City Officials Reverse Opposition To LMS Smith's Drag Strip Plans

The city of Concord, North Carolina, has "reversed its opposition" to SMI Chair & CEO Bruton Smith building a $60M drag strip on the property of his Lowe's Motor Speedway, according to a front-page piece by Bell, Durhams & Poole of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Through a spokesperson, Smith said that it is "a small step" toward resolving the issue.  Smith last week indicated that he "would move his speedway out of Concord if the city continued to block his efforts" to build the drag strip, and Cabarrus County business and tourism officials said that "they had no choice but to assume" the threat was real. However, Concord City Council members voted to ask the Planning & Zoning Commission "to consider amending the speedway's zoning to allow drag strips on the property" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/10).