Bruton Tells It Like It Is

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Interesting article from Dustin Long.....

Bruton Smith spouts off on drivers in general, Dale Jr. in particular and maybe dumping the Chase

Agree or disagree with Bruton Smith, it's hard to ignore the man who heads Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns such tracks as Charlotte, Atlanta, Bristol, Las Vegas, Texas, Infineon Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He's outspoken. He's fought NASCAR. He's challenged drivers. He's outraged fans and also earned their cheers for his ideas, some quite unique.



Friday, he sat down with a small group of reporters and talked about various issues in the sport from the racing, to the need for rivalries, to Dale Jr.'s lack of success, to possibly dumping the Chase, and when Cup might race at Kentucky Speedway.



Smith also is not afraid to be blunt as the case when asked about the need for rivalries in Cup. "You just need a lot of drivers with a pair,'' he said. "That's all it takes. We need rubbing, somebody that is not afraid to stand on it or do a little rubbing and bumping. You've got some of them out there. You've got Tony (Stewart). He's good. You don't need a bunch of Goody 2-shoes out there that's being concerned about everything. The greatest thing in the world right now is if Sunday when the race is over Jimmie Johnson got out of the car and slapped somebody. That would sell a lot of tickets. That's the kind of stuff I would like to see. And NASCAR has been doing things the right way for a change. I've been preaching this for three years to see a softer side of NASCAR (by not issuing fines and penalites for confrontations).''



When asked if the sport needed Jeff Gordon (or someone else) to win a race other than Jimmie Johnson, Smith brought up Dale Jr.'s name but questioned what the driver has done.



"Jeff Gordon is great for us,'' Smith said. "He's very popular. His souvenir sales are better than a lot. Not equal to Dale Jr. We'd like to see Dale Jr. win a race for a change. That would be great. Get him focused and we'll see him win. He's not focused yet.''



Asked how he sees that Dale Earnhardt Jr. might not be focused, Smith replies: "He's not winning.''



Bruton Smith also says he's confident that all the legal issues around Kentucky Speedway will be finished in time so NASCAR can award a Cup date to that track for next year. Does he know where the date will come from? He says, yes. So where? He won't say.



He does offer a suggestion on how to give Las Vegas a second date but it would require taking one race away from International Speedway Corp (the track company run by the France family) and would seem doubtful because it likely would impact ISC stockholders negatively. Bruton's idea is this:



"You move Home-and-stead (Homestead), that last race, to Las Vegas. That would be good for the sport. Then you take one of the events from California to Home-and-stead. Now you've got a winner. It's great for the sport. It will work. Naturally, the big winner will be Speedway Motorsports (Bruton's company), but we do things that build NASCAR. As Billy France said to me in New York (years ago), "Help me build NASCAR,' and I laughed like hell. I said, "Bill, what do you think I've been doing for the past 25 years.' That's what we've got to be doing is build NASCAR. Sometimes, it looks like we lost our way, and I don't think we have.''



Bruton stressed again his desire for NASCAR to change the purse structure so there is a much greater difference between first-place money and the rest of the field to encourage drivers to take those extra chances to win races. He does not like the concept of points racing and says the sport should put half the point fund money into the purses to make it about winning instead of running for a title.



Asked if he would dump the Chase, Bruton said: "I'm not saying that we do yet, but that might be in the future because we've got to get rid of this point racing crap. If it takes that, then do it. Let's make racing better. Let's put the money out there and they go racing.''



Also, don't get him started, though, on teams that start and park.



"That's a ... disgrace,'' he said. "



Asked if the sport needs a 43-car field, Bruton said: "Not if they start and park.''
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http://hamptonroads.com/2010/03/bru...al-dale-jr-particular-and-maybe-dumping-chase
 
I would rather see tracks like Kentucky and Gateway get a date period before any more present Cup tracks get a 2nd date.
 
If Smith wants drivers to start running into each other then he can pay for the repair bills.
 
Its not just what he wants. NASCAR told the drivers to be more aggressive, to get into each other, before Daytona. They all still seem a tad timid about it though.

One thing I agree with is that NASCAR needs a rivalry. Some started brewing last year, 2 started and thrived in the Nationwide series but didn't really carry over(Hamlin v. Keselowski and Kyle Busch vs. Vickers), and another still gets name dropped in Logano v. Biffle.

If history is any indication, I imagine when Dibenedetto-the next generation of JGR drivers-eventually makes his part time Cup debut(and full time Nationwide debut), which should be next year, he will find someone to feud with.
 
I never thought I would ever agree with Bruton Smith about anything. I hated what he did with North Wilkesboro, basically holding the track hostage after stripping it of its race dates. I always thought of him as a money grubbing S.O.B., but he has done a lot with the sport to help make it grow. He has a great race promoter mentality as well as business sense, but I never knew he was so passionate about the actual racing side. He made some really great comment in the interview, some of them would be tremendous for NASCAR racing. I never heard the argument about the purses put like that, indeed more money to win and less points for 5th place would make each race a dogfight.

I always went to C.M.S. cause the racing was good and exciting, and it was like a festival during May Speedweeks.If you have only one race to go to, I suggest camping out at C.M.S for Speedweeks in May. Bruton and Humpy Wheeler need a place in the Hall of fame sometime, after all the racing greats have been entered in.
 
I think Bruton was holding back a little on Junior. He could have gone a little further----he is not focused and "he sucks." He has a name, and nothing else.
 
brian s said:
I think Bruton was holding back a little on Junior. He could have gone a little further----he is not focused and "he sucks." He has a name, and nothing else.
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I am tired of the Junior bashing. I agree he is not focused, but a Daytona 500 winner and winner of 18 career cup races as well as 2 Busch Series titles does not suck.
 
Come on...his success (or lack thereof) is based on name, not merit. Most anything he has won is based soley because NASCAR needs him more than he needs NASCAR. He has the best equipment(always had), and still is average at best. His fan base is so large, NASCAR can not afford for him to always run in the back of the pack. Stats do not mean much...look at Biffle...he has 14 wins, 2 Truck Titles, 1 Busch/Nationwide, has been in the Cup series 3 less years than Jr. Does he get the publicity Jr. gets? Not even close.

Daytona 500 winner? So is Wes Burton and Derrick Cope. Hell, so is Michael Waltrip for that matter....does that mean they are great?
 
Wow,I didn't know you could buy wins or Busch championships.Why isn't everyone doing it ? I always thought it was in part a testament to the racing abliity of the other 42 drivers that Jr. as great as he is, didn't win every week.Those are some pretty good teams that are beating him.Perhaps if we all get behind blockracing,we can watch him go to the front.
 
ted@economy said:
Wow,I didn't know you could buy wins or Busch championships.Why isn't everyone doing it ? I always thought it was in part a testament to the racing abliity of the other 42 drivers that Jr. as great as he is, didn't win every week.Those are some pretty good teams that are beating him.Perhaps if we all get behind blockracing,we can watch him go to the front.
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Why does every thread have to be about Jr and his fall into mediocrity?

Anyways, Bruton is right. The drivers are much too nice to each other.
 
Wow Ted, glad you stay classy and take a shot at my racing team. I could go to your level, but I will take the high road. All I was discussing was he is overrated, has the best equipment, and does not do much with it. That is my opinion. If you do not like it, no problem. State yours, but no need to bash me. Yes, I do race and yes I am struggling like all local drivers.
 
brian s said:
Wow Ted, glad you stay classy and take a shot at my racing team. I could go to your level, but I will take the high road. All I was discussing was he is overrated, has the best equipment, and does not do much with it. That is my opinion. If you do not like it, no problem. State yours, but no need to bash me. Yes, I do race and yes I am struggling like all local drivers.
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I think the problem with Jr. was that he didn't have to fight his way to the Cup. Drivers who are looking to make a name for themselves and get into Nationwide, Trucks or Sprint usually have to work their way to the top, paying in sweat, blood and tears. Jr., because of his dad had doors opened to him that weren't open to drivers like Johnson or Jeff Gordon. Basically everything was handed to him. I think if he had to work for everything like other drivers did, we'd see a more focused Jr.
 
Jr. didnt have anything handed to him. He worked his way up. He didnt start running in the Busch series until he was 21. He didnt start racing in Cup until he was 25.
 
Spike said:
Jr. didnt have anything handed to him. He worked his way up. He didnt start running in the Busch series until he was 21. He didnt start racing in Cup until he was 25.
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you are being sarcastic, right?
 
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