about the traffic. I knew what I was getting into when it was just NASCAR, but what’s going to happen when the drag strip opens?
Oh wait–I can just “shut up and move”, right?