Divorce is messy business, even in the racing world

Editor's note: Joe Menzer is filling in this week for David Caraviello, who is out on vacation.

CONCORD, N.C. -- Oftentimes in life, what is seen or projected in public in a marriage is not how it really is behind closed doors, in private.

This is true even in marriages -- in fact, sometimes especially so in marriages -- that have lasted for more than three decades.

In retrospect, that appears to be the case in the business marriage between Bruton Smith and H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, which came apart at the seams in a surprisingly but very public way earlier this week, on the eve of this Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

As chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., Smith is the de facto owner of not only LMS but seven other tracks (well, six plus one that he has agreed to purchase and won't technically own until the deal closes in the third quarter of this year). Wheeler, since 1976, was the man who ran LMS for him.

SMI buys Kentucky

Bruton Smith announced Thursday that SMI purchased Kentucky Speedway and wants a Cup race in '09.

• Complete story, click here

But they always seemed so much more than owner and employee, boss and underling. They seemed, in the big scheme of the NASCAR world, as almost equals.

Obviously, they weren't. When Wheeler announced last Wednesday that he would be retiring almost immediately from the job he has held for nearly 33 years, Smith wasn't even in attendance at the news conference. Smith later said that the news conference originally was scheduled for next Wednesday and smugly added that he hadn't really been invited by Wheeler to the rescheduled one.

One day later, Smith -- who originally had claimed through his son, Marcus, that he did not attend Wheeler's retirement announcement because he was not feeling well -- suddenly felt perky enough to spearhead his own news conference, announcing SMI's agreement to purchase Kentucky Speedway. The heads of several of Smith's other tracks were in attendance. Wheeler was conspicuously missing.

Clearly, this is not how either man envisioned Wheeler, the master showman and race promoter, going out at the track he has overseen for more than three decades.

What's next?

The overwhelming odds-on favorite to replace Wheeler is Marcus Smith, one of Bruton's three sons. The 34-year-old Marcus talked benevolently of Wheeler on Thursday, saying he has soaked up all kinds of advice from Uncle Humpy through the years and implying that he intends to put it all to good use in the future.

"I've been really been happy to have the wisdom and time with Humpy, and for him to take time to give me some of his wisdom and the nuggets of fun that he passes along to the many, many people in his path every day. That's really been a great privilege of mine," Marcus said.

"And of course between he and my dad, they're just such a great example -- such great, legendary examples -- for anybody in our company. So we are -- I am personally -- very excited for Humpy to be able to take the next chapter in his life. He'll continue to be like family, as he has been for me all my life. And I'm just excited that I'll be able to continue to work with my dad and all the other friends that I have at this speedway and all our other speedways. So I don't know that a lot will change for me in some ways."

Then, of course, the 34-year-old Smith stopped short of saying he had the job. Bruton even went so far as to tell one reporter that they might have to run it by the SMI board first. Um, isn't Marcus Smith on the board?

Humpy retires

• Wheeler announces retirement
• Track Smack: Fill his shoes?
• Drivers, owners will miss him
• Wheeler best at promotions
• Marcus Smith next in line?
• Garage Pass: Humpy departs

Therein might be the most obvious and possibly huge problem facing SMI as it prepares to move on in life without Humpy. Don't assume any of us -- competitors, fans or media -- are stupid. Wheeler never did.

Marcus Smith comes with all the right credentials, and we're not just talking about the most important one when it comes to getting the job -- that he is 81-year-old Bruton's son. To be fair, it appears that Bruton has groomed him for such a position over the years by making him at least earn it to some degree behind the scenes, working closely with NASCAR and even rival International Speedway Inc., on tricky licensing matters in merchandising and other matters.

But a successful business man does not automatically make a successful racetrack promoter.

The split

When it came down to it, Wheeler knew he was on his way out. At 69 years of age, he was ready to welcome the shift in life -- and both he and Smith have acknowledged that they have been talking about him stepping down for several months. He intends to write a book about his 40 years in racing, and continue -- for as long as it lasts -- the reality show he now is a part of on the SPEED cable network.

He simply wanted to stay on as a consultant through the 2009 running of the Coca-Cola 600, which would have marked the 50th anniversary of the race. Smith apparently was fine with that, but not with giving Wheeler more than the $12,500 per month in deferred compensation that already had been promised for the next 10 years.

Smith has said that he has been good to Humpy over the years, and it's obviously true. Wheeler made more than $1.185 million in 2007, according to SMI's annual report (which is public because it is a publicly traded company) -- and he owns options on 151,000 shares of SMI stock.

Wheeler wanted more from the company that he helped build into one which has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion. He thought he deserved it, and truthfully he probably did.

He certainly didn't deserve the digs Smith threw at him when Smith chose to point out that Wheeler was initially opposed to such out-of-the-box ideas as placing condominiums in Turn 1 at LMS or adding what has become the popular Speedway Club restaurant. If Smith felt the need to point those differences out, then he should have pointed out as well that it was Wheeler's idea to add lights at LMS -- and that it was Wheeler who drove the bus when it came to finding innovative ways to sell tickets.

In the end, it got messy over something silly. It was like too many divorces today, sullying the memories of all the good years the two had together.

The children are always the ones left to suffer the most in such situations. And in this case, the only child that really matters is Lowe's Motor Speedway, which is in need of a facelift and is, in fact, in the process of name-rights negotiations with Lowe's Home Improvement (the current deal expires at the end of this year).

If Marcus gets the call, let's hope Bruton's real child can usher the track into a new era of prosperity and glory. It's not a given.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer