LVMS owner makes offer on Darlington track

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith has made an offer to buy Darlington Raceway in South Carolina from International Speedway Corporation in an effort to gain second NASCAR Winston Cup dates for his tracks here and in Texas, according to a published report.

Smith told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal that he has had meetings with the France family, which owns ISC and NASCAR, concerning Darlington Raceway but would not confirm that an offer has been made.

Darlington Raceway, a 1.366-mile track, is host to two Winston Cup races annually. Smith has made no secret about the fact that he wants second Winston Cup races at both his tracks in Las Vegas and the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway general manager Chris Powell declined to comment on the published report other than to say, "We would love to have two Winston Cup races and we believe it is simply a matter of time (until) that happens."

This month's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Winston Cup race at LVMS drew a sellout crowd of 125,000 and Smith said this weekend's Harrah's 500 at Texas Motor Speedway is expected to draw close to 200,000.

Darlington's two Winston Cup races typically attract crowds of less than 60,000.

Smith's Speedway Motorsports, Inc., counts tracks in Las Vegas, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas-Ft.Worth, Atlanta, Sonoma, Calif., and Bristol, Tenn., among its holdings. SMI tracks host nine Winston Cup points races plus The Winston, a non-points all-star race.

ISC's holdings include 12 tracks that host 18 Winston Cup races -- exactly half of the series' total points races.