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Lowe's Motor Speedway
Lowe's Motor Speedway was designed and built in 1959 by current chairman O. Bruton Smith. The late Curtis Turner, one of stock car racing's earliest driving stars, was Smith's business partner.
At the time Smith, a native of Oakboro, N.C., was an automobile dealer and short-track stock car racing promoter at Concord Motor Speedway and the Charlotte Fairgrounds. Turner, a Virginian who amassed his money in the lumber industry, became one of the first drivers on the NASCAR circuit after the sanctioning body debuted in 1949.
Together, they built their dream of a 1.5-mile superspeedway on the outskirts of The Queen City and, on June 19, 1960, the first World 600 was run at the new facility.
In 1961, like many superspeedways of the era, the track fell into Chapter 11 reorganization from which it eventually emerged despite lagging ticket sales.
After his departure from the speedway in 1962, Smith pursued other business interests in Texas and Illinois. Working within Ford Motor Company's dealership program, Smith became quite successful and began purchasing shares of stock in Lowe's Motor Speedway. By 1975 Smith had again become the majority stockholder in the speedway, regaining control of its day-to-day operations.
He hired current president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler as general manager and the two began to implement plans for needed improvements and expansion.
During the ensuing years, Smith and Wheeler demonstrated a commitment to customer satisfaction, building a facility that continuously established new industry standards.
Thousands of grandstand seats and luxury suites were built. Food concessions and restroom facilities were added and modernized to increase the comfort of race fans.
Smith Tower, a 135,000-square-foot, seven-story facility connected to the speedway's grandstands, was erected and opened in 1988. The building houses the speedway's corporate offices, ticket office, souvenir gift shop, leased office space and The Speedway Club, an exclusive dining and entertainment facility.
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