Concord Starts Retreat in LMS Dispute

Bruton Smith is a man who likes to grab attention.

So last week when the Concord, N.C. City Council voted to change the zoning of Lowe's Motor Speedway to eliminate a possible drag strip, he swung back -- and connected.

The CEO of Speedway Motorsports declared that he was ready to spend over $350 million and completely rebuild a new version of Lowe's Motor Speedway in another Charlotte suburb. That left NASCAR fans (including diehard LMS fans like myself), Concord city leaders, and Cabarrus County leaders all saying the same thing.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt?!"

I personally can't imagine the 1.5-miler south of Concord on Highway 29 as a boarded up, non-used ruin. That would be a sad day, even if a newer facility was built

Fortunately, Concord has changed their mind, and Smith might be stepping down -- a little bit.

Specifically, council members voted Tuesday to ask the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider amending the speedway's zoning to allow drag strips on the property -- a use that the City Council unanimously banned just last week.

In other words, Concord is getting out of their brain fade and realizing that no matter how bad it ethically seems, LMS does so much for the city and surrounding area that giving in is normally a better idea than not giving in.

Yes, you, as well as I, can start to breathe that slight sense of relief, for one of NASCAR's most-storied tracks is staying put for now.

At issue for Concord was Smith starting to play in the dirt on LMS property in what appears to be plans for a drag strip. Conveniently enough, the NHRA has left a spot open on their schedule in 2008 for such a venue.

Homeowners near LMS weren't exactly pleased that a drag strip (apparently, they're kind of loud) could be built pretty darn close to their backdoor and started complaining. Concord city leaders didn't like having their toes stepped on in the process, and so up went the zoning block last week in an emergency meeting.

It is ironic, however, that those same homeowners built homes in between the speedway and a very busy private airport. That doesn't give Smith's move more validity, though.

The controversy is at this point because Smith claimed it wasn't legal, hired a big-time attorney, and threw out some claims that scared the bejesus out of a lot people. Were they legitimate? Possibly, but they seem to be settling down a little bit.

And how convenient this was for Smith, as this weekend's Bank of America 500 at LMS is a tell-tale sign of the significant impact on the local economy. According to the Charlotte Observer, that figure is in the ballpark of $169 million per year to the economy. Think that made Concord leaders rethink their plans?

After all, I think that a few neighbors dealing with drag racing noises (behind sound barriers, mind you) for a few weekends a year is a little lower on the totem pole for the city and county than massive amounts of tourism revenue.

I think it's easy to say that at this point, so goes Lowe's Motor Speedway, so goes Concord and Cabarrus County.