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Speedway owner lives in fast lane (Part 1)

Speedway owner lives in fast lane (Part 1)

ronment that NEVER ceases to stop GOT to slow this place down and do some serious Wheeler continued by now well into his third page constant incessant pressure on me and this place is a time concerns in his letter notwithstanding Smith 64 one of most prominent successful track owners has not slowed down Today the multimillionaire owner of two speedways several car dealerships and insurance company and other properties is pushing forward at a faster pace Last month in the face of a $21 million divorce judgment he unveiled a lavish $75 million expansion project for Atlanta Motor Speedway which he bought last October And letter gleaned from divorce records in Mecklenburg County District Court in Charlotte is a rare glimpse into the private business world of Charlotte Motor Speedway and its flamboyant owner It graphically exemplifies the breakneck pace at the speedway and the unusual relationship be- tween Wheeler and Smith that has helped make it most glamorous track Last weekend during a busy riday before the Sunday running of the Mello Yello 500 each agreed to an interview in the seventh-floor executive offices of the gleaming Smith Tower a glass and steel office building that More about ROM Cl C2 By BOB ZELLER Start Writer One day about five years ago right after another hugely profitable and successful Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race Charlotte Motor Speedway President and General Manager HA Wheeler sat down and penned an intensely personal handwritten letter to his boss speedway Chairman Bruton Smith is a very hard letter to he started Wheeler was about to take his boss to task But first he thanked Smith for the chance to work at the speedway boldness and vision Wheeler wrote had been great But Wheeler man broke all records this weekend in Wheeler wrote in the undated letter thinks CMS is the greatest I I have an empty The relentless pace of work at the speedway was burning out some of its executives and tearing their families apart he wrote The personal toll was fierce should be a fun place to letter said It is a PRESSURE-fiUed envi- Smith was an unhappy Speedway owner lives in fast lane wb Ji I.