The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 10

rolin 1Tivh le: the elution Observer Tuesday August 25 1987 Page 810A tlit ttil ft) 4-6 I Puttin' On The 06 'W at FAr1 1 1 1 vL 7: 1 i' vof tic I 44 A- -t It "kr ak k4r4 4 1 4 Ako1441100 4 le I 14 11 li )-- I i 1: -r 4---k-vA 2''- 101C-574 4 A) 'A al i 1E4ai A i'''4i 117(111 4 4 't ti 0''' 'i 41 14 '441'' i 0 I I I I tt t4 4 to' 444A i ill) '1'''''''' l's ilt I sv 4- "1 0 1 44 -4241 kl -7 I if tor'l I II AI 442 't 4 ti: i 4 1 1 4 Nkt'' I '1 0 0 7 Al 1 4 r-ZIPi A i 'I' '1 1 z- Ao --74 4feit 44 ib 114 P4'4)411142' A 11 0: i 1 'k i di1 it 'z I3''' "A A 'k 111 lif' 1 I 4 46 1 ow I ''s A '''''3 4' -I 1 i '1 1 "'-ti ''kvril 4 I 6 1 In 4 i 7 i i 1 '7'- 'Zii '07- IV '''IS i i 41 0 'fi i 4 4-- 1 2 st -7 A4 le if '4 'VP (''''''''' 11 4 dee lt 1 11) fli if 0' I If -1 gglr 4 0 it oF4v 10)10' i 'o 1 1 1' A IL 1 '0 l' '1 irlriPft 1 1 vo' eo Ira AlfrAlt I 4 0 W' POF Aspdp lir ir if I 1-1 i )' I l' Rtrii 1941: 'f''' 'I 15ii 11 4i le iii1V" High Above The if t0 4 DON STUAKEYStaft "People watching a race eat four times what they normally would" marvels speedway president HA "Humpy" Wheeler The luncheon pace is leisurely now but during races diners must yield their tables within one hour Buffet lines are also set up i r-717-774-4r '4 '2' v- 4 Is --ff- so '''--'-n------4 ifuo r-- 11--1-'" 0 1 -rti '01 1'' -P'st-g -r--- 7' 73--- '1111 1- i (-1 1 011111F :11411 ilj 1 11 I ill 3 IliotiCA( LI w''''' :411 tr: ts-i'l- -2 :1 Z- i' k-4y1 rtwi 47 By LEW POWELL Stan writer "A lot of people thought we were nuts to build the condos" recalls Charlotte Motor Speedway President HA "Humpy" Wheeler who watched David Letterman ridicule them on national TV "but they worked and this will too" The 66500-per-membership Speedway Club holding Its grand opening this week ratchets up race-watching an- Abwrippah other couple of levels from i what one track official has I a II called its "chicken bones and irdiallOWW watermelon seeds" foundation "The Club Above The -t 'EED IA A Crowd" as a brochure touts it occupies two floors of the CIL $20 million Smith Tower named after Gen Robert Smith a Revolutionary officer buried on the property Location: Chario From one side members can Motor Speedway scan the wooded Mecklenburg-Cabarrus countryside Current membersh from the other the 15-mile 950 plus asphalt bowl frequented by the likes of Dale Earnhardt Membership Will The club plans today to be- 1275 gin offering beer and wine after a legislative struggle Cost to join: $6500 that resulted in the speed- Dues: None way's being marked for an- Fringe benefits: Va nexation by nearby Concord parking blue bia Wheeler says track founder and Chairman Bruton Smith with club insignia came up with the idea for the tion to buy premh club as a way to create addi- race seats tional much-needed VIP seating At one time the track offered several hundred such air-conditioned suite seats but in recent years corporate sponsors have taken over all but 62 The speedway commissioned architects Clark Tribble Harris Li of Charlotte and interior designer Carleton See PUTTIN' Next Page Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway Current membership: 950 plus Membership ceiling: 1275 Cost to join: $6500 Dues: None Fringe benefits: parking blue blazer with club insignia to buy premium race seats POINELL AMR oc2) tr 4 '4-r' vv Ig -0 it kt tr 7777vi 1 i eorVI iit 4 '4 41F'10 it 4 oil 1k''j' 1i i vat A 4 Avt ''''1: I I 1 A '1 '10 4'13I'lyVir: if 1 1'14-4' t' 4t' Atet "r'- 41 P- 4- 7' (4''''' 0 41 i 1 0 r4 '-') 4 1 1 -Nipiit 6 Valet option A traditional crystal chandelier (right) contrasts with the club's contemporary steel-and-glass architecture (above) arrier I reaks tin lat Not Speedway arty ing "This is a class place We think it will move our sport up another rung on the ladder" Bruton Smith By FLEUR PAYSOUR Staff Writer VIP NIGHT THE SPEEDWAY CLUB Miss Manners would have had one heck of a hissy Item: One does not reach clean across the aisle to the neighboring dinner table to hand Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt a Moon Pie Not unless one is prepared to make a similar offering to Sheriff CW Kidd Item: One does not throw a glance at Charlotte Motor Speedway board Chairman Bruton Smith and ask "Who's that man who never stops smiling?" It's his party he can smile 11 he wants to 1 1:: ticligAROW4oitisiotzOre451M rkmorrrirrreprtrgremyeArp I g'4 -t 4 14 -v)P'-: I -1 l''' ''-)i- I -I)- ii 7 -4i71 i 4ii i i It' 1: iy 1 rt -v i'-''''''' l''''-''''Vr-Sr -'-'ll 4''I Ir'- ''r' i r'r 4' 1 rrt ''-'''i- 0 Int i 'A' 4 1'4 1' -2- rr-'''' III t'-'' 'r rs' I rr -0 'k-1-i -e'4-1' ''''7 7 i 1 "14 ''''''k ei if i -'s i'( 4 4 7 4'' 4i' '''i 'k-: ----tA ''T '32i'-i2''' 4-- -4- i 1r E-4- i 4 4r-Ifvil'''' '''''t-Ar- i -r- f'-''' r- z- i 140n 4f --y- 4 4- -'---x' li -4-''' A- ''''4' '-'07n 7 -4tr 4e 1 -r -) '-14': --1-- r--' 0 r---- l- 1' s-- r- ---k 1 --) 4 v---- ---rr': -7 p--------r-- 4r 'ik l-': r'-'1 'e'-'r- 11 '''i 't''''''1' i- Xti' i--' l': 114 -f-' i-ell '4 i ''--4'' 'f' I- ril 'l 14 PP -A i f' -5'' 7 -r-1: r' I r'! -''r-' 1iil! I 1 --i k4ie -rg4 1 i 4 --(11 --'''r---'- 1 i- 1r! ---'i-4' 3: 1 4' l'''" )s )k4 -'4'1 41 l'x '--r --l 41'- v' '1'" ''''4'''' $k) 4 ''4 ''''''''''''st' 1: te ditiAsti il 4 '7- ti -4 4 I Se's 0 4 ---1- fk i i it'i A st k74 A r1' if 1 I 4' ir 3'i rr -'2- l': ''''''1 1:7 t''' i dr'4 411s '3- 'S l'" 'r 100 41 7 i ki: 1-i r' 4 '4001trit44 r'4 le vl 1 '7'-- v-5ii- 1- I tft- able tunes but the floor didn't fill to capacity until they struck up "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (Where's civic pride in Cabarrus County?) Club manager Alain Lacouture bad outfitted the dining room with crystal stemware (Judel of West Virginia) and sedate china (Villeroy Boch of Luxembourg) Nice match for the fettucine and the filet mignon Best Lines: Humpy Wheeler giving the whys and the why-nots of the guest list: "We didn't want the real big celebrities That's kinda phony you know We wanted to bring in the people who are real close friends of the Speedway" Bruton Smith giving the official welcome from the bandstand: "I'm supposed to stand up here and be humble My wife told me that The meek inherit the earth They also inherit the debts" Charlotte Symphony Orchestra violinist Bob Ennis the roving violinist who played a lot of Chet Atkins no Paganini: "I had a special request over and over but I decided I was gonna play all night anyway" The Most Talked-About People: Members of the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners They're the people who'll take time out today to annex the Speedway property Also count Steve Clark the Richmond News Leader columnist who quipped in print that the Speedway Club would serve blackened catfish (he swears he never heard of such a thing) and Moon Pies He didn't get the former He got the latter And he came dressed in a run-of-the-mill business suit "I don't much believe in all this hoity couture and I couldn't bring myself to wear a tuxedo to a race track" He obviously didn't get the real deal about the club from Bruton Smith Says Smith: "This is a class place We think it will move our sport up another rung on the ladder" PS: No one was spotted eating the Moon Pies And when one is a part of the first big party at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Club one does not turn to a stranger and ask "But have you ever stayed for a whole race?" Thousands of people do indeed stay to watch souped-up cars travel at devil-may-care speeds They're a lot like the nearly 300 people who turned out Monday night to ogle the mahogany and crystal that grace the Speedway Club They come for the sport The noise level went from 0 to 60 in about 8 minutes of champagne The Biggest Sport: Rubbernecking to catch the (major and minor) celebrities in the crowd Among them: Junior Johnson who now looks like a chemistry professor but burned plenty of rubber years before most race fans had ever seen an asphalt track Bill France president of NASCAR stock car racing's sanctioning body Race drivers Bobby Hi Ilan Jr Benny Parsons and Michael Waltrip And a champ from another sport Charlotte's Kelvin Seabrooks bantamweight champion of the world He weighs 118 pounds and gave his Pat Boone-white shoes a workout in a jittery jitterbug Monday The Setting: It looked like Christmas in Boca Raton Sprigs of greenery and bright red passion flowers curled around the brass banister Two hundred-pound blocks of ice had been chiseled into the shapes of tropical fish Ficus trees stood 5 feet high and sported white pea-sized Christmas lights At precisely 8:01 pm the official opening of the private club Bruton and Bonnie Smith cut the ribbon and released 1000 black and yellow balloons They popped louder than the champagne bottles Willie Gi lion and crew turned out dance MARK BLUDERStaff Bruton and Bonnie Smith cut the ribbon to open the Charlotte Motor Speedway Club Monday night.