Speedway Motorsports Inc. Exec Chair BRUTON SMITH "delighted the audience with an off-the-cuff speech Saturday while accepting his place in NASCAR's Hall of Fame, touching on everything from his building of Charlotte Motor Speedway to his unwavering support of Coca-Cola," according to Jenna Fryer of the AP. Smith in his 16-minute speech at the Charlotte Convention Center said that he "offered Pepsi Cola a 50-year deal as the exclusive soda supplier" at CMS, but the company "declined." It "led to a partnership with Coca-Cola that has spanned decades and helped turn the annual Coca-Cola 600 into one of most prestigious races in NASCAR." Smith: "We have sold millions and millions of cans of Coca-Cola. As a matter of fact, if we had all the money we took in from selling Coca-Cola, we would have plenty of money and I could give y'all some money." His son, SMI CEO MARCUS SMITH, "twice tried to nudge his father along with his speech," but the elder Smith joked that NASCAR team owner RICK HENDRICK had "offered him money if he talked for at least 12 minutes" (AP, 1/23). ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted Smith used his time "telling stories of being a racetrack promoter." Pockrass: "It wasn't polished, but it was pure Bruton" (ESPN.com, 1/23). In Jacksonville, Don Coble wrote Smith's speech was "true to his personality" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/24). In Charlotte, David Scott wrote Smith's speech was "probably the highlight of the afternoon." He spent much of it "describing the difficulties of financing and building" CMS in '59. Scott also noted late broadcaster STEVE BYRNES was "honored with the Squier-Hall Award for journalism excellence." In addition, Darlington Raceway Founder HAROLD BRASINGTON "won the hall of fame’s Landmark Award for outstanding contributions to NASCAR" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/24).
