The legendary racetrack owner died this week at age 95. In an interview, his right hand man talks about what it was like to work with a larger-than-life North Carolinian who wasn't afraid of a fight.
Awesome article Jeremy. I remember well, back when NASCAR RaceDay was actually a fun show to watch, the day's of both Bruton and Humphy being the highlight of the shows. And you are right, you didn't say no to Bruton. Two things that stick out in my mind about him was Kentucky, the traffic fiasco and threating the Kentucky Governor. And then the Charlotte City Council and his 4-lane dragway at Charlotte. The man surly had clout.
I started following racing as a college student in the mid-80's and was caught up in the explosion of the sport during the '90's. I even bought a few shares of SMI when it went public (did fairly well on it as I recall.) It's always interesting to hear Humpy's insider stories to fill in the gaps from that time. What Bruton and Humpy did to spur the growth and capitalize on it was legendary! Humpy even let our bike club run time-trial races at CMS in which he personally competed (along with Bobby Labonte, the only cycling driver at the time!) I didn't know Bruton was a paratrooper. Sad to see time claim another larger-than-life founder of the sport. I'll bet he's up there swapping stories with Big Bill, Junior, and the rest. RIP Bruton.
Awesome article Jeremy. I remember well, back when NASCAR RaceDay was actually a fun show to watch, the day's of both Bruton and Humphy being the highlight of the shows. And you are right, you didn't say no to Bruton. Two things that stick out in my mind about him was Kentucky, the traffic fiasco and threating the Kentucky Governor. And then the Charlotte City Council and his 4-lane dragway at Charlotte. The man surly had clout.
I started following racing as a college student in the mid-80's and was caught up in the explosion of the sport during the '90's. I even bought a few shares of SMI when it went public (did fairly well on it as I recall.) It's always interesting to hear Humpy's insider stories to fill in the gaps from that time. What Bruton and Humpy did to spur the growth and capitalize on it was legendary! Humpy even let our bike club run time-trial races at CMS in which he personally competed (along with Bobby Labonte, the only cycling driver at the time!) I didn't know Bruton was a paratrooper. Sad to see time claim another larger-than-life founder of the sport. I'll bet he's up there swapping stories with Big Bill, Junior, and the rest. RIP Bruton.