Bruton Smith is a showman as much as a businessman. Credit: AP

Conversation: B. Smith

Lucrative dealership business among SMI CEO's pursuits

CONCORD, N.C. -- Perhaps it was divine guidance that led Bruton Smith to where he is today.

When he was 17, Smith bought a racecar with the hope of pursuing his dream of becoming a driver. His mother thought otherwise.

"She didn't just put her foot down, she started praying on it,'' Smith once said. "I said, 'Well, Mom, you're fighting dirty when you start that.' I quit racing then.''

Bruton Smith is a man of many words. Credit: AP

Now Smith, approaching 80, is one of the most powerful men in NASCAR. The founder of Lowe's Motor Speedway is the chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports.

He also is the CEO of Sonic Automotive, which consists of about 200 new car dealerships across the country and sells about 22,000 cars a month.

The son of a cotton farmer, Smith has dined with presidents and done business with foreign dignitaries. He's made many great decisions and some not so great, including a divorce that cost him a reported $19 million.

This self-made billionaire, simply put, is a salesman as you will see in a conversation with NASCAR.com.

Q: Do you have time for a few questions?

Smith: I'm going to have to send you a bill, because everywhere I turn it's NASCAR, NASCAR, NASCAR. I see it on television every day. The Regis and Kelly show was here [on Friday]. So gee whiz. I've got to send you a bill if I'm going to do this.

Q: Do you mind sending it to NASCAR.com?

Smith: No problem.

Q: Did you ever imagine this sport becoming so big that it would make you millions?

	Bruton Smith and Janet Guthrie at the 1976 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Credit: AP
	MAKING HISTORY Thirty years ago Charlotte (now Lowe's) Motor Speedway CEO Bruton Smith wanted IRL driver Janet Guthrie for NASCAR's longest event. And he wouldn't take no for an answer.  •   Complete story, click here

Smith: I did when the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company came on as the series sponsor. We had kept trying and trying to climb the mountain, and all we needed was a little help. When RJR came into it I knew things would change. That's when I went ahead and bought up control of this [Lowe's] speedway. I could see with them in the picture what kind of business this could be. Who wouldn't want to be involved in something where a big company like that does all the advertising for you? Fortunately, I was right.

Q: What is it with you and selling cars?

Smith: I've always leaned to the automobile business because I loved it. Of course, now I've got this company that is working on close to $9 million a year. The dealerships were always my first love, although racing has always been there.

Q: What's your favorite thing to do on race day?

Smith: Meeting all the wonderful people. I meet more VIPs and celebrities at one event a year than the average person meets in their lifetime.

Q: Have you ever had to sit in traffic at your track?

Smith: I did one time. It actually was a fun thing. You get to talk to people on each side of you and you sort of develop relationships.

But I learned from that. We, as owners, we have to do more and more every day to make these race fans happier. We're wanting that entertainment dollar, so we have to get better at what we do.

Q: Who is your best hire?

Smith: Right now I have about 15,000 employees, but I'd have to say [LMS president] Humpy Wheeler. He took me through the paces on training him. Man, he was a challenge. Now we're more like brothers, and I think he feels the same way.

Q: What was your best business decision?

Smith: Buying Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bruton Smith once campaigned for former President Ronald Reagan. Credit: AP

Q: What was your best decision non-racing?

Smith: I've made some great decisions politically. I was very supportive of Ronald Reagan. I chaired his North Carolina committee when we raised close to a million dollars. He invited me to his ranch and he hadn't even announced yet. He was the man and knowing him was great.

Q: What was your worst business decision?

Smith: A long time ago, when I was trying to build a speedway here, I made the mistake of hiring some bad lawyers. Sometimes, you have lawyers that really don't deserve to have a degree.

Q: What do you do for fun?

Smith: I love to travel. I tried deer hunting. I had a place down in Texas that was the so-called deer capital of the world. I had 1,800 acres down there. I tried that for a few years, and then decided I was not going to ever kill another deer because they're too pretty.

Q: You mentioned Ronald Reagan. Who do you most admire?

Smith: I certainly admire Reagan. I admire our president today. I've known George Bush for a long time. I knew him when he was governor of Texas. I knew his dad when he was vice president and president. His dad raised a very fine gentleman. I still think he's a great president.

Q: Who would you like to meet?

Smith: I was invited to have dinner with Ghaddafi, but I had to turn that down. I do business in that part of the world, Saudi Arabia and places like that. We're eventually going to do some business with Libya. Since we no longer have them on our hit list, hopefully I'll get over one of these days and have dinner with Ghaddafi.

Q: What is your favorite meal to serve when you're entertaining?

Smith: I once served grits and caviar ... that was a big hit at a dinner. Everybody seemed to like it. I've had it again and again. You don't see it on the menu in your great restaurants. Try it some time. It's fabulous.

Q: What's your favorite meal at the track?

Smith: Salt and pepper catfish at the Speedway Club. Hmmm.

Q: Do you ever have a hotdog in the infield?

Smith: Oh, yeah. As a matter of fact, I was out there cooking hamburgers recently.

Q: What goes through your mind when you look out over LMS on race day and see more than 150,000 people?

Smith: We've come a long way, baby.

Q: What do you drive?

Smith: A Mercedes.

Q: How many cars do you have in your stable?

Smith: Not too many. We sell 22,000 cars and trucks per month. That gives me a choice of whatever, but I have a Mercedes that has a supercharger. It has 500 horsepower. It has a lot of energy and I like it.

Bruton Smith admires the way Tony Stewart goes about his business. Credit: Autostock

Q: So you have a lead foot?

Smith: I always have and I guess I always will. I used to like to drive a car as fast as it would run. I once had a car where the rear end would come up in the air. I wasn't driving that fast. Only about 155 mph, but the rear would come up and I couldn't figure out what was happening to me. That was my first experience with a car that needed a spoiler.

Q: If you could be a driver today, who would it be?

Smith: It would be a cross between several of them. It would have to be Jeff Gordon with Tony Stewart for their driving and also I want the look of Jimmie Johnson. And I'd want the popularity of Dale Jr.

They're all great, some of the greatest drivers that have sat in a car. I'd be so damn awesome that I'd win every race.

Q: So you'd like to have Tony Stewart's temperament as well?

Smith: That would be great. He has a passion for the sport. A little temper is OK. I wish NASCAR would kind of cool it a little bit. We used to have a lot of fisticuffs. Sometimes you have disagreements and you have to settle it. That's what we built this sport on.