Criticism
Smith purchased a half-interest in the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway with Bob Bahre in 1996. The Speedway was the first to hold a NASCAR race, and was a popular track with many fans due to its history and the short track, which provided many chances for the "bumping" and "banging" associated with the early days of the sport. However, Smith and Bahre created a controversy when, citing the Speedway's age, lack of modern amenities, and relatively small stadium area, they decided to transfer its two Winston Cup events to Bahre's New Hampshire International Speedway and Smith's Texas Motor Speedway. This move came under criticism from many NASCAR traditionalists, who felt that Smith was moving NASCAR away from its small-town roots in North Carolina, and that he was slighting smaller-venue short tracks, which traditionalists believe better reflect the history of the sport, in favor of the large tracks which allow more fans but provide a less-intimate fan experience. The process of moving NASCAR races away from smaller but historic tracks in the small-town South to much larger tracks nationwide continues to be a source of controversy.
Other criticisms of Smith stem from controversies involving his other speedways. When Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured there was a series of hard crashes in March 1998 and in several race weekends thereafter. His Lowe's Motor Speedway underwent a process called "levigation" for 2005 but the result was a NASCAR-record 22 cautions, mostly for crashes, in the Coca-Cola 600. The initial two seasons of Texas Motor Speedway were riddled with multicar crashes that led to some speculation (reported on ESPN at the time) the track would lose its NASCAR dates. That Smith owns so many speedways is also a target of criticism from fans who feel independent track owners should not be crowded out of the sport.
Read more about this topic: Bruton Smith
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