Divorce is messy business, even in the racing world (cont'd)

"And of course between he and my dad, they're just such a great example -- such great, legendary examples -- for anybody in our company. So we are -- I am personally -- very excited for Humpy to be able to take the next chapter in his life. He'll continue to be like family, as he has been for me all my life. And I'm just excited that I'll be able to continue to work with my dad and all the other friends that I have at this speedway and all our other speedways. So I don't know that a lot will change for me in some ways."

Then, of course, the 34-year-old Smith stopped short of saying he had the job. Bruton even went so far as to tell one reporter that they might have to run it by the SMI board first. Um, isn't Marcus Smith on the board?

Humpy retires

• Wheeler announces retirement
• Track Smack: Fill his shoes?
• Drivers, owners will miss him
• Wheeler best at promotions
• Marcus Smith next in line?
• Garage Pass: Humpy departs

Therein might be the most obvious and possibly huge problem facing SMI as it prepares to move on in life without Humpy. Don't assume any of us -- competitors, fans or media -- are stupid. Wheeler never did.

Marcus Smith comes with all the right credentials, and we're not just talking about the most important one when it comes to getting the job -- that he is 81-year-old Bruton's son. To be fair, it appears that Bruton has groomed him for such a position over the years by making him at least earn it to some degree behind the scenes, working closely with NASCAR and even rival International Speedway Inc., on tricky licensing matters in merchandising and other matters.

But a successful business man does not automatically make a successful racetrack promoter.

The split

When it came down to it, Wheeler knew he was on his way out. At 69 years of age, he was ready to welcome the shift in life -- and both he and Smith have acknowledged that they have been talking about him stepping down for several months. He intends to write a book about his 40 years in racing, and continue -- for as long as it lasts -- the reality show he now is a part of on the SPEED cable network.

He simply wanted to stay on as a consultant through the 2009 running of the Coca-Cola 600, which would have marked the 50th anniversary of the race. Smith apparently was fine with that, but not with giving Wheeler more than the $12,500 per month in deferred compensation that already had been promised for the next 10 years.

Smith has said that he has been good to Humpy over the years, and it's obviously true. Wheeler made more than $1.185 million in 2007, according to SMI's annual report (which is public because it is a publicly traded company) -- and he owns options on 151,000 shares of SMI stock.

Wheeler wanted more from the company that he helped build into one which has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion. He thought he deserved it, and truthfully he probably did.

He certainly didn't deserve the digs Smith threw at him when Smith chose to point out that Wheeler was initially opposed to such out-of-the-box ideas as placing condominiums in Turn 1 at LMS or adding what has become the popular Speedway Club restaurant. If Smith felt the need to point those differences out, then he should have pointed out as well that it was Wheeler's idea to add lights at LMS -- and that it was Wheeler who drove the bus when it came to finding innovative ways to sell tickets.

In the end, it got messy over something silly. It was like too many divorces today, sullying the memories of all the good years the two had together.

The children are always the ones left to suffer the most in such situations. And in this case, the only child that really matters is Lowe's Motor Speedway, which is in need of a facelift and is, in fact, in the process of name-rights negotiations with Lowe's Home Improvement (the current deal expires at the end of this year).

If Marcus gets the call, let's hope Bruton's real child can usher the track into a new era of prosperity and glory. It's not a given.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer