Columnist Ron Kantowski: Smith would finish what LVMS started

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 | 5:51 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

My first reaction upon learning that Bruton Smith is on the verge of purchasing Las Vegas Motor Speedway was that I would finally be presented with a real media credential on race weekend, rather than an Imperial Palace time card with my name on it.

I kid you not. LVMS actually uses time cards, instead of, say, a cardboard badge with a picture of a race car or a checkered flag, to identify the working press. Too bad you can't punch in on a stopwatch, the timing instrument of choice along pit lane.

In the grand scheme, issuing cheesy media credentials was the least of the speedway's problems. Yet, it was one of the overlooked details that suggested that no matter how hard it tried, LVMS was destined to bumble around like high school thespians when it came to getting its act together.

It will be different with Smith in the pole position.

Smith, a youthful-appearing 71, looks like Allen Funt of the old Candid Camera television show. But this guy knows how to promote an auto race. He could put a bunch of Durwood Kirby clones in identically prepared Ford Country Squire station wagons and fill the grandstands.

Of course, you'll probably have to endure some crackpot/daredevil launching a school bus through a flaming hoop over a bunch of rusted-out Buicks -- a famous blooper reel film clip of just such an event was shot at Charlotte Motor Speedway, one of the five NASCAR tracks Smith owns -- before the green flag falls.

But while P.T. Barnum has been a bigger inspiration to Smith than Dale Earnhardt, there's a lot more under Smith's hood than circus peanuts and elephant acts.

For instance, when he had the novel idea to build condominiums overlooking the tri-oval at Charlotte, skeptics suggested he stop inhaling exhaust fumes. But when the condos turned out to be as successful as Jeff Gordon on fresh tires, Smith had the last laugh.

"The only mistake I made," he said in retrospect, "was pricing them too low."

Not that making money has ever been a concern of Smith's. His empire is said to be worth a minimum of $700 million, which has enabled him to collect race tracks as if they were diecast miniatures. In addition to Charlotte, Smith's speedway portfolio includes the new Texas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol International Raceway and the Sears Point road course in California.

And while I'm not suggesting the acquisition of LVMS and perhaps one or two other tracks will position Smith for a hostile takeover of NASCAR someday ... well, others have.

In the meantime, putting the finishing touches on what Richie Clyne started out at LVMS will keep Smith busy.

With Smith in charge, race fans will receive their tickets prior to the cars taking the track to qualify. And when they arrive at their seats, they probably won't find somebody sitting in them.

I also predict Smith will pave the parking lot and water the grass. He'll open Friday practice sessions to the public. He'll finish the drag strip, and bring the NHRA hot rods to town. Instead of trying to operate 28 racing venues, or however many LVMS claims to have, he'll focus on the superspeedway. He'll hire racing people to run the place, rather than his bowling buddies.

And I'll be issued a credential with a race car on it.