SMI Chair Bruton Smith "won more than" $3.6M from his
lawsuit against N.C. Speedway (NCS) and Penske Motorsports,
resulting from the '97 sale of NCS, according to Gary Wright
of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Smith, who was a minority
shareholder of the track, "had offered to buy the speedway"
in '97 for $123M. But NCS was eventually sold to
shareholder Penske Motorsports for $42M after an agreement
between NCS exec Carrie DeWitt and Penske. Despite Smith
winning $3.6M, Wright reports that the defendants also
"looked like winners," as Smith "was hoping to win as much
as" $20M. SMI CFO Bill Brooks, on the ruling: "We wish the
award had been bigger, but we are pleased they found the
award that they did" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/26).
LAWSUITS, TAKE II: ME-based Oxford Plains Speedway
(OPS) filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Portland, ME,
against NASCAR and Bob Bahre, the owner of NH Int'l Speedway
(NHIS), "alleging unfair competition in the stock car racing
industry." The lawsuit, filed by former OPS Managing
Partner Michael Liberty "accuses" Bahre and "high-level"
NASCAR officials of "breaking a promise to bring NASCAR-
sanctioned racing back to" OPS "after a three-year break."
The lawsuit also accuses Bahre and NASCAR of "violating
antitrust laws and breach of contract" (AP, 4/24).
