News-Record.com

Bruton Smith is a lot of things - showman, quote machine, rich. One thing he's not, and that's stupid.

The Winston paper is the latest to buy into the idiotic fantasy that Smith might tear down Lowe's Motor Speedway and build it somewhere else.

Not that I would be opposed - the only thing longer than 600 Memorial Day miles at Charlotte is qualifying at Pocono. There's little side-by-side racing, and the All-Star races just don't do it for me any more. Another Richmond clone? Bring it on.

But here's why Bruton won't tear down and rebuild:
* LMS is the only track on the circuit (other than France family crown jewel Daytona) with three Cup dates - two regular season races and the All-Star event.

* The main reason LMS keeps the All-Star race is because it's a home date for the drivers and crews. Once the Hall of Fame gets build, NASCAR will never, ever move that race from Charlotte.

* No one wants a race track in their front yard, back yard, side yard or the yard two counties over. Even Staten Island, N.Y,, which for years tolerated (if that's the right word) the nation's largest landfill, didn't want a race track. So that knocks out every populated area in the county. And you see how well Cup racing worked out in out-of-the-way places like North Wilkesboro and Rockingham.

* Shareholders of publicly traded companies like Speedway Motorsports aren't going to react well to disposal of a key asset. And, hey, guess what, SMI stock is trading at a YTD low of $36.43. Nothing to me screams sell off like a crazy man threatening to tear down his main money maker.

And all of this because Cabarrus county commissioners won't let Bruton build a drag strip? Heck, moving LMS is the only card Bruton has to play, and he's playing it well.

Like I said, the guy ain't stupid. Now about the Cabarrus County commissioners ...