The story
Founded by Bruton Smith in 1959, in Concord.1
Early history and founding
Speedway Motorsports didn't officially incorporate until 1994. Bruton Smith began building SMI in the 1950s when he worked as a race promoter and eventually built Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959. Smith left the racing business in the early 1960s to pursue other business ventures. He became very successful and by 1975 had owned majority shares in CMS and took over as CEO. A year later he appointed Humpy Wheeler as general manager. Smith began to expand CMS, adding additional grandstands and facilities including condominiums, a first for a sports facility.
Formation and public offering
In 1990, Smith began to acquire additional speedway properties beginning with Atlanta Motor Speedway. As he did with Charlotte, Smith began expanding seating and facilities at Atlanta. In 1992, lights were added to CMS, making it one of the first speedways to offer night racing, and the company developed the Legends car racing circuit, now called U.S. Legend Cars International. Smith incorporated Speedway Motorsports in December 1994, and on February 24, 1995 took the company public by offering shares of stock, debuting at $18 per share.
Expansion and track acquisitions
In 1996, SMI began to quickly expand, acquiring two additional facilities; Bristol Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway. A year later, the company finished construction of the $250 million, 150,000 seat Texas Motor Speedway. Between 1993 and 1998, SMI had increased its total seating capacity from 176,000 to 551,000. In 1999 SMI outbid rival International Speedway Corporation (ISC) to purchase Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Smith had outbid ISC by $15 million to make a total $215 million purchase. That same year, SMI sold the naming rights of its flagship Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe's, a $35 million deal that would last until 2009.
Competition with ISC and strategic growth
Until 1999, Speedway Motorsports was the top track owner in the motorsports industry. That year, International Speedway Corporation, then the second largest track owner, acquired Penske Motorsports, then the third largest track owner. The $623 million deal propelled ISC to the top track owner, and SMI fell to second. Smith then turned his attention towards securing two NASCAR dates at each of his facilities. As of 2011, only four SMI owned tracks hold two NASCAR dates.
SMI purchased North Wilkesboro Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2007, and in 2008 purchased Kentucky Speedway. Today SMI owns nine racing facilities, eight of which are used to host major racing series including NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA. As of December 31, 2009, the combined total permanent seating capacity was approximately 885,000. SMI owned tracks host 13 of the 36 NASCAR Cup Series races, including four races in the NASCAR playoffs, plus the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Recent developments and partnerships
In December 2018, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway operator Tony Formosa Jr. reached an agreement with Speedway Motorsports and its main Tennessee track Bristol Motor Speedway to co-operate the facility and make the necessary upgrades for the track to host NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races again and continue to host weekly racing events. Efforts were renewed in late 2020 as SMI and Bristol launched negotiations with the City of Nashville with the goal of hosting NASCAR races as early as 2022. The track ultimately did not hold races in 2022, although talks between both parties continued.
When NASCAR announced that Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, would host the national series beginning in 2021, SMI assumed management responsibilities for the NASCAR at COTA race weekend.
In addition to speedway properties, SMI also owns the Performance Racing Network, a radio network that broadcasts all NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly series races at SMI owned tracks. SMI also equally owns Motorsports Authentics, a joint venture formed with International Speedway Corporation, to produce, market and sell licensed motorsports merchandise.
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In 2026, Speedway Motorsports (SMI) bought into the ownership group of the CARS Tour.
From Wikipedia’s article on Speedway Motorsports, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5