Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Marcus Smith Interview

Episode Date: July 17, 2025

Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith joins Kevin Harvick for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of NASCAR’s most iconic tracks, his public feud with Denny Hamlin, and the investment strategy behind renovations like North Wilkesboro and Atlanta. Harvick and Smith dive into what’s next for Texas Motor Speedway and address how driver feedback impacts executive decisions. 0:00 - Intro 0:28 - Marcus Smith Joins The Show! 8:47 - Put A Roof On Bristol? 14:43 - Biggest Moments At The Track 24:54 - Current State Of NASCAR 28:26 - Favorite Races Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The dream is to put a roof on Bristol one day. I was really crazy about the Ford Bronco, the OJ Bronco. It was great. We went to the racetrack, you went in, you drove the car, and you went home. To me, it's really awesome to be able to have a purpose that is bigger than ourselves. Welcome to Kevin Harvick's happy hour, presented by NASCAR on Fox. And today we have one of my good friends, and I would call you an ambassador to the sport, Marcus Smith. Thanks, man.

Thanks for taking the time today. It's fun to, we talked a little bit about this before you came on. It's fun for me to have people on the show that I know really well because I feel like a lot of our audience in today's NASCAR world is new. And I feel like we go through this, and you probably know this better than anybody, we go through this cycle of fans and you have your hardcore NASCAR fans, but you have new fans. And it's fun to introduce people to who the players in the sport are

that are such a key part of making it go around. It is really fun. I was at one of our last races. I think I was in Atlanta and given rise in my golf cart to people. And I was amazed at how many people were there for the first time. They were there to come and see the racing at Atlanta. And it was groups of people that maybe one had been to a race and the others. It was a first time.

And you're right. when we've got all this exposure to, you know, the world and the product on the track, the interesting stories are bringing people in. And all the things that are kind of old hat to us are new stories to them. So it's great to be able to, you know, share some of the, some of our old stories with new fans. And a lot of them wouldn't even believe it because of the things that you've been a part of the sport since you were born. Yeah. And, you know, I think that when you start talking about that era of NASCAR that we were fortunate up to grow up in, I was fortunate to race in.

You were fortunate to grow up and see so many great things through the years with the growth of NASCAR. And then, you know, we've kind of gone through some transitions. And so you talk about, and I think Atlanta is one of those great stories of transition, right? Yeah. You go through this historic race check that's had championships and had this, a long-standing history in our sport with so many moments and different things that go through the years. And then you guys go and you change the racetrack. And Atlanta had kind of, I think it's fair to say, kind of hit a lull.

And now it's probably the most popular race on the schedule from a viewer standpoint. Is that fair? I don't know if it's the most popular. It's really cool to see all the positive comments about Atlanta. I mean, it's up there. with, you know, one of the tracks that you want to go to, that you would kind of say, if I'm only going to two or three races this year, I want to make sure Atlanta is on that list.

Right. And that's cool. We've got some great racing, and, you know, it's proving out to be different than a regular restrictor plate or super speedway track. Putting pressure on the regular restrictor play tracks. Yeah, yeah, probably is. It is, you know, the way that the Daytona Taledega races have kind of evolved to, and then you look at Atlanta with virtually the same rules package.

I think that the teams, well, I know that the teams approach it a little bit differently because it happens so much faster. You have to have a little bit of downforce in your car, but you look at the end of that race, and it's just, it's exciting with the way that they can pass and maneuver and it added an element to it. So how does that go? So we're going to tear the racetrack up at Atlanta. Yeah. So first off, whose idea was this? And how do you approach NASCAR with something like that to say we want to do this? So it actually started back when we redesigned Kentucky Speedway.

After we bought Kentucky, one of the things on the list was we've got to eventually repave because the pavement was in pretty bad shape. and me and Steve Swift talked, and, you know, one of the things you always know, when you repave a track over the years, over the history of our sport, a repave usually makes for boring races for the next several races. Right. Because the fastest way is the bottom, and, you know, everybody lines up, and it's really hard to pass because you're going as fast as you can possibly go with that nice new, sticky pavement.

Right. right and um so steve and i talked and i said is there a way that we can make this asphalt act older more quickly could we come out of the box with an old track and and uh and he went to work on that and um and we also added you know what if we don't shape it quite the same and we we change the shape so you start in kutucky then we went to texas um we had different results at both of those in two different styles of reprofiling the track and also the new asphalt and the new style, the new technology that we used in the paving. And then we took that to Atlanta and we tried one treatment to the banking in Kentucky, another treatment in Texas, and then

we went to Atlanta. And the last idea was, could we build a super speedway banked mile and a half? We taught the NASCAR about it. They were open to it. We went to ir racing and asked for their help to simulate it. And we worked on that quite a bit. And in fact, I think that Atlanta probably had more simulation time than any other track ever in actually helping to develop the, what do you call it, the CAD design of the pavement profile. And so by the time we loaded all that information into the machines to go out and profile those turns,

we already had, I don't know how many laps on the virtual track to determine, you know, what is going to race like. So thankfully, you know, Steve accepted the challenge. He did tell me that it was the toughest repave to hold equipment up on the track for that steep. bank. It takes a special type of equipment to be able to do that. And it was a really difficult job. But the team did phenomenal work. And it's been fun to watch. Yeah, it's been fun to watch for sure to see the evolution of Atlanta come back to life. And, you know, you look at the crowds and the enthusiasm that comes with every single one of those races now is pretty intriguing. You talk about a place like, well, you go back to North Wilkesboro. You guys revived North Wilkesboro. It's turned into,

you know, a great, a great spot to race. But then you have a place like Kentucky. Do you ever think we go back to a place like that? Because it seems like what's old is new again. And you get that enthusiasm that comes back with places like that. I'll tell you what I've told many people asked me. And I had some people this year asked me a few, a few times. I think Kentucky has as much of a shot as North Wilkesboro. And, you know, a year before we reopened Wilkesboro, I mean, the idea of going back there was crazy. It was covered in Kudzu. When Dale and I were up there with the rest of our team, weed eating to get it in shape just to scan it for irascing. I mean, that visit on that really cold day up there, um,

kind of confirmed that this place has gone too far. Yeah. It's in terrible condition. You could never race here again. And then, who knew, we would be racing there. And, you know, thanks to a lot of effort and support from the state and a lot of race fans saying, we want this back. Right.

It's happened. So it could happen, Kentucky. It could happen anywhere. So you've been, you watched your dad. come up and do everything that he did. Now you've been through these moments where you have the North Wilkesboro, the Kentuckys, the Atlantis, all these different things. Is there something that is out there that you say, I'd really like to do this? We've seen street racing. We've seen revivals of racetracks. Like, what's the big pipe dream that you might have in your mind?

Because, I mean, you're a dreamer. I mean, you think, I mean, you think, I mean, you swing for the fence sometimes when you get things. You're conservative at times, but you guys in your group swing for the fence with a lot of the things that you do. Yeah, I think I learned from my dad, you know, that taking risks is how you can achieve things. And so I have a high risk tolerance level that I'm willing to do things and that could make a difference. I'm not afraid to fail. I think that's important for anybody to not be afraid. to fail on whatever you're doing. But the dream, I think the thing that would be awesome to do,

and we could do it, is to put a roof on Bristol one day. It would love that. And I mean, then the things you could do there, it would be, you know, we've got a baseball game coming up next month in Bristol. We've got, we've done a football game. You know, we could do WrestleMania. You could have, you know, who knows what, the biggest UFC fight in the world. think anything you do at Bristol is going to be the biggest at any stadium because it's the biggest

stadium. Right. And in terms of a place where you could have a field and be able to see it, it's one thing to put a, if you put a football field at Charlotte, it would be a postage stamp. But at Bristol, you know, everybody can see it. And this baseball game will kind of have that same feel. But yeah, Ruf on Bristol would be big dream. That'd be pretty wild. It's doable. It'd be loud. We can hang the biggest TV in the world over the top of Bristol. We can put a roof on it.

Yeah. And when you look back at the football games, and I would just, how many people do you think you'll have at the baseball game? I think it's 80 some thousand. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah.

That's a massive event. It is. You guys always seem to come up with those types of events. But you talk about your dad. And what was it like growing up as a kid? Like, what did you do when, When you were 15, 16 years old, what were your duties at the racetrack? Did he make you work, not work?

What did you have to do? When I was, before I could drive, my brother, Scott and I mowed the grass at home. My brother David is only a year and a half younger. by the time David could, Dave knows this, so I'm not telling anything, but for some reason, dad got a yard service,

like when David was old enough to run the tractor. And I was like, man, how did that happen? But, you know, we did a lot of chores. I mean, all of us, we had to clean the garage, watch after the dogs. Dad would take us to the car dealership. He worked at a Ford store and that we still have the day. And we learned how to clean the cars and drive stick shift and sort them out on the lot.

And then eventually, when I could drive, I would drive out at the Speedway. And that was kind of the big deal, is be able to go work at the Speedway. I loved, you know, using the equipment. And, you know, I don't know why, but I loved mowing the grass and cleaning the place up. And there was some jobs that I didn't love. I was allergic to straw to hay. And so moving hay bales around was always like my least favorite activity. So there had to be, there had to be times.

I know if I was in this position, like, there had to be things that you guys did as kids that were like, well, we don't want to get in trouble, but this would be really fun. Like, did we ever take any cars or anything on the racetracks when we weren't supposed to? or anything mischievous that? We did. More mischievous around the neighborhood than the Speedway. I think the Speedway, I don't know, we were afraid to get in trouble. And there were a lot of people watching.

Yeah. And I mean, you couldn't get in trouble when like the job was to go and, you know, take wheat eaters and cut all the grass on the hill. You know, just eventually you would just get worn out. would there in the summer and had had a lot of work to do around the property and that was part of it. But around the neighborhood, we would occasionally get in trouble with motorcycles and mopeds. See, I would have been on the road courses or what the road course has been there since when in the Speedway at Charlotte. Before me, I don't know. It's been there since you remember.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think that when when people look at that roval, now. They look at it and, you know, it's a marquee event for what you guys do. Yeah. But that road course has been in there. It was there. Emsa, you know, the Camel G.T. was there. We love that race. That was the coolest thing. I mean, the low and brown car. Oh, yeah. That was awesome. Rick Hendrick had the spirit of Charlotte Corvettes that debuted at that race. The Jaguars, the Porsches. It was, that was a cool race that we loved. It wasn't as big as NASCAR, but it was really fun to see those awesome cars around the track.

So when you look back at that time, you know, you were around your dad at the events. And what was the first event that you remember that you guys put on as a company that you look back at and say, that's the one, that is the event that you remember? Is it, was it the night race? What was the first one? The original one hot night.

One hot night. That was, you know, the original, the Winston, the night that we lit the track was electric. I mean, that's really when I became a NASCAR fan. Before that, I was just a kid. My dad, you know, worked at the Speedway and a car dealership. And, you know, when you're a kid, you're a kid. Yeah. But that night was electric to see the cars, the lights.

When the cars took the green at the start, finish, and the light bulbs, I mean, it was the flashes from all the cameras. It's one thing that I missed the most. The flashes from all the cameras coming to the green flag. Yes. It was incredible. And then the finish, you know, with Davey, Allison on his hood, Kyle, Davey. Earnhardt all going into turn three coming out, Davey won, flip. And I mean, the whole thing was amazing.

It was that, I don't know, that night. And then every all-star was so cool. It was just over the top. And that's when I became fan. So you go from those moments that you're learning about the sport. where did the path start to go to be in charge? How long did it take to get to where you are currently? So I started working in the summers outside.

My first inside job, I'll call it, was after my freshman year in college, I realized that maybe being a doctor was not going to work out for me. I wasn't great at calculus, it wasn't great at chemistry. I kind of had this moment when I thought, you know, maybe another eight years of this isn't going to be, you know, the best idea for me. So I asked my dad about working at the Speedway inside, in the business. And he said, sure, go talk to Humpy and talk to Humpy, who, you know, I had grown up around as well. and he kind of put me in a position to do a tour in all the departments that I hadn't been in already. And so I worked some in tickets.

I worked in PR. I worked in events and in corporate sales. And I liked them all. Really learned a lot around that. In the ticketing department, I learned that every campsite was not ours. It was whoever that fan was that had that campsite. that was their campsite. Right.

Or the tickets. Every grandstand seat, every ticket holder, you know, has been buying that grandstand seat for a long time. And it's as much there as it is ours. Right. And the passion of our fans, that was something that just hit me so clearly. And it made me realize that, you know, what we're doing is not just selling tickets or selling, you know, coques and hot dogs, it's providing this amazing place in life where we can all build memories and have stories and build friendships and families. So that really captured me. And so I,

during those summers, I worked in, I really kind of leaned into the corporate sales department, had a really cool experience with Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, who asked me, he was the speaker at chapel before the race at a Coke 600. And I don't know if you were there. He may not have been there yet, but he asked me, I wanted to meet him. My middle name is Graham after Billy Graham. And I wanted to meet him and tell him that. And I'm a young guy, you know, a freshman in college. And he said, what do you want to do with your life? And, you know, it's a big question. Yeah, it is. It is. I mean, when you're 20, 22 years old, and you get that question from somebody, it feels different.

And so I said, boy, you know, I thought about medicine. I thought about ministry. I was really active in my faith. And I said, maybe work here in the family business. And he said, boy, what a great opportunity would be to work at this racetrack. What a great, you know, thing, the impact you can have on people's lives. And, you know, that really got me thinking about kind of back to that idea that, you know, we're in a place where we make positive memories. And that, so that really just kind of drives me.

It's a purpose, you know, that makes our, the work that we do, it might be corny to some people. But to me, it's really awesome to be able to have a purpose that is bigger than ourselves. And to make people happy and provide a platform. for those lifelong memories to happen. So you go and you are where you are today. Yep. Was COVID the toughest scenario that you've had to deal with yet? As far as navigating a season?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, that is, you know what it is? It's a really cool. I mean, I think everybody, don't you have like before COVID or after COVID? Oh, yeah. And that's a, that's just a, in our generation, that's just a part of the conversation that, Life before, life after.

Right, right. So we learned a bunch. You know, we learned a bunch. Also, the Great Recession, 08-09. I mean, and really the NASCAR recession was longer than that. It hit us for multiple years where a lot of companies. Some markets worse than others. Yes.

Yeah. Still haven't recovered in some of those markets. For sure. For sure. So, you know, I think those two big things happened while I've been in a, in a leadership. leadership role. And so for me as a leader, I've learned through those difficult times a ton. And I used to think about what was it like to run a business back in the 70s with really high interest rates or the gas crisis and all sorts of turmoil.

And now we've got our own bumps in the road, the roller coasters of life that we've kind of looked back on as experience. So when you look at, when I look at COVID, I probably look at it different than you do because of the fact I was on the other side of the fence from a driver's perspective. It was great. Yeah. Because we went to the racetrack. You went in. You drove the car and you went home. Yep. And, but racing was a little bit different because, hey, it was hard to get the, the cars back on the racetrack. And I think you win the first race. I did. And that was... And you got out of the car and you're like, what do I do?

Yeah, it was just an echo through the grandstands. And, you know, I think that I learned how big getting back on the racetrack during COVID was when Kevin McCarthy called. He was the first call from the White House about how big that moment was. Second call was from Joe Girardi. Yeah. And, you know, the path for sports forward, the door was open. And I think when you look at that, I mean, there had to be just a handful of you guys that, were a key to putting those cars back on the track.

It was a huge effort. We had, so North Carolina, as you know, is the home of all the race teams. And so for a moment in time, nobody could go to work. Yeah. Right? So, like, nothing could happen. So we got on the phone with the governor, Governor Cooper, and talked about this. Rick Hendrick called the governor.

when we were talking about this, we had to have a plan. And so we talked with Atrium at the hospital, the medical team, and with race teams and figure out a plan to go to work. And so at the shop, there were different protocols that everybody had to go through, all these various things, which enabled us to actually prepare to go to a race. and then every state had its own rules and regs. So every one of our general managers became really close with all the governor's offices to try to get the right rules and regs

that we could operate in. And that's kind of how the schedule unfolded when we went to, it was Darlington was the first race. Darlington was the first race. Charlotte was the next, I think. Charlotte had a couple. I think we did one on Wednesday night. Yeah.

That's right. So it was a challenge that, you know, we, what do you do when you get a challenge? You got to figure it out. Yeah. And we all hit this moment where everybody else was really busy. So we had to figure out how to help ourselves. Right. And then we made some phone calls.

We invested time and a can-do attitude and figured out how to make it work. And it changed the landscape of what we do. because we learned that we didn't need to practice as much. We learned that there are some efficiencies and a number of people that we had at the racetracks. So there are a lot of things that you see in today's NASCAR world that would have never ever happened if it weren't for COVID. So when you look at where we are now with how we race,

how we practice, stages, short practice sessions, there for Saturday, Sunday, what are some of the things that you look at today's NASCAR, car world and say, I wish this were different. We need to make this better in today's world. More practice time. More practice time. I love. Drivers will agree with you on that. Yeah, I miss Happy Hour. Yeah. Well, you're here. I know. I missed the other Happy Hour. The other Happy Hour. As soon as I said that, I was like, that's what it is. I miss the old happy hour practice. You know, it's my kind of hankering.

for things of old, you know, when you had... Or the grumpy old man. The grumpy old man is, I miss the speed stage. You know, FS1 was speed. I missed the old speed stage and having the, you know, on-site, that game day style experience that enables this kind of conversation to happen on a Friday or Saturday night on a race weekend when, you know, drivers. can get to, can show themselves like more of their personalities to the fans. That's how we got to know people like Kenny Wallace,

who you only knew Kenny as a driver, and now we know him as this amazing personality. Or there's a bunch of other people that, you, I mean, I don't know how many, you probably were on the speed stage countless times. And people got to know you more than just the guy that gets out of the car and, you know, says a few words, says a few lines, you get to actually have a conversation.

I think that that was awesome during those pre-COVID times. I would love to see that. And when you look at, you talk about the drivers, when you look at pre-COVID compared to where we are now, it's a much different generation of driver. The driver job is much different than it used to be because of the fact that there's a ton more meetings. There's a ton more simulator time. It's just a, it's very different.

I feel like this year with the way that the, you know, the driver appearances and things, I feel like the drivers are as engaged as they've been in the last decade. Is that fair to say? More for sure. In the last, maybe it is a decade, you know, at least the last six or seven, eight years, this is absolutely a high watermark in what I'm seeing in driver involvement with fans. And I'm so happy about that. It makes a big difference.

We are a sport that was built on that approachability and that kind of access. And you know from all the time that you spent, I mean, how many autographs have you given with all your different sponsors? And going to every market you're in, you're stopping at multiple places to engage with people. or on race weekend, on race day, you would stop at two or three different hospitalities to say hi to guests. And there's a lot of work. It is a lot of work.

And I think when you look at that, it's just the way that the world functions with social media and all the things that happen now, the engagement is different. But I'm glad to hear you say that you think it's as good as it's ever been. So a couple more questions. When you look back as a kid,

as an adult in charge, being the boss, what's your favorite race that you've ever watched? What's the number one list, number one on your list for favorite races that you've watched? Oh, man, good question. Well, I mean, I think that there's a couple of them. That one hot night when I first became, a race fan. I mean, that was when the light bulb went off for me. Yeah. And I was so proud of my dad

for this, this idea. Wild idea. It kind of, it all hit me at that time. You know, I took it all for granted until then. So it was 92, I think that was. And, um, but it all, everything from when I drove to the speedway and the speedway, you know, is, it kind of comes up over the horizon when you, when you drive from Charlotte. And I saw these, the lights that I never seen before. I saw the crowd and it was dark. And I mean, people were just going bananas. And the whole thing was awesome. And so that one is the one for me, everything about it. And then the other one probably is that first all-star a race at Wilkesboro to see the incredible positive impact that we had on a community to be able to bring North Wilkesboro Speedway back to see the impact that that had on that community and all the

fans that came from all over to with with all their stories. I heard so many stories about when people were there when when they were younger, they came with their dads or they came with, you know, their friends. and it really just made me feel really good about reviving that place. Yeah. And when you look back and you say there has to be a moment because with the big ideas and the big things, the one idea that you had that never happened, that you were like, man, I wish that would have happened. Oh, well. Track purchase, race, creation.

What, which, is there, is there one that sticks out as, gosh, that, that would have been awesome. Well, it wasn't my idea, but my dad's idea was he had a couple of things that he was working on to, to possibly put a racetrack at in Myrtle Beach. And, you know, a race, racetracks in destination markets are, it's really helpful. You know, think about Las Vegas, Sonoma. You've got these destinations that people want to go to anyway. So having a racetrack in a place like, you know, Myrtle Beach, that's a big, that would be a really cool. Was he trying to buy the actual Myrtle Beach racetrack? Or just somewhere else?

Probably. Yeah, there were a couple things going there. And, yeah, that was one that I think, you know, has a lot of potential. And, you know, there are things. on my list that, I mean, it takes, some of these things take years, years to pull off. And I mean, look, we've been working on the Nashville fairgrounds for years. Yeah. And still haven't given up for some reason. Yeah. There's potential there. Everyone's, it's like my golf game. I'm not very good at golf, but every once in a while it had a good shot. He had a good shot. It keeps you coming back.

Come back, yeah. So we see a lot of talk about places that you go, and you're all about cars. You're around cool cars all the time. So what was the first car that you drove that you got as a kid that you drove? And what's the coolest car that you've ever driven? Oh, man. So my first car was... So I grew up around a Ford dealership.

So Ford's were the only cars. And I was really crazy about the Ford Bronco and the big one, the OJ Bronco, as people might know. And so I drove a demo. It wasn't mine, but I was entrusted to take care of it. I was allowed to drive it for, you know, like six months. And so that was the first car that I was allowed to drive and I loved it. It was the coolest thing. I was older for my grade, so I think I was a second kid to have a license and a car in my school.

So I was super popular for like three months. And that was a lot of fun. You could leave campus and go to lunch, which course we did. And that was a lot of fun. The coolest car I've ever driven, gosh, I mean, probably 40, Ford GT. I mean, I've driven some cool cars. There's some cool Porsches I've driven, but I think Ford GT was probably the coolest car I've ever driven. But crazy car story. I rode on the floorboard of Tim Richmond's race car in Dayton.

We went from somewhere to there was a big dinner. I think it was, I don't know what it was, but it was an RJ Reynolds thing, and I just grabbed on the rails and Tim Richmond was driving. In his race car? It was a, I think it was, I mean, it was a race car. Yeah. You know, sometimes they had the show cars.

Oh yeah. But this one had the, I was a kid, but it was loud, grumbly, couldn't hear anything. And my dad said, here, Tim's going to give you a ride. Hey, when I was eight years old, I remember going on a racetrack at Mason Marin, and that was my first race car ride was on the, eight, nine years old. Yeah, yeah, holding on to the roll bars.

That was my first time in the passage of sight. In the past Charlotte, Buddy Baker gave me a ride, and I did have a helmet on, but. Yeah. There are some great stories from the right side of that car, not the safest thing to do. But in those days, there weren't as many people. There weren't pictures on Instagram and X and all the things that would immediately get you in trouble or get that person in trouble. But I definitely rode in the passenger side of a race car when I was. We drank from the hose too.

Very, you drank from the hose as well. All right. So last question. Now, I need to know, is, are you and Denny Hamlin okay now? Because that had to be the best interaction that we've seen on. in a long time. Denny is obviously very vocal about what we do. I love Denny Hamlin's, I love his openness to talk about whatever. But is that, is that the, is that the, is, is, is, is, is is, is, is good. Are you guys good? He invited me to his golf tournament. Well, that's good.

Coming up, which is very nice of him. And, and we'll support, I can't make it because I'm going to be, our son's getting married. Oh my gosh. That makes me feel old. It's wild. Yes. You got a teenager. I know.

I do have a teenager and that is scary in itself. Well, thanks for taking the time. We appreciate everything that you and your family and company have done and do for this sport. And I can't wait to see what you guys come up with next. So thanks for taking the time. Huge team effort. Enjoyed it.

Thank you. Yep.