CHARLOTTE, N.C. — From an early age, Doug Rice says stock car racing has been in his blood.

“I am from North Carolina,” Rice said. “I’ve lived in Salisbury, North Carolina since I was 11 years old. My brothers brought me down for the Coca-Cola 600 one year, and that’s what sort of set the hook.”

 

What You Need to Know

Bruton Smith passed away June 22

The North Carolina native built the Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960

He continued to build a motorsports empire through Speedway Motorsports

 

A proximity that made Rice fall in love with NASCAR even more.

“It was here. It was our sport,” Rice said. “Everything else was away somewhere else. It was a sport that they played in Chicago, New York, Green Bay or Atlanta. This happened 30 miles from my house, and we could come down and be a part of it.”

His enthusiasm turned into a sports broadcasting career.

For more than 30 years, Rice has worked as an anchor for the Performance Racing Network, a part of Speedway Motorsports Inc.

“I dove in and started working at PRN in 1988,” Rice said. “We only had two races a year then. And now we will broadcast at nine different tracks this year and cover 14 different cup races.”

Rice had a front-row seat inside the announcer booth, as Bruton Smith’s vision for his motorsports empire expanded.

Smith passed away June 22. The North Carolina native built the Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960. He continued to build a motorsports empire through Speedway Motorsports.

“Perfect illustration, we had a plan and a budget in mind that we wanted to hit when we built this studio,” Rice said. “He had his people look at it, and they did some tweaking on the plans and came back. It was going to cost more. He goes, 'if that’s what you need to get the job done, then we need to spend that extra money,' he said, 'or you’re going to be back in here in two years asking me for more money anyway.'”

Rice says Smith wasn’t afraid to take on any challenge.

“He was that way about everything. He looked at things, and he wanted it done to a certain level of excellence, and that’s what drives you to be better,” Rice said.

Excellence that drove Smith to push the envelope.

Smith created the fine-dining The Speedway Club, added condos at the speedway and was the first to light up a major race track at Charlotte.

“Even up until the day they finally raced here people said, 'I don’t know how this is going to work or how effective this is going to be,'” Rice said. “And it changed racing. And now you wouldn’t think of building a superspeedway that didn’t have lights to extend into the night time.”

Innovative ideas that were driven by one goal, improving the experience for the fans.

“He knew at the end of the day that those people buying tickets or watching on television or on the radio were the backbone of everything that we do here,” Rice said.

A focus Rice believes will continue as his legacy lives on.

“I don’t want to call Bruton a dreamer,” Rice said. “He would dream things, but he would have the wherewithal and the capital and the vision to see them through to the end.”

While Smith was known in the motorsports and business worlds, he also loved to give back to others. His organization, Speedway Children’s Charities, has distributed more than $61 million to local organizations across the country.