Speedway Motorsports yesterday laid off 15% of its workforce, becoming the latest entity in racing to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The company has eliminated 180 positions across its eight tracks throughout all departments and subsidiaries, while furloughing an additional 100 employees. SMI in a statement to THE DAILY said the pandemic has "had a significant impact on our business." It continued, "Since the beginning of the shutdown four weeks ago, we have kept our entire team on full pay while our properties remained dormant. In that time, it has become clear that we must be a more nimble, more efficient organization. As such, we have made the difficult decision to restructure our business and eliminate many duplicate positions." The company says it is providing severance packages to each employee that lost their job. It had too many employees to qualify for a small business loan from the federal government. SMI could re-hire some of the laid-off employees for events in the coming months if and when NASCAR restarts.
PLANNING AHEAD: SMI said that it “remains committed to providing the very best entertainment experience to all who come through our gates" after the pandemic, and added that the belt-tightening “positions us to move forward at that time and well into the future." SMI added, "In the meantime, our staff will continue to maintain our facilities in preparation for the event days ahead and support our community with outreach efforts." SMI joins NASCAR and IndyCar in laying off employees, though NASCAR had been long planning to eliminate positions after it acquired ISC last year. Many other series, teams and varying entities around racing have also furloughed employees. SMI in addition to its tracks also owns the Performance Racing Network radio station, a merchandise arm and the U.S. Legends Car program.
