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Concord, PLEASE Don't Be Stupid!

Seriously, don't mess with Bruton Smith. I know that he's being a bit ridiculous and over the top and is behaving like a very pouty kid who's ready to take his marbles and go home...but that's irrelevant.

If you're not a NASCAR fan, you may have missed the brouhaha. Bruton Smith (who is big time in NASCAR, owns several tracks, etc) was getting started on building a drag strip for NHRA-sanctioned events. Concord decided to fix him, but good, by changing the zoning to disallow drag strips.

So Bruton, in great dramatic fashion, announced that he wants to un-annex the Lowe's Motor Speedway properties from Concord and he'll go find another location in Charlotte on which to build a speedway. It will only cost him $350 million (truly, that's pocket change to Bruton).

Um, Concord, get real. If Bruton wants to pull our two NASCAR races and kill the track, HE CAN. He owns them, not you. I know that your pride is hurt and your zoning board is mad, and you have residential neighborhoods fighting this drag strip.

Heck, I won't even argue that he hasn't handled the drag strip planning well-he certainly should be providing information to homeowners about the number of expected events at the drag strip and the noise expectations. But again, that's irrelevant.

We, as a community, can NOT afford to mess around with racing. It's our lifeblood. It's 70% of our tourism dollars. It's jobs. It's homes. It's considerably more difficult to consider replacing NASCAR events than to replace the corporate campus of Philip Morris.

Suck it up. Swallow that pride. And do WHATEVER you have to do to make Bruton happy. The homeowners in Ridge Crossing and Riverwalk would surely agree that noise twice a year is better than a black hole in our local economy.

Posted by Leigh Brown Charlotte NC Broker/Owner on 10/03/2007 07:53 PM

Comments (15)

drag strip concord, bruton smith, nascar, concord nc, moving lowes motor speedway, lowes motor speedway, philip morris, nhra

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15 Comments on Concord, PLEASE Don't Be Stupid!

OCT

2007

I love NASCAR and that is why I moved here back in the early 90's. I also liked drag racing but it was not around here, until I learned about Rockingham then things keep changing. I have lost touch with NASCAR and drag racing so I did not know about this happening out there. Thanks for the update.

Bruton's getting up in years. Humor him a little. LoL! Glad to see you haven't lot your humor!

OCT

2007

Leigh - You are correct! Did it get handled well? NO, not on either side! Bruton knows how to properly plan and build something. He knows the proper procedure, yadda, yadda.

Now Concord...should they have had the knee jerk reaction of changing zoning that was already zoned before the neighborhoods were built??? No!

In a perfect world, both sides will step back and take a deep breathe. We can't afford to lose tobacco and racing. I can't even fathom it. Now let's make nice and move on. Afterall, drag racing is one more thing to put on localism! Ha ha

OCT

2007

I'm not a NASCAR fan by any means but I am sure if he pulls out it would have a major impact on the area.

I don't think Concord realizes what their doing! someone over their is letting battle of the egos get in the way of a great financial decision. Oh well, Bruton can come to Statesville!!!! We have an airport and lots of land.

I honestly don't think he's going to move-there's no way to replace this location, plus he's invested in everything around Concord Mills. It's more likely a publicity stunt to sell tickets for the race next weekend and for the May race...

Spoken like a true advocate for your town! Leigh, I'm starting to wonder if REALTORS shouldn't be involved in city and county negotiations as well! Heavens knows they needs some arms length negotiators who can put egos behind and get "the right thing" done for their communities!

OCT

2007

It is funny what happens when pride or egos get involved! I hope it works out.

OCT

2007

Leigh, this truly is going to be interesting to watch! While I feel for the neighbors, I am wondering if the land wasn't already zoned for a drag strip as it sounds like the town changed the zoning in order to stop him. Anyway, I agree with you. If Concord doesn't chill-out they may loose out!

Leigh, your political interests only enhance your real estate expertise! My brother in law is a NASCAR mechanic, but I don't follow it. Thanks for sharing the information. I've been to Concord Mills many times, but still not to a race!

OCT

2007

Leigh - Great photo! I have my fingers crossed for your community that Concord does the right thing.

Leigh, That has got to be the funniest photo ever! I agree, Bruton Smith is acting like a petulant child, but he does own the dog-gone thing. I'm not a NASCAR fan, I'll admit, but I do love those tourism dollars and it always amazes me then I have customers who will actually move here from other states just to be in "NASCAR Country". I, like you, do think that Bruton is trying to fan the flames a little bit. (remember the tree cutting incident a couple of years ago?) He has a penchant for the dramatic.

Leigh, the MIS ( Michigan International Speedway ) is only a few miles from our lake cottage. It is a HUGE deal, more people 6 weekends out of the year than you can imagine. We have to leave on Mondays to get out of there. Hope it works out.

I've never been to a race. LOL

I think everyone should go to at least one NASCAR race in their lifetime-it's spectacular for people-watching if nothing else.

I'm really disappointed in the leadership in Concord, they still haven't given in and now lawyers are getting involved.

OCT

2007

From what I've seen of all this, the city council made a spontaneous decision and now we all may have to live with it.Most people familiar with this area is aware, the speedway was in it's present location loooong before houses where built anywhere close. Most of the local businesses have been built in this area due to the fact that the speedway is located there. All businesses expand if they are see the possiblity available, and as we all know, Bruton loves to expand. The people that moved around the speedway should take there lumps and thank Bruton for making the area worth a lot more money than it was originally worth. In case we do lose the speedway, I hope that this small group of homes is going to keep ALL these businesses going and put the MILLIONS of dollars a back into Concord like Bruton has, along with paying all the taxes(which if he leaves will end up coming out of ALL of our pockets).

I just had an even better thought I wish Bruton would go around and buy all these houses and land, demolish the homes and then he could build 2 drag strips without all the whining.

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