Ollen Bruton Smith, business pioneer and innovator, built Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway into a world-renowned sports entertainment destination. Smith’s Speedway Motorsports organization purchased the Northeast Tennessee half-mile oval in 1996. His leadership has seen fans from all 50 states and 25 countries flock to Tennessee to experience what is heralded as The Last Great Colosseum.
Under his ownership, Smith more than doubled Bristol’s seating capacity to create NASCAR’s only 360-degree seat facility, increasing suites from 20 to nearly 200 and growing the facility workforce from 20 to 75 full-time employees with nearly 6,000 part time workers on NASCAR weekends. Enhancements continue to this day throughout the facility. Most notably in 2016, Smith installed the world’s largest, outdoor, center-hung, four-sided display known as Colossus TV, an engineering marvel.
Boasting an annual economic impact of $417 million and more than $1.4 billion indirect economic benefits, Bristol Motor Speedway is featured prominently on NBC and FOX’s NASCAR coverage.
Smith’s revitalization of Bristol Dragway bolsters Tennessee’s national reputation through the premier facility’s nationally-televised programming on Discovery Channel, ESPN, and FOX.
Stock car racing is one part of the Bristol Motor Speedway story. Smith’s greatest dream for his Tennessee facility came true in 2016. Two decades in the making, the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol became the biggest college football game in history with 156,990 in attendance. The game generated an estimated $439 million economic impact and a primetime television audience on ABC.
Smith, an entrepreneurial visionary, is also an active philanthropist. Founded in 1996, the Bristol chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities has raised nearly $16 million to support Tennessee-based, child-focused agencies.
Welcome to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020, Bruton Smith.