News and Record from Greensboro, North Carolina • 22

C2 Greensboro News Record Sunday October 13 1991 Racing College ootball Chairman keeps going despite setbacks rom C1 overlooks the 15 mile speedway But the moment the word "di was mentioned Smith stopped the questioning talking about that talking about Smith said have no comment from me sensitive about that sub said Wheeler who agreed to talk as Smith walked out His letter to Smith Wheeler said was a fairly mild They have been lifelong friends even though in constant Wheeler said sometimes gone two weeks without speaking to each Their business relationship is untypical more of a partnership than a boss employee relationship he said a Wheel er said I think some thing of a visionary And when people like that get together sometimes they see eye to It works Wheeler said because Smith has given him the freedom to do what he wants But hand in hand with success Smith has had many business and legal setbacks in recent years some of them alleging fraud or fi nancial misconduct court records show In 1986 he paid $19 million to 723 former stockholders of Char lotte Motor Speedway to settle a lawsuit in which they accused him of paying them an unfairly low price for their stock After taking control of North Carolina ederal Savings and Loan in a bitter 1984 takeover bat tle Smith lost about $4 million when it went belly up last year personal tax returns showed he lost more than $27 mil lion from 1985 through 1989 in an unsuccessful partnership with Wil liam Gardner that went into re ceivership and a related Charlotte office park development Gardner was co owner of the now defunct DiGard Racing NASCAR team that enjoyed much success with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Alli son among others as drivers in the 1970s and 1980s In 1988 a jury levied a $7 million judgment against Smith for defrauding a Texas insurance com pany he owns Provident Ameri can Insurance Co in part because he forced the company to sell its Charlotte Motor Speedway stock to another one of his companies at an unfairly low price 1116 judg ment was later nullified in a settle ment of the case In 1988 he was one of several partners hit with a $68 million judgment for defaulting on a bank loan in connection with a failed business development in Texas 1988 was a rough year for Bru ton Smith His 17 year marriage to his wife Bonnie Harris Smith 43 ef fectively came to an end that year It had been troubled for a number of years and the split finally came on the night of June 24 after a violent argument at their $885000 HUMPY WHEELER: Stands in front of race track at Charlotte iLil house on Sharon Lane in Char lotte As Bonnie Smith looked on her husband flew into a rage grabbed a fireplace poker and de stroyed a portrait of her court records show They separated that night and less than three weeks later Bonnie Smith filed for di vorce setting the stage for biggest financial blow Last Apnl Mecklenburg Coun ty District Court Judge Stanley Brown gave Bonnie Smith $21 mil lion (including interest) of their which the judge valued at $513 million Payment of the award has been suspended pending an appeal but if the judgment is upheld Smith wil have to pay his ex wife $21 mil ion up front and almost $158000 every month for the next 10 years The judge could have ordered the dissolution of financial empire to pay the entire award at once but Brown said an install ment payment plan was the only fair way to divide the estate He did however say receivership remain as a future Aside from the payment plan the judge seemed to cut little slack for one of North richest men Consider the net value of Char lotte Motor Speedway in 1990 Smith contended it was $314 mil lion ex wife said it was a lot higher than that which is not surprising considering the circum stances She said it was about $389 million But the judge said the value of the speedway was even higher: $478 million If Smith is forced to honor the divorce award it will be a tremen dous financial challenge Although the judge decided Smith was worth more than $51 million court records also show bank debts and other liabilities of more than $70 million Smith the son of a North Caro lina farmer always done things in a big Wheeler said anybody who does that is going to run into stumbling blocks not going to win every time People like that take big shorts And I maintained those stock certificates in that metal great success Char lotte Motor Speedway was also his first big failure He built the track in 1959 and 1960 with NAS CAR legend Curtis Turner only to see it become awash in debt He lost control in 1963 when the speedway was reorganized in bankruptcy court There was more trouble for Smith that year He pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with failing to file his 1955 and 1956 income tax returns on time He was given a $4000 fine and probation By 1966 he was selling ords at a Charlotte dealership He quickly became manager He moved to Denver in 1967 to head a ord dealership there and by 1969 had bought a ord dealership in Rock ford Ill Throughout his long and suc cessful financial comeback Smith had something of an obsession with Charlotte Motor Speedway In a court deposition in Char lotte last year Smith said he kept his speedway stock certificates a metal box when I lived in the early 1960s then I took that metal box with me to Denver and I contin ued to buy stock and put them in that metal box Then when I moved from Denver to Rockford I moved that metal box with me that metal box had a little key in it Every time I would put more stock certificates in there I would lock it then I lived in an apart ment in Rockford for a couple of years and that metal box was in my drawer where I kept my In 1976 after a long bitter takeover battle Smith had enough stock to regain control of the speedway But he kept buying speedway stock By 1985 he had it all The speedway was no longer a publicly held company It was 100 percent his Today that last stock certifi cate he bought is framed and hangs in his den hanging on my wall as a little Smith said in the deposition Late last October only about a week before the property distribu tion part of his divorce trial began Smith bought Atlanta Motor Speedway for $198 million with the help of loans from NCNB to taling about $20 million And about four weeks ago he announced his grand plan to make the speedway the most pres tigious address in The rapid expansion plan at At lanta calls for the construction of 116 condominium in two gleaming towers overlook ing the 1522 mile track Smith al so intends to build a huge new grandstand with 45 luxury suites And he is ready to forge ahead with expensive new ideas at Char lotte too including a proposed permanent track lighting system expected to cost $15 million Smith is anticipating that the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co will let him keep The Winston all star race in Charlotte as a night event People have underestimated Smith before Critics scoffed at his plan to build condos overlooking the Charlotte speedway But the project has been highly successfill Smith is among the rare percentage of the human race over the history of mankind that abso lutely thrive on their ability to come Wheeler said think a hell of a Cavs forced it into 20 20 tie with Clemson ranked Tigers 8 nge last sea U1 QB Mavnoi back in a big way INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSH Virginia Kirby 17 41 isher 9 24 Clemson Williams 20 185 Harris 24 102 'r Virginia Blundin 15 34 0 241 Goodman 0 1 Clemson Cameron 14 22 1 15? Moncrief 1 1 0 37 RECE IV I Virginia Satola 583 Kirby 4 54 Holmes'' 3 Clemson Williams 4 57 Smith 4 54 Ryans 3 30 The Associated Press CLEMSON SC Neither Clemson nor Virginia got what they wanted Saturday The 18th ranked Tigers 8 avenge last sea first ever loss to Virginia And Virginia come away with its first victory in 17 tries at Clemson What the Atlantic Coast Confer ence teams settled for was a 20 20 tie Nelson Welch missed three of five field goals attempts but hit the one that counted most a 40 yarder with 46 seconds left to tie it up Michael Husted made two of three for Virginia but missed the one that mattered most a 34 yar der that Wayne Simmons got a hand on as it climbed toward the goal post with five seconds left had a middle block Simmons said means I come from the second row a stand ing start I timed my jump and hit the ball not sure how high I got I just did the best I Moments earlier Welch did his best and that too was good enough Before lining up for the ty ing field goal Welch got rapped on the helmet by quarterback DeChane Cameron might have made him a little bit more tense than he already Cameron said told him on got to have it ba But my tone of voice was the wrong tone of voice he made it I guess my tone of voice is what got him going I feel like if going to take that every week by golly do Welch a red shirt freshman bothered at all by of just knew I had to put it Welch said just wanted to con centrate It was a bad day for me rm just glad 1 came through at the end when we really needed The tie left Clemson 3 1 1 overall and 1 0 1 in the league Virginia is i 3 2 1 and 1 2 1 told our team that be down after this Virginia coach George Welsh have had a tough couple of weeks with kids having exams But we go home for three games and have a chance to be a good Virginia led 20 10 with six min utes left But the Tigers rallied to avoid their second straight loss and only their second homecoming loss in two decades ullback Rudy Harris who had a career high 102 yards capped a 71 yard march with a 1 yard run with just 3:22 left to cut the lead to 20 17 The Tigers then took advantage of the only turnover to it up On third and 2 Terry Kirby fumbled after getting the first down) when he was hit by Robert tj and Darnell Stephens Kenzil Jack 1 son came up with the ball at the 49 2 Virginia 20 Clemson 20 4 Virginia It 7 I Chmien 4 7 3 VA Mundy 15 pass from Blundin (Husted kick) VA Husted 32 4 Clem Williams 54 run (Welch kick) VA Holmes 23 pass from Blundin (Husted kick) Welch 22 VA Husted 47 Clem Harris 1 run (Welch kick) Welch 40 83000 Vi Clem' lrstdowns 21 22LV Rushes yards 38 113 58 315 Passing 241 196 Return Yards 11 75tf Comp Att Int 15 35 0 1523 1 Punts 4 42 3 33 umbles Losf 2 1 2 0 it Penaltles Yards 0 00 4 50 Time of Possession 32:01 Tech's air attack beats Maryland 34 10 5 Bel i GolrClub Delivery 8 10 weeks Memberships Available 1 4 Round Card Discount I 3 I II lit 17 7 GT 44 121 306 1531 0 740 2 1 Ml 29:12 twice and boy that really made it other scoring came on an 8 yard run by David Hendrix and Mar 14 451? 142 41 14 33 2 1041 2 1 441 30:41 The Associated Press ATLANTA Coach Bobby Ross of Georgia Tech said it was the kind of game quarterback Shawn Jones needed Jones threw for three touchdowns despite battling the flu and led Tech to a 34 10 victory over Maryland Saturday seen that Ross said of Jones who remained in the training room long after the game ended chart our quarterbacks each week and this is the first week that he has been over 70 percent in pass completions during our practice pe Ross said really felt like things were starting to come together for It was the 14th consecutive home field victory for the Yellow Jackets who took control late in the first half after Maryland botched a fake field goal while leading 3 0 Tech (3 3 overall 2 2 Atlantic Coast Conference) broke the game open when Jones connected for touchdowns on three consecutive at tempts in the second half scoring passes covered 1 yard to Ali Harris and 49 yards to Jason McGill in the third quarter and 82 yards to Keenan Walker the third longest scoring pass in Tech history early in the final period Jones completed 10 of 21 passes for 227 yards did the thing we sort of Maryland coach Joe Kri vak said took a couple of shots deep at us and beat us deep field goals of 37 and 30 yards by Scott Sisson Dan DeArmas gave the Terps (1 4 1 1) a 3 0 lead with a 29 yard field goal early in the second quar ter John Kaleo scored on a 1 yard run for the Terps with 6:17 left in the game three plays after he complet ed a 46 yard pass to Marcus Badg ett Georgia Tech 34 Maryland 10 Chemical Cleaning Thorough Surface Sanding Machine Sand Most Chips and Scratches ull Coat of Primer Sealer Refinlsh with High Grade Automotive Enamel Oven Baked inish One of moot popular sendee 294 3243 716 CAMANN ST GREENSBORO Custom NL NBA Bags by Special Order 919 668 2413 Charles Killy TIM Assocleted Preu COLLARED: Mike Jarmolowich tries to haul down Georgia Shawn Jones during the 34 10 win Maryland GunUTKli Mir DeArmas GT Hendrlx I run (Sisson kick) Sisson 37 Sisson Hirrli 1 pass from Jones (Sisson kick) AAcGI 1 1 pass from Jones (Sisson kick) GT Walker 12 pass from Jones (Sisson kick) mar Mieo i run (DeArmas kick) 42011 irst downs Rushes yards Passing Return Yards Comp Att Int Punts umbles Lost Penaltles Yards Time of Possession INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Maryland Mason 17 74 Wvcheck 1 12 Georgia Tech Hendrix 834 Johnson 531 Jones 526 PASSING Maryland Sandwlsch 11 251 Kalao 3 8 1 63 Georgia Tech Jones 10 21 0 227 Howard 0 81 Tillman RECEIVING Maryland Badgett 596 Stevenson 2 21 Cooper 2 14 Georgia Tech Lester M3 McGill 348 Walker 1 82 a Vans trucks and commercial vehicles by estimate Body repair and bodywork extra MW MAACO Auto Painting 8 bodyworks are Independent franchise lor MAACO Enterprises Prices 8 hours may vary Special Golf Clubs: Callaway Ping (Call for Price) Some in stock ORDER OR CHRISTMAS NOW! SAVE 100 $19995 Limited Time Compare price to quality inished cars on lot a vi A 1 jgs efeMpt i JsbBKts Wl ml tarrda i tSS By CHARLIE ATKINSON Stiff Writer Maynor lorida planned to em ploy redshirt freshman Da vid Russell and junior college transfer Adri an Starks at 4UG1 vex uauA ahead of Con nell Maynor the sore back se nior with the Midas touch North Carolina coach Bill Hayes says he woke up Saturday morning fully expecting not to use his star quarterback Though the Aggies were facing one of their toughest opponents in Hayes said he going to use him be lieve Hayes said this morning when we checked in Con nell said coach in a lot better shape than think I He made some moves stretched his body and he looked Hayes resisted temptation briefly and started Russell But after four possessions and a 13 7 deficit he decided to go with Maynor It proved to be the right move just look very poised out there in the Hayes said was a big game and heck I had to go with my old horse We have that much more time together I said hell if we go down go down Maynor was brilliant leading the Aggies to a convincing 41 19 victo ry He tossed touchdown passes of Ei 42 and 14 yards and finished with seven completions in 11 at tempts for 192 yards Meanwhile the Aggie offense generated 552 to tal yards 22 short of a 27 year old school record knew I was Maynor said told me that he was going to start David I have any problems with that I knew I was going to get to play eventual Maynor win game alone however were so many great individual perfor mances impossible to name them Hayes said With that said a rundown of some of the better efforts: Running back James White col lected a season high 172 yards on 14 carries Barry Turner added 165 all purpose yards and three TDs Tight end Craig Thompson had three receptions for 101 yards Defensive back Curtis Burgins recovered a AMU fumble at the one yard line and intercepted a pass in the Aggie end zone Defensive back Knox Thompson recovered a fumble and caused a fumble Linebacker Leevary Covington had nine tackles including two for losses Defensive end Charles Williams had three quarterback tuu ka i WIJGHMAN WHS YH6 (WuGlNAL ir MtnlWonwn 18 (over Enter 13th Annual Greansboro ToughmanToughwoman Contest November 15 4 15 Greensboro Coliseum MEN ight your way to $50000 National Championship 4r WOMEN $500 to Greensboro Winner TO ENTER CALL (919) 271 3405 KNAPP SHOES $18 TRADE IN YOUR OLD SHOES OER GOOD 1017 103 19 1MEmCAWOnKS IN KHAPP SHOES Knapp 3808 High Point Rd Greensboro 852 2980 Hours: 9:30 to 6:00 Mon Sat 1 Memberships Available 14 Round Card Discount sOSI bodywORKs.