Bruton Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith at Texas Motor Speedway in 2005 | |
| Born | Ollen Bruton Smith March 3, 1927 Oakboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | June 22, 2022 (aged 95) |
| Occupation(s) | Racing promoter, race track owner, automobile dealer |
| Years active | 1949–2022 |
| Organization(s) | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Sonic Automotive |
| Spouse |
Bonnie Jean Harris
(m. 1972; div. 1990) |
| Children | 5, including Marcus |
Ollen Bruton Smith (March 3, 1927 – June 22, 2022) was an American motorsports executive and businessman. He was best known as the owner of two public companies, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) and Sonic Automotive. Smith held the positions of vice president and general manager of the Charlotte Motor Speedway and later was the chief executive officer (CEO) of both Speedway Motorsports and Sonic Automotive. He was an entrepreneur, race promoter, and businessman during the rise of stock car racing that began in the 1950s.
Smith was born and raised near Oakboro, North Carolina. In 1959, he and stock car racing driver Curtis Turner partnered to construct the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) banked racetrack in Concord, North Carolina. After the initial failure of the speedway, Smith went bankrupt, leading him to work in the car dealership business. After the success of his car dealership business, Smith bought back an interest in the speedway, eventually becoming its general manager in 1975. After a period of investing in businesses outside the auto-racing industry in the 1980s, Smith bought numerous tracks in the 1990s and 2000s, using the funds he had made after taking SMI public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995. Two years later, he incorporated Sonic Automotive, a chain of car dealerships, becoming CEO of both SMI and Sonic Automotive.
Smith is widely regarded as one of the most influential businessmen in auto racing and a polarizing figure in the industry. Throughout his time as a businessman, he was known as an extravagant spender and someone who cared about details. He used his wealth and power to turn racetracks owned by Speedway Motorsports into world-class facilities and to turn Sonic Automotive into one of the biggest car dealership businesses in the United States. Businessmen who worked under Smith, including Humpy Wheeler and Eddie Gossage, viewed Smith highly for his actions. He was embroiled in numerous legal battles and controversies, including his divorce with his only wife and his reaction to opposition of construction of a drag strip at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Smith is also regarded as one of the key people in a rivalry between Smith's SMI and the NASCAR-owned International Speedway Corporation (ISC), a rivalry that has existed since Smith's start as a race promoter in the late 1940s. The two companies, created by Smith and NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., respectively, have engaged in a series of tense exchanges and lawsuits that have affected NASCAR's legacy and popularity to this day.