Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. ó Bruton Smith wants NASCAR to yank its final race of the season out of south Florida.
Never at a loss for words, the track owner said the championship-deciding race should return to Atlanta Motor Speedway, where it was held through 2001, or Las Vegas Motor Speedway ó both facilities he owns.
“Why have the last race of the season at some Godforsaken area just north of Cuba?” he said, referring to Homestead Miami Speedway.
Atlanta’s fall race shifted a few weeks earlier in 2002 and this year it moves to an even earlier spot on Labor Day weekend. While plagued by weather issues when held in November, Smith said his track would still be a better location for NASCAR to hold the final race than Homestead.
“If they’ll give us our date back,” he said, “we’ll fill up the place again and do something major for the sport. If that doesn’t work, put it in Las Vegas. We’ll add more seats ó and sell out every one of them.”
Smith, who controls Atlanta and six other Sprint Cup tracks through Speedway Motorsports Inc., has long feuded with NASCAR and a related company that owns a majority of the facilities used on the circuit, including Homestead.
“They’re not doing anything for the sport,” Smith said of the track south of Miami. “Wouldn’t it be better off holding the race where you can draw 175,000 people.”
NASCAR officials shrugged off Smith’s complaints and disputed his claims that attendance was poor, saying last year’s race was sold out.
“We think Homestead-Miami is an excellent venue for NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend,” Jim Hunter, the vice president of corporate communications, said.
Jeff Gordon, the current Sprint Cup points leader, also defended the Florida track as a worthy site to crown a champion.
“I love what Bruton brings to the sport,” Gordon told reporters. “He always gives you good material to write … and he builds beautiful facilities. But I do think Homestead is the place to wind down our season. I love that track. I love the area.
“Sure, it’s a little more challenging to get our core fans to travel all that way to south Florida. It’s not in the heart of where our core fans are. But there’s still a tremendous amount of fans who love the sport down there. And they do a tremendous job promoting and marketing the whole championship weekend. It’s a fun weekend for me.”