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Tony Does Not Share Bruton’s Love of Fenders
Bruton Smith wields a lot of power in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League, as four of his Speedway Motorsports Inc. race tracks host five of the 11 races on the IRL schedule. Smith is using that power to try to force the IRL to drastically change its open-wheel race cars by enclosing the
wheels in the interest of safety and car identification purposes.
It was at one of Smith’s tracks — Charlotte Motor Speedway — that three fans were killed and eight injured when a loose wheel from a crash was hit by another race car and launched into the stands.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and IRL founder Tony George and IRL Executive Director Leo Mehl confirmed they met with Smith before the Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
However, George and Mehl said it is unlikely they will adopt Smith’s idea on fenders, even if it means the loss of race dates.
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