LMS track president Smith found true calling (cont'd)

Q: Have you spoken to him much since that day?

Smith: What was so neat was that last May it sort of came full circle, with him coming back to the speedway. Our [initial] conversation took place about 15 years ago. I hadn't seen him since, but I sent him a note and invited him to come to the Coca-Cola 600 and say the [pre-race] prayer and give chapel before the race with Motor Racing Outreach. He accepted and it was a really, really special thing for me to kind of have that full-circle event happen.

Learning on the job

Marcus Smith, president and chief operating officer of Lowe's Motor Speedway, explained recently how he has added another description to his string of titles -- that of student.

• More

Q: Is Franklin a race fan?

Smith: He's a really big race fan. His dad is, too. My dad and I had a chance to go and meet Billy Graham at his home up in the North Carolina mountains not too long ago with another friend. And he told us he watches the races every weekend, so that was kind of cool.

But Franklin is a real adventurist. He gets out and flies his own airplanes, rides motorcycles. This guy is always living on the edge and has some pretty neat stories.

Q: Do they have favorite drivers they follow?

Smith: I'm sure they do. Actually, Franklin participated with Kyle [Petty] on the charity ride this year. I thought that was pretty cool, and I had no idea about that until I chatted with [Franklin] in May.

Q: Speaking of fans, could you talk about some of the fan initiatives you've launched recently in an effort to bring them closer to the action at Lowe's Motor Speedway?

Smith: From a broad base, the No. 1 focus for me is really delivering on the promise that our sport has made to the fans -- to be the most fan-friendly sport in the world, and to allow real, meaningful access for our fans in special areas to see their favorite athletes. I don't think any other sport has made that pledge to their fans, so they don't really owe it and I don't see it happening anywhere else in the world of sports. So we're not trying to keep up with anybody; it's really about making good on that promise to fans. For me, that's a huge passion and it mostly involves just doing what we say we're going to do.

Q: Such as?

Smith: Having things like when we have our press conferences, we invite fans to come in. Everybody who has bought tickets with us is invited to come in. We take reservations and the first 20 or 30 or 40, however we have room for, get to come out and hang out at the press conference with us. Afterward they usually get pictures and autographs.

It's such an amazing thing to be able to meet these fans when they drive in from hundreds of miles away in some cases, literally, just to participate in a press conference one afternoon with their favorite race car drivers. It's really inspiring and humbling at the same time that our fans are so passionate about our sport.

We're doing more things this coming weekend. We have a new program called the Victory Lane Club, which is for all fans that buy tickets to each of the three Sprint Cup weekends at Lowe's Motor Speedway. They've all been invited to come join my dad and I, along with a couple of other folks, in the Nationwide Series garage for a brunch that morning [of the Cup event]. We'll have pancakes and bacon and eggs, and we'll chit-chat with our Victory Lane Club. They get special access because of their loyalty to the speedway.

And we've got all sorts of other things going on that we're rolling out for this weekend. We've got more music concerts than we've ever had before -- we've got country, rock, contemporary Christian music all happening at the track before the race on Saturday. Everybody who has a ticket is invited and welcome, and will have access to the infield as well as outside the gates to take part in these events.

Q: Have you found that what Franklin offered you as advice many years ago has served you well, that you can use your current position to reach people and share your strong faith?

Smith: Well, you know, I would say what I've found is that if you're a Christian you can live your life -- and your life is kind of the Bible that folks will read before they ever ask you about your faith. No Christian is perfect; we're all far from it. It's during the tough times when folks are watching most closely to see how you're handling things.

I'm not running the speedway as a ministry per se. I'm just living my life, and if folks have questions, I have opportunities occasionally to share my story with people and it sometimes helps them out. If they ask, I enjoy telling them about it.