You're probably right. Bruton actually bought his initial share from Jack Combs (who partnered with Enoch Staley to build the track). I'll have to go back over some info though, because while it's clear Smith and Bahre bought their shares with the sole intention of closing the track, I could have sworn there was a time early in the process where Staley was led to believe that would not happen.
If there was, I was unaware of it. If anything, the scuttlebutt around Wilkesboro was based on false hope. The track owners had been approached several times by Smith but Staley made it clear long before his death he would never sell to Smith and it had nothing to do with removing the date. As soon as Smith heard Staley had died, Jack Combs was approached and negotiations begun for his share. One year later, Mike Staley sold the Staley Family' 50% share in the track to Bahre.
One thing that is pretty certain is Bruton had it out for Mike Staley in the end, and let his family's track rot away for 14 years. He and Wilkes County undoubtedly got the shaft as far as that goes. To my knowledge, the group led by Terri Parsons has not officially bought the track yet. Here's to hoping they will, and can do so without incident.
Yes, Smith was upset with Mike Staley. Smith apparently figured once Jack sold his 50%, Mike would follow. What Smith did not count on was Mike following in his father's footsteps in regard to his distrust for Smith. Ergo, a year later, the Staley Family sold their share to Bahre.
I know in my lifetime, I have felt that way about doing business with some people but then, there are always the others as well.
In early 1980, I met a property owner sitting at a bar. I sat alongside him, bought him a beer and expressed interest in buying a commercial property he had for sale.
We spoke for twenty or thirty minutes and after some token dickering, agreed on price. HAving done some preliminary checking, I knew how much he was asking and, as expected, he refused to budge. To consummate the deal, I handed him several thousand dollars in cash to cover the ten percent deposit. We shook hands, never had any preliminary papers drawn nor did I speak to him again until 7 a.m. on the morning of the closing and there was not one question raised during the closing.
For some reason, I don't think I would have done that or any deal with Bruton Smith.
