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.
1960 World 600 winner Joe Lee Johnson joins Bruton Smith and Curtis
Turner in victory lane.
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. The Smith Tower
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.
Under the watchful eye of Smith and direction of Wheeler, in 1984 Lowe's
Motor Speedway became the only sports facility in America to offer
year-round living accommodations when it built 40 condominiums high
above turn one. Twelve additional condominium units were added in 1991.
Under the lights!
Another innovation implemented by Smith and Wheeler was a $1.7 million,
1,200-fixture permanent lighting system developed by MUSCO Lighting of
Oskaloosa, Iowa. The revolutionary lighting process uses mirrors to
simulate daylight without glare, shadows or obtrusive light poles.
The lighting system was installed in 1992, allowing Lowe's Motor
Speedway to be the first modern superspeedway to host night auto racing.
Ever cognizant of the competitors as well as the spectators, Smith and
Wheeler added a new $1 million, 20,000-square-foot NEXTEL Cup garage
area in 1994.
Other additions and improvements include the development of the
speedway's 2,000-plus acres. In addition to the speedway, the property,
some of which is leased, includes an industrial park that serves as home
to several motorsports-related businesses, a modern landfill facility
operated by BFI and a natural wildlife habitat.
In addition to the 1.5-mile quad oval, the Lowe's Motor Speedway complex
includes a 2.25-mile road course and a six-tenths-mile karting layout in
the speedway's infield; a quarter-mile asphalt oval utilizing part of
the speedway's frontstretch and pit road; and a one-fifth-mile oval
located outside turn three of the superspeedway.
Richard Petty Driving Experience
Three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events, two NASCAR Busch Series races and
a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event are among the major events held on
the 1.5-mile superspeedway. The Richard Petty Driving Experience and the
Fast Track High Performance Driving School and the also use the track
extensively throughout the year.
Other events on the various tracks include a weekly, nationally
televised short-track series for Legends Cars, Bandoleros and Thunder
Roadsters; World Karting Association regional, national and
international races.
In May 2000, a state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile clay oval The Dirt
Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway?was completed across Highway 29 from the
speedway. The stadium-style facility has nearly 15,000 seats and plays
host to the Dirt Late Model, Modifieds, Sprint Cars, Monster Truck and
more. Corporations such as Lowe's Home Improvement, Coca-Cola, Miller
Brewing, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and DuPont have rented the speedway to
film television commercials or to entertain employees and clients with
food, music and race car rides.
Motion pictures such as "Days of Thunder," "Speedway" and "Stroker Ace"
and even music videos like Tracy Lawrence's "If the Good Die Young" have
been filmed at the speedway. Adding to rental dates are race team
testing and automobile manufacturer research.
Lowe's Motor Speedway also annually presents two of the nation's largest
car shows and swap meets?the Food Lion AutoFairs in April and September.
With track rentals and track events, the speedway is used more than 300
days per year.
