Speedway Motorsports Inc. officials will announce today the construction of six mini-suites overlooking pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 15-person outdoor suites, built about 11 feet above the NASCAR pit crew boxes, are at the center of pit road, on the track’s “50-yard line,” according to CMS Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Dan Farrell. The suites with roof cover are tied to three-year deals at a cost of $45,000 annually. In return, suite holders will receive 15 tickets to eight NASCAR events every year. Catering provided by track concessionaire Levy Restaurants is a separate fee. To date, SMI has sold four of the six suites, including three to JR Motorsports, UPS and 3M. SMI has a contract pending for a fourth pit road suite and track officials are confident the remaining two units will be sold by May 19, the date of the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race, Farrell said. As part of the pit road suite package, suite holders get exclusive access to the new Winners Circle Lounge behind the structure. The lounge, formerly the Sunoco Gas Station, will have a bar, a meeting room, televisions and restrooms.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES: CMS' pit road suites follow a trend started at other NASCAR and open-wheel race tracks to bring premium patrons closer to the action. Michigan Int'l Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and the IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach previously installed high-end hospitality units along pit road.
