((HT: Birmingham News/Demmons))
Bruton Smith, who is chairman of Speedway Motorsports which owns Lowe's Motor Speedway, had some choice words today for the way NASCAR has handled two recent controversies - the drug suspension of driver Jeremy Mayfield and the record-setting penalties against driver Carl Long.
On Mayfield, Smith said NASCAR "should come out and say what the substance is" that he tested positive for. "Why do we need all this secrecy behind it?"
On Long, who was banned for 12 races and fined $200,000 for an unapproved engine, Smith said "the fine is ridiculous. Why would you fine this man $200,000? What is it proving?"
"I don't know Carl Long," he said, "but there's an injustice done there. It's cruel to try to ruin this man. It's just not right."
Smith also discussed his attempts to get a Sprint Cup race for his most recent track acquisition - Kentucky Speedway.
But he needs NASCAR's approval and that's not going to happen as long as the former owners of the track continue to pursue an appeal of their antitrust case against NASCAR.
So Smith on Saturday also blasted the track's former owners for their determination to continue the case, saying he "tried to shame them" into dropping the case by reminding them the state of Kentucky put $96 million into the project.
"There's 96 million reasons they ought to drop that lawsuit," he said.
If he does get a Cup date for Kentucky he'll have to take one away from one of his other tracks. Speculation has centered on Atlanta being the track that would lose a date but Smith has refused to say which track it will come from.
He did, however, say that neither Lowe's Motor Speedway nor Texas Motor Speedway would lose a date.
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