The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 18

The News and Observer, Raleigh, N. C. 18 Monday, February 2, 1976 Track's New Owner Has Costly Dream (Second of a three-part series) There's an automobile dealership in Texas that puts a unique premium on the appearance of its salesmen. They are physically fit, clean, energetic. They smell good, they look good.

Their fingernails are evenly-trimmed. And they sell a bunch of cars for Bruton Smith. "One of the features of that dealership," said the recently re-elected board chairman of Charlotte Motor Speedway, "is a health club, a health club for the salesmen. And it's plush, as fine a health club as you'll find anywhere. We studied others before building it, we copied and we added our own ideas.

You know, not every man wants the same amount of steam in a suana. So we have individual saunas. If he wants, a man can turn up the steam and melt right down the drain." Yes, the salesmen at that dealerships sell a bunch of cars. Turnover in personnel? Minimal. Courageous, Costly Bruton Smith is the same man who would create a Brave New "World 600" at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

His ideas are radically different, courageous perhaps, but costly and unprecedented. So far, he has built little more than skepticism in the minds of others, but so do most men who live tomorrow today. If people were meant to fly, they would have been born with wings, it has been said. Race tracks with few exceptions are among the ugliest inanimate objects on earth, inside and out. Race tracks are drab, a conglomeration of asphalt and concrete, red clay, tin canopies and cinderblock buildings.

There are individual exceptions, but generally speaking, race tracks are not pleasing to the eye. But does that really matter? Why saturate the grounds with lush carpets of green Why create a park, with trees and winding walkways in the infield? Or lavish entrances? Why make your guests feel at home by easing accessability and giving them attractions in addition to the main event? Why build a health club in an automobile dealership? Bruton Smith says why not? Big Sportsmen Purse And how about the men who race. Why be the first to pay a $200,000 purse for a Late Model Sportsman race? Why run a subcompact, Baby Grand race on Charlotte's big oval? Smith contends the future will demand it. He's dreaming, perhaps, but he's a successful dreamer. And much of the success he attributes to a bullheaded kid who worked his fanny off around race tracks in the late 1940s and 1950s.

"We had our own association, at the same time NASCAR was in diapers. We had a majority of the best drivers and that was a real problem," said Smith in a recent interview. "I met with Bill France and he suggested a merger. He was older and wiser but I was too bullheaded. I should have listened.

It would have been the smartest thing for both of us." Bruton Smith, on the day of that meeting, was 19 years old. He went his own way through the '50s. He bought Concord Speedway and he promoted races at the Charlotte Fairgrounds, the old Charlotte Speedway, Rock Hill, Columbia, Lancaster and Florence, S. Asheville and Salisbury, Lakewood, Ga. and Danville, Va.

"I have this theory, that youth has the inability to know something won't work. I was young and so inexperienced that I didn't know how to quit, so young that I made things work anyway." As for his role in the early financial problems of Charlotte Motor Speedway, which opened in 1960, Smith again cites youth and inexperience. But he says the facts have been twisted because "people do not understand the technicalities." Track Wasn't Bankrupt The track was not bankrupt, Smith said. It was placed under Chapter 10 of a bankruptcy law and its affairs were administered by a court trustee. Under Chapter 10, all officers' and directors' positions cease to exist.

Had he known, CMS could have petitioned under chapter 11, allowing the track management to retain its positions. The financial problems stemmed from the Gerald Martin unavailability of money when the speedway was almost completed. The backers had thought they could secure a loan, "but the lenders demanded such things as a five-year operating statement. We didn't have one. No other track had one.

There wasn't any such thing at that point in time." Smith managed to collect $400,000, but it was not quite enough and time ran out. "We came up short by about two weeks." Seven years later Smith moved away from Charlotte. The speedway, he says, did not really concern him. "I kept the stock I had and went on about my business. I went into the automobile business with the intention of working my way to the top." From time to time Smith bought more stock in CMS, but not until 1972 did he begin to acquire a significant amount, when, he said, a board member contacted him, offered to sell and also to convince others to sell.

Smith agreed to buy. By '73 he had acquired enough CMS stock to call some shots of his own. "I made Richard Howard president in 1973 and again in 1974," he said. "I thought he was the man for the job." The rumors that he came back to dethrone Howard, said Smith, "are absolutely not true. Richard knows it's not true.

There was no plan. We are friends." Said Bitterness Existed There was bitterness, however. Howard admitted as much in an conversation last year when he confided to several newsmen that he was stepping down. Perhaps, as Smith suggests, it was an "emotional "After Richard sold his stock, it hit him. He realized that more than anything else, he had an emotional involvement with Charlotte Motor Speedway.

He loves the speedway, it really means a lot to him." Howard had said last fall that he hated "to give this up, to see what I've worked for, what has been built here, messed up." Smith does not intend to tear down what has been built, he said, but to improve on good ideas. "We will be cautious," he promised. "I am going to rely on the people there and on their talents. And Humpy (general manager Humpy Wheeler) will be able to draw on Richard's knowledge, intelligence and experience." Next: Humpy Wheeler Looks Ahead If Lawsuit Settled Seattle Gets Team SEATTLE (UPI) If Seattle is to get the 1977 franchise granted during the weekend by the American League, the suit by the city of Seattle, Washington State and King County will have to be dropped. That's one of the conditions of the franchise.

That may happen soon, maybe even later this week, but first the plaintiffs in the multimillion dollar suit have to be convinced. And they're ready to be, if only the American League will contact them. "I can understand your calling back today," Washington Attorney General Slade Gorton told a reporter by telephone from his home Sunday. "I can understand you might have expected that I would have been contacted this morning by the American Leauge, because I had expected they would contact me. Well, I haven't been called by anyone in the American League, so I can't really say I've had any new thoughts one way or the other.

King County Executive John Spellman was cautious, but enthused. "It sounds very encouraging, although there are still a lot of things we have to know," he said. "'We would have to make sure that there was a firm contract between the SmithKaye group and the league that was satisfactory to Smith and Kaye. And, secondly, that there be a firm committment by the major leagues to have their team playing a full schedule in Seatte in 1977." What does daily compounded interest mean? On our certificate it means $349.86 for you! Type of Account Minimum Balance Interest Rate Annual Yield Regular Passbook None 5.25% 5.39% 3 Month Certificate $1,000.00 5.75% 5.92% 1 Year Certificate $1,000.00 6.50% 6.72% 4. Year Certificate $1,000.00 7.50% 7.79% 6 Year Certificate $1,000.00 7.75% 8.06% Daily interest compounded daily plus the highest interest rates allowed on federally protected savings.

Funds withdrawn from certificate accounts prior to maturity will earn the passbook rate less 90 days interest. HOME FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN Member FSLIC Monday Thursday 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Fridav9 A.M. 6 P.M. Stain Office 241 Green Street, Fayetteville, N.C.

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Redman Wins Endurance Continued from Page 15 A spokesman for Union Oil supplier of the 104 octane racing gasoline in all cars, said, "There's no scientific explanation for how the water got into the truck." One official, who asked not to be identified, said the possibility of sabotage was under investigation. The other two factory BMWs were irreparably damaged by water in the fuel system. The trouble started at 9:01 a.m. Sunday when Redman, who finished the race at the wheel, made a routine fuel stop. The car, with a 16-lap lead, sputtered and died leaving pit road.

The foam-filled gas tank was drained as best it could be, and the car restarted. It stopped twice more on the course, and didn't get going again until the previously third-place Carrera of Haywood and Busby closed to within an unofficial 35 seconds of the lead -Haywood maintained he actually took the lead. Meanwhile the O'Steen-Graves-Helmick Carrera, running second at 9 a.m., also got the water-fuel mixture and couldn't get out of the pits. A protest was reportedly lodged by the team over the fuel problem. The race was finally stopped at 10:12 a.m.

and clocks set back to 9 a.m. until the fuel problem could be corrected. With the restart, there were only 20 hours, 11 minutes of actual competition. The racing that occured between 9 a.m. and 10:12 a.m.

officially never happened. BMWs Were Losing Ground Before the water-fuel troubles begin, the BMWs, which had run one-two-three most of the race, began losing ground with various difficulties. Gregg became ill briefly during the early morning hours and was spelled in the car by teammate John Fitzpatrick, who was idled when the BMW he and fellow Britisher Tom Walkinshaw drove, came in for a new clutch. The third BMW, driven by Briton David Hobbs and stock car veteran Benny Parsons, needed a muffler replaced and other work. The Holbert-Ballot-Lena Carrera an entire engine during the night.

Haywood's Track magazine best under $3500. crew changed four shattered windshields, three Saturday afternoon. The victory was worth about $20,000 from the $100,000 purse. The pole winning GreggRedman machine led all but 11 laps early in the race when John Greenwood's Corvette edged ahead. Greenwood's machine retired after 298 laps.

Haywood insisted politics entered into the decision to stop the race. "We used the same type of fuel and didn't have any problems. BMW is so powerful, they must have said something to the track management," he charged. Delay Pleased Participants The delay pleased most participants, however, giving them a break to make needed repairs and adjustments to finish the race. Class winners besides AAGT were Bob Hindson, Dick Davenport and Frank Carney in a Porsche 911S in Grand Touring Under 2.5 Liters, with a $2,000 bonus.

They were eigth over-all The Ford Torino of David and Larry Pearson, 15th overall, won the new NASCAR Grand International stock car class and a bonus of $10,000. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) The unofficial top 10 finishers in the 15th annual 24 Hours of Daytona, with all codrivers, hometowns, type of car, laps completed and winners average speed on the 3.84-mile Daytona International Speedway road course: 1. Peter Gregg, Jacksonville, Brian Redman, Gargrave, England; John Fitzpatrick, Solhull, England; BMW CSL; 545 laps at an average speed of 104.04 miles per hour. 2.

Al Holbert, Warrington, Claude BallotLena, Paris, France; Porsche Carrera; 530. 3. Hurley Haywood, Jacksonville, Jim Busby, Laguna Beach, Porsche Carrera; 530. 4. Bob Hagestad, Jerry Jolly, both of Denver; Porsche Carrera; 510.

5. Mike Tilison, Villanova, Dieter Oest, Philadelphia; Bruce Jennings, Parkton Porsche Carrera; 508. 6. Milt Minter, Fresno, Chris Cord, Jay Adams. both of Beverly Hills, Ferrari Daytona: 500.

7. Bob Hindson, Kansas City; Vic Davenport, Frank Carney, both of Wichita, Porsche 911S; 495. 8. John O'Steen, Florissant, Dave Helmick, John Graves, both of Miami, Porsche Carrera: 493. 9.

Phil Currin, Gainesville, Cliff Gottlieb, Arkansas Peter Knab, Dayton, Ohio; Chevrolet Corvette; 483. United Press International Brian Redman crosses finish line his car trails stream of water Based on 1975 Road 8. The in the for 10. Hobbs, Upper Boddington, England; Benny Parsons, Ellerbe, N.C.; BMW CSL; 481. tests of 212 cars: car world IT'S NOT TOYOTA.

IT'S NOT DATSUN. IT'S NOT VEGA. IT'S NOT PINTO. IT'S NOT FIAT. IT'S NOT HONDA.

We set our standards high. So did the car experts of Road and Track. In naming the 10 best cars in the world, they begin with a subject dear to our hearts. And we quote: "We considered value for money carefully. With what has happened to prices the past three years this is more critical than ever in America; no longer can so many of us buy on a whim and trade every two or three years." The annual Detroit model-changer madness is dying a well-deserved death.

The Volkswagen Rabbit was picked to be the best car in the world for under $3500 for the right reasons. Handling, acceleration, ride, comfort, space, luggage capacity, brakes, durability, reliability- all these entered into the selection. We at Volkswagen are proud to take our place next to Mercedes-Benz and the other fine cars chosen "The Best" In this fast-moving, discountable, "move 'em off the lot and worry about the service later" world, it's nice to know that something as seemingly remote as craftsmanship can still be appreciated. 39 mpg on the highway, 25 in the city, is another reason the Rabbit was picked. The Rabbit, with stick shift, got that mileage in 1976 EPA tests.

(The age you get can vary, depending on how and where you drive, optional equipment, and the condition of your car.) IT'S THE GRABBIT. 1976 retail price $3,499 East Coast P.O.E, Transportation, local taxes, and dealer delivery charges additional. Volkswagen of America. Harmon Volkswagen Inc. 2421 Wake Forest Rd.

Raleigh.