Race Weekend Central

Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off: How a Smith (Not Bruton) is Making Life Easy for NASCAR Fans

The stock car racing community was shocked this May by longtime Charlotte promoter Humpy Wheeler’s abrupt departure from the SMI fold. When Bruton Smith named his own son Marcus to replace Wheeler, fans got a little nervous. I mean, when Bill France appointed his son Brian to run (or ruin) NASCAR. that didn’t go so well, right?

Brian France began his tenure with a series of major changes to the sport; the rush to implement the Car of Horror, schedule changes and the much-maligned Chase. Other NASCAR officials now admit the series made too many changes – that too many fans found unpalatable – too fast. Fortunately, it seems Marcus Smith is taking a different tact. Rather than setting out for new frontiers, he’s chosen to continue an initiative Humpy Wheeler started a few years back – he’s trying to make attending a race at Charlotte more affordable for the blue-collar fans that are the backbone of this sport.

For out of town fans, one of the biggest hits to the wallet on any race weekend is lodging. In recent years, hotels and motels have routinely jacked their per night rates on race weekends, imposing burdensome minimum stays of three and even four nights. Often, fans left hotel rooms they’d already paid for vacant on Sunday nights so they could get back to work on Monday.

But now, that trip to wherever you work should include a little extra cash in your wallet. With the cooperation of the Charlotte Regional Visitor’s Authority, Smith has been able to line up 35 hotels within 30 miles of the track that have agreed to drop their “race weekend” rates 15%. In addition, they’ve agreed to eliminate the minimum stay requirements; that second provision will likely save fans more coin than the price reduction, as a lot of fans want to drive down for the Nationwide race on Friday stay in town overnight for the Cup event then head home after the race.

Admittedly, the move by the hospitality industry isn’t pure altruism on the part of the participating hotels, who were used to seeing 90% occupancy rates on race weekends. As the price of gas, concerns about their jobs and the mortgage crises conspire to keep more fans at home on the couch, occupancy rates on race weekends have dipped to 70%. By dropping their minimum stays and lowering their rates, those 35 hotels are obviously hoping to get a bigger portion of the visiting fans to stay with them. That likely will force other hotels to follow suit in the future.

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The move is also necessary for SMI, the owners of the speedway. Outside of racing circles, Marcus Smith in an unknown commodity. Since Wheeler’s unexpected, lamentable and hasty departure, SMI stock prices have dropped precipitously. Investors are worried about declining ticket sales and the huge amount of money Burton Smith paid to buy the racetracks in Kentucky and New Hampshire. SMI needs to show investors that management realizes these are tough economic times and they are willing to roll up their sleeves and do something to put more butts in the stands.

At the same time, the Speedway is offering a special ticket package for fans. For $159, fans get four seats in the Diamond Tower (off turn 2) and coupons for four hot dogs and four bottles of Coke.

Look at the math. Say you live 250 miles from Charlotte. You and three buddies throw in to get the special package. For $40 each, you have your seat and a snack. (And unlike some other tracks, you are each free to bring a decent size cooler for your beer or water.) A 500-mile round trip in a vehicle that holds the four of you and averages 20 mpg adds up to 25 gallons of gas. At $4 a gallon, that’s another $100 split four ways.

Grand total coast of attending the race is $65 which I find reasonable – even if it isn’t cheap. (Just be sure to bring along a designated driver, or the cost of the weekend could dramatically increase for one unlucky attendee.)

Unfortunately, SMI and the Smiths can only address half of the big picture. $65 is $65. For that amount of money, I can cruise the Harley about 2,500 miles, stopping in for a sandwich and a libation occasionally to celebrate another nice ride. The question posed for my four mythical friends was is the race they’re going to see going to be worth $65, or is it going to be another processional parade of the Winged Blunder cars cruising around until things heat up in the last 20 laps?

Even if they let you in some of the races for free this year, they wouldn’t have been worth enduring – see Indy. That’s an issue Brian France is going to have to address, not the Smiths – though I’m sure our friend Bruton might have some pretty pointed suggestions on how to make the racing better. That’s one press conference I’d gladly pay $65 to watch.

For more information, visit the Lowes Motor Speedway’s website

About the author

Matt joined Frontstretch in 2007 after a decade of race-writing, paired with the first generation of racing internet sites like RaceComm and Racing One. Now semi-retired, he submits occasional special features while his retrospectives on drivers like Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, and other fallen NASCAR legends pop up every summer on Frontstretch. A motorcycle nut, look for the closest open road near you and you can catch him on the Harley during those bright, summer days in his beloved Pennsylvania.

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