Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> March 20, 2000
Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway)
has been under the direction of President and Chief Operating Officer
H.A. 'HUMPY' WHEELER since 1975. With his innovative promoting style and
motorsports experience, Mr. Wheeler has helped the 1.5-mile
superspeedway become one of the world's greatest motorsports facilities.
During the past 10 years the speedway's seating capacity has grown from
75,000 seats to 167,000. In 1992 Lowe's Motor Speedway became the first
superspeedway to host night racing with the addition of a $1.7 million
lighting system. Under his direction, the speedway was also the first to
offer extensive VIP suites, condominiums and extravagant pre-race
entertainment. In 1995, Mr. Wheeler was part of another motorsports
first, as he and speedway owner Bruton Smith went public with Speedway
Motorsports, Inc., (NYSE: TRK) the first publicly traded motorsports
company on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, Speedway Motorsports
operates facilities in Atlanta, Bristol (Tenn.), Charlotte, Las Vegas,
Ft. Worth and Sears Point (Calif.). It also owns and operates 600
Racing, the manufacturer of the Legends and Bandolero cars and Finish
Line Events, which provides event food, beverage and souvenir-
merchandising services. Lowe's Motor Speedway is the flagship of SMI and
hosts more major events than any other motorsports facility in the
world. Mr. Wheeler attended the University of South Carolina with a
football scholarship and graduated in 1961 with a degree in Journalism.
Prior to joining Lowe's Motor Speedway, Mr. Wheeler worked as a sports
writer, a television director, a real estate manager, and a track
operator for several dirt tracks. He also served as Director of Racing
at Firestone Rubber & Tire Co., during its most visible years in the
sport. Mr. Wheeler has been extremely active in civic affairs both on
the local and national levels. A past Chairman of the Charlotte
Convention & Visitors Bureau, he has also served on the Charlotte
Chamber of Commerce and the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce, and
on the Board of Charlotte Catholic Services, Mercy Hospital, the Boy
Scouts of America and the National Head Injury Foundation. He currently
serves on the Board for Belmont Abbey College, the National MotorSports
Council, the Richard Petty Safety Foundation and the Governor's Sports
Commission. He also serves on the President's Advisory Committee at the
University of South Carolina and is a trustee of Speedway Children's
Charities. Mr. Wheeler has been honored with numerous awards including
the Belmont Abbey Grace Award, the Charlotte Chamber's Entrepreneur of
the Year Award in 1999, the Charlotte Public Relations Society Infinity
Award, the National Racing Promoter of the Year, the North Carolina
Travel Attractions Award, the Charles J. Parker Award for the person who
contributed the most tourism to the state of North Carolina, the Hugh
Deery Award for outstanding service to racing, the Humanitarian Award by
the Charlotte Athletic club, the Order of Longlear & Pine by the
Governor of North Carolina and the Bill France Award for outstanding
achievement in auto racing given by Pocono Raceway. Mr. Wheeler is
married with three grown children. Profile
MotorSports? Then describe what you see as the company and business
today.
Mr. Wheeler: Speedway MotorSports is an
