I apologize for posting this in Sports Talk since driving a car really is not a sport, but they are thinking that the track is getting moved soon. This is going to screw Concord over pretty bad if it happens, and they are still reeling from the Phillip Morris plant closing - ouch.

I hope they move the track as far from Charlotte as possible.

http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/320783.html

10/16/2007 10:37:09 AM

That would suck for Concord -- I don't understand the point of just moving it elsewhere in Charlotte though.

You either like NASCAR or you don't. Nobody not "into" NASCAR will just casually go to a forever-long race just because it's nearby.

10/16/2007 10:48:11 AM

Quote :

"The council also asked Concord's Planning and Zoning Commission to consider amending the speedway's zoning to allow drag strips on the property -- the use the council had banned the previous week. The zoning board plans to address the issue at its meeting tonight."

i think i know how that meeting will go:

speaker: "all in favor of rezoning so we don't ROYALLY fuck this up?"

all: "AYE!"

seriously, i get tired of the race traffic, etc in charlotte. i hate the speed street fest they have every year in downtown charlotte. but i can't imagine the raceway just not existing in its current location. has concord not ever heard the phrase "don't bite the hand that feeds you?"

^people will always drive to races. now there'll just be more traffic on i-485 and the billy graham parkway on those weekends.

[Edited on October 16, 2007 at 10:50 AM. Reason : ^]

10/16/2007 10:48:36 AM

I love it - it is time to get the redneck contingent the fuck out of the charlotte area - it is a shame that they aren't planning on moving it somewhere out of state.

On a side note: It would be a lot of fun to have the kind of money Bruton Smith does. That is true "fuck you" money when you can just dish out $350M when someone pisses you off.

10/16/2007 10:52:15 AM

they'll still be in the "charlotte area"

just a different part, and one that will let him have his drag strip

i don't like racing, but i do think charlotte needs to keep some of its redneck-ness. it's part of the makeup of the city. pretty soon, it won't be anything but downtown investment bankers and their $5 beers. i lived there the first 19 years of my life and every time i come back, the place is yuppier and more and more trying to be like ATL.

10/16/2007 11:06:47 AM

Concord has royally fucked up.

I am not a big NASCAR fan in fact I only casually watch races.

If Bruton moves the track to another venue this would almost certainly cripple Concord if not Cabbarrus county.

NASCAR is a big part of the tax revenue in Concord. Also if the track moves to Gaston County, or another county it could have an affect on Teams shops in the area moving also.

NASCAR may be a redneck sport but it brings a bunch of tourism dollars to the region.

10/16/2007 11:12:22 AM

I have a little inside knowledge on this....

Statesville is being considered a top spot to move the track so that is just right up I-77.

Also places are lining up offers if and when Smith does decide to move. One place has offered the land for free and they also said they would do all the grading, digging, leveling out for them. So finding a new place is not going to be difficult. They are NOT leaving NC.

10/16/2007 11:27:41 AM

he wont leave

he is just blowing smoke out of his ass, even if he has the money to do it. Its just a scare tactic

10/16/2007 11:37:50 AM

I agree. I think this is just bluff and bluster on Bruton's part. I think Concord will realize what's at stake and act right.

10/16/2007 11:44:23 AM

Quote :

"I love it - it is time to get the redneck contingent the fuck out of the charlotte area - it is a shame that they aren't planning on moving it somewhere out of state. "

And the myopic viewpoint of the day award goes to...

I dont like NASCAR either, but I like the money that it brings to the area. Put the snobbery aside and look at the big picture. NASCAR brings billions of dollars into NC every year, and losing that revenue will decimate the local economy in that part of the state.

http://www.nccommerce.com/NR/rdonlyres/94B2380D-7DCE-420B-AD80-7787D3987A94/937/motorsportsbullets.pdf

10/16/2007 11:52:07 AM

I am yet to attend a race, and I had to give away my tickets for last weekend, since I didn't have my shots.

10/16/2007 12:02:27 PM

3+ weeks ago:

bruton started initial clearing and grading for the drag strip. he did it without a permit. the city council had a meeting and would not grant the permit because it was not zoned for it. bruton asked them to zone it that way, they refused.

2 weeks ago:

bruton said he'd move the fucking thing altogether if they didn't zone it for him.

1 week ago:

they voted and said the zoning was now approved after "doing more research into what a drag strip entailed and that it had nothing to do with his threat." yeah right, that track brings $640 million annually to concord.

today:

bruton said this morning, as reported on the charlotte radio stations, that he was 90% sure he is going to move the fucking thing anyway, because he's still pissed at concord.

everyone i've talked to, and the different drivers and team owners that have been interviewed about it say that they truly believe that he will do it and that it's not bluff and bluster.

we'll see.

[Edited on October 16, 2007 at 12:05 PM. Reason : *]

10/16/2007 12:04:59 PM

I like how he is going to demolish the whole fucking thing if he moves. I don't like Neckcar but I like Bruton. He really doesn't care.

He probably should have informed the city that he was planning to build a huge dragstrip. However he didn't have to unless current zoning laws explicitly forbid dragstrip construction.

The city should have probably informed him about the ban on dragstrips before they did it. Therefore, I'd be pissed too if I was building something on my private property and the city banned it after I spent thousands to millions to grade land for it.

10/16/2007 12:11:59 PM

if you think NASCAR brings in the rednecks, then you have no idea how much of a white trash extraganza an NHRA event would turn into. The drag strip attendees at Bristol makes the NASCAR crowd look sophisticated.

That being said, Lowes Motor Speedway isn't going anywhere. This is nothing more than a power move by Bruton Smith to let the city and county politicians know who really runs the area. Once they come to terms with realizing just how fucked up their tax revenue will become if they were to let the track leave, they'll gladly invite in the drag strip and the additional revenue it brings along with it.

10/16/2007 12:29:09 PM

Quote :

"3+ weeks ago: bruton started initial clearing and grading for the drag strip. he did it without a permit. the city council had a meeting and would not grant the permit because it was not zoned for it. bruton asked them to zone it that way, they refused. 2 weeks ago: bruton said he'd move the fucking thing altogether if they didn't zone it for him. 1 week ago: they voted and said the zoning was now approved after "doing more research into what a drag strip entailed and that it had nothing to do with his threat." yeah right, that track brings $640 million annually to concord. today: bruton said this morning, as reported on the charlotte radio stations, that he was 90% sure he is going to move the fucking thing anyway, because he's still pissed at concord. everyone i've talked to, and the different drivers and team owners that have been interviewed about it say that they truly believe that he will do it and that it's not bluff and bluster. we'll see."

The thing to remember about Bruton Smith is that he is an asshole that will get what he wants and will take out all obstacles if it stands in his way to make money.

This is no different than a sports team owner saying "build us a new stadium or we're moving to some other city." The only difference is that instead of the public not willing to put up money, they're not willing to rezone land.

Races are highly profitable for communities. As opposed to Bank of America Stadium for the Panthers or the Bobcats Arena, racing facilities were all built with 100% private money, never cost taxpayers anything to build them, and the only costs to government are police for the event. Plus, the area gets a ton of money from all the fans/tourists. Concord would be stupid to give that up. I read a sports business study that said the five most profitable sporting events one year for economic impact were:

1. Indianapolis 500
2. Daytona 500
3. Brickyard 400
4. the Super Bowl that year (which was in Atlanta)
5. United States Grand Prix (which at the time was in Indianapolis)

Bruton will win and then the Concord City Council will apologize to Bruton for forcing him to threaten to leave.

If the city of Concord don't want the drag strip, then they're pretty much saying they think Bruton is bluffing at taking away the races. That's 3 race weekends that draw 400,000 to 500,000 fans total from all across the South. While it would cost Bruton a lot of money to move, I think he would move just to make a point of "don't piss me off" for future relations with racetrack communities if he doesn't get his drag strip approved.

[Edited on October 16, 2007 at 1:49 PM. Reason : .]

10/16/2007 1:29:13 PM

Quote :

"The thing to remember about Bruton Smith is that he is an asshole that will get what he wants and will take out all obstacles if it stands in his way to make money."

Yes indeed. He has bought several tracks just so he could shut them down in order to have races at his new tracks. Here in north carolina North Wilksboro, which the track is just sitting there now rotting away.

10/16/2007 1:43:44 PM

^ On the bright side, he just auctioned off Rockingham, and it was bought by Andy Hillenberg, a former race car driver that wants to bring back racing to the Sandhills.

10/16/2007 1:45:36 PM

Concord has gotten a little big headed over the last few years, it is good for them to go down a couple pegs. Between losing textile mills, cigarettes, and now Nascar - they would quickly return back to their Gastonia/Shelby-like status and hopefully reduce some traffic on 85 for me

10/16/2007 1:51:02 PM

Haha, best suggestion I've read so far. Posting it here:

Quote :

"I would suggest he does what Bill France always did in Daytona. First you hire some good private investigators and every council member that voted against the plan you dig up as much dirt on as you can, everyone has skeletons of some kind. Next you run your own canidates that are in your pocket against them while spreading the dirt about the ones that are against you. Bribing politicians is allot cheaper then moving race tracks."

10/16/2007 1:52:39 PM

beergolftile you are as ignorant as the most redneck of all rednecks at any race I have encountered.

10/16/2007 1:53:19 PM

Quote :

" apologize for posting this in Sports Talk since driving a car really is not a sport, "

FUCK YOU

10/16/2007 2:05:19 PM

Bruton Smith interview on Primetime with the Packman:

http://podcast.wfnz.com/wfnz/714676.mp3

Humpy Wheeler on same program (Humpy is the promoter):

http://podcast.wfnz.com/wfnz/714674.mp3

These people in the picture below are just idiots. That's like building on the coast and being in shock you have hurricane damage one day.



[Edited on October 16, 2007 at 2:25 PM. Reason : afdd]

10/16/2007 2:16:42 PM

good thing there is absolutely no sarcasm in what i posted

i tried to troll with a bit of subtlety but i guess i was too subtle for today's sports talk users.

10/16/2007 2:25:28 PM

Quote :

"Also if the track moves to Gaston County, or another county it could have an affect on Teams shops in the area moving also. "

I'd shit my pants if it moved to Gaston, or dare I say, Lincoln County.

10/16/2007 3:37:22 PM

Smith should just move around to each county surrounding Meck then all the shitholes around charlotte will have money come in to boost their economies.

10/16/2007 3:40:59 PM

being a resident of concord for my entire life I am very concerned about this. Especially on the heels of losing phillip morris, losing lowes motor speedway would really hurt the economy. I think that Concord has grown enough to the point that Concord Mills and the surrounding area would not suffer as largely as first thought but the hotel owners and small business and, depending on the new track location, Concord Regional Airport would all suffer a hit.

I know a few insiders for the teams and they've said team relocation would probably be the last thing to happen especially since many of the teams have expanded and moved into new facilities over the past 5 years. But that being said is nothing compared to losing the 600, allstar, 500 and the associated weekend races,the dirttrack, the legends circuits, and everything else that the speedway hosts during the offweeks.

I live about 5 miles from the track, not near the dragstrip location but still close enough. The residents of concord went off halfcocked during their protest of this. Their ignorance and the fact that the mayor, Scott Padgett, has little-man syndrome are enough that I believe every bit of Bruton Smith's threats. I am hoping tonight's meeting and the final meeting on the 24th will draw conclusions that will allow cooler heads to prevail and news that the speedway will stay.

I would sacrifice knowing that Bruton Smith has control over Concord for the revenue and continuous growth that the speedway and NASCAR gives our economy.

10/16/2007 3:59:06 PM

I would really LOL if he moved the damn thing about 1000 yards to the southwest into Mecklenburg county. Hahaha - then he could save on rebuilding costs and demo and laugh at Cabarrus county from atop the bleachers. That would be the ultimate insult...

10/16/2007 4:17:20 PM

Quote :

"I live about 5 miles from the track, not near the dragstrip location but still close enough. The residents of concord went off halfcocked during their protest of this. Their ignorance and the fact that the mayor, Scott Padgett, has little-man syndrome are enough that I believe every bit of Bruton Smith's threats. I am hoping tonight's meeting and the final meeting on the 24th will draw conclusions that will allow cooler heads to prevail and news that the speedway will stay. I would sacrifice knowing that Bruton Smith has control over Concord for the revenue and continuous growth that the speedway and NASCAR gives our economy."

The problem is that these residents are NIMBY's and Johnny-come-lately's that don't think about the area economy because their livelihood is not dependent on the area economy and are instead perturbed that they don't live in a quiet suburb.

I hate the suburbs.

10/16/2007 5:43:25 PM

Quote :

"I have a little inside knowledge on this.... Statesville is being considered a top spot to move the track so that is just right up I-77. "

it says in the article that he's looking at about 20 sites, all of which are within 18 miles of Charlotte Douglas.

you might think that he's blowing smoke, but think about it. Statesville's a long way away from charlotte, and he's not going to move the track an hour and half away from the state's largest airport.

10/17/2007 10:37:11 AM