Bruton Smith honored by NHRA

NHRA Honors Speedway Motorsports Chairman Bruton Smith For Contributions Made to Drag Racing at Season-Ending Banquet

CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 17, 2010) - Officials from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) honored Speedway Motorsports Chairman and CEO, O. Bruton Smith, Monday evening at the season-ending NHRA awards ceremony in West Los Angeles, Calif., for his "extraordinary contributions and positive impact" on the sport of NHRA drag racing.

The special award was to acknowledge Smith's commitment to the NHRA through the investment in state-of-the-art facilities Speedway Motorsports has built over the past decade. The award is a replica of the world championship trophies handed out to each Full Throttle Drag Racing Series category champion. However, Smith's award was modified to depict the logos of each of the four Speedway Motorsports drag strips.

"This is a great honor to be recognized by a sport that I believe in and have become a huge fan of," said Smith. "We've always prided ourselves in trying to raise the bar with each facility we build for fans and competitors alike, and to make sure their experience, when they visit one of our tracks, is a memorable one.

"This has always been and always will be about people, and I've been fortunate to have some of the brightest, most creative and most driven people in all of sports work within our company. This award is a reflection of their hard work."

Speedway Motorsports owns and operates four drag strips, Bristol Dragway, Infineon Raceway, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and zMAX Dragway, which together host a total of six NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing events. Smith was honored in front of drag racing's finest at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and his son Marcus Smith, Chief Operating Officer of Speedway Motorsports, accepted on his behalf.

Season ticket packages for the two NHRA stops at the Bellagio of drag strips in 2011 are on sale now and interest-free payment plans are available. The package includes a 10 percent discount on all tickets, VIP parking, a photo hard card, lanyard and more. To purchase zMAX Dragway's season ticket package call the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or shop online at www.zmaxdragway.com.

-source: cms