If You’re Going To Be Politically Incorrect, Go For It Full Throttle

Bruton Smith, who owns several auto racing facilities across the country where NASCAR, IRL and other series run, is seldom not good for a few juicy quotes.  Quite the outspoken chap, be it on NASCAR or most anything else.

This afternoon, Smith held court at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a track he owns and the location of NASCAR this weekend.  He didn’t disappoint.  After ripping the choice of Homestead/Miami Speedway as the location of the series finale each year and the track itself, he proceeded to opine on the condition of Infineon Raceway in the San Francisco Bay Area and what most ailed the place.

Before his quote, a bit of background courtesy of it being my home track, thus having been there several times.  Infineon was until recent years, to put it mildly, a dump.  Smith poured money into the place, building new seating areas where before the spectators had no choice but plopping themselves directly on dusty hills to catch the action, and tremendously improving access to all areas by digging a couple of walkways underneath the track whereas before the only way to get from one side to the other was walking across a bridge that was makeshift in the extreme; it was built out of an old eighteen-wheel truck trailer.  He did all this despite fierce opposition from locals complaining about possible environmental damage — this is the San Francisco Bay Area, after all — who apparently were unaware the track has been in operation since 1968.

One thing Smith failed to get done due to the aforementioned opposition was improve access to the track.  There is exactly one way in and out of the place, namely a four lane road.  When NASCAR comes to town, some 90,000 people go there on race day.  You don’t need a calculator to figure out this is quite the traffic headache.  With this in mind, the following quote by Smith can now be appreciated in its proper context:

“I think I’d have to talk to Obama and get him to bring a stimulus package and also the Army Corps of Engineers to make that happen.”

You cam imagine what happened next:

Reporter Mike Mulhern asked Smith why he doesn’t invite President Barack Obama to a race and Smith stared at him blankly.

“What? I’m sorry I misunderstood you.”

Smith then mouthed, ‘Oh my god’ to the other reporters and Mulhern countered by offering that Obama’s a politician, and Smith likes politicians. [UPDATE: Me and some others who were there couldn't decide what Smith was mouthing here. It was likely 'Oh my god' or 'O-ba-ma' but we're not sure. Either way, it was incredulous]

“Well I don’t know how busy we’ll be these next four years but we have a lot of people on the list and I really don’t know whether he’s on the list or not,” Smith said.

The topic of corporations buying tickets came up later and Smith said corporations weren’t buying mass tickets to the races anymore. Someone said corporations can’t buy tickets like this right now because they’re being watched and Smith said: “They’re afraid that Obama might shoot them or something.”

Artful, no.  Accurate?  Oh, you betcha.

Actually, it would be a good thing for President Obama to attend a NASCAR race.  When you experience racing live, you understand its appeal which no matter how well it’s broadcast does not come through on television.  I believe he’d also be surprised at how politely he’d be received both in the garage and by the fans.  We’uns of the NASCAR Nation are, cliches notwithstanding, a respectful bunch.

It’d be a great opportunity for both sides to gain an education.  Whether Smith extends the invitation or not, I will.  C’mon over to my house, Mr. President.  It’ll be fun.  Besides, Infineon is in wine country.  You can always use “I was going to visit the vineyards and took a detour” as an excuse in case anyone asks why you’re wearing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirt at work the next day…