Giving fans better access to drivers could be the biggest challenge facing the sport in the near future, says newly appointed Lowe’s Motor Speedway President and General Manager Marcus Smith.

“I'm guessing the biggest challenge is going to be the stars of the sport having time to (be) with the fans,” Smith said Wednesday. He envisions making that happen by constructing a “Neon Garage” such as that used at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at every Speedway Motorsports (SMI) track, saying it would “make available a garage pass of sorts for every fan.” 

The LVMS Neon Garage opened in 2007, giving fans up-close access to teams as they prepared for the weekend’s race. Located in the center of the infield, it is made up of four two-story buildings that allow race fans to watch teams work from ground level or from an elevated position. The center of the Neon Garage is open to race fans with a sports bar, big screen TVs to watch on-track action, concession stands, entertainment acts and the Winner's Circle.

Maintaining the closeness of fans and drivers is "our biggest challenge and our biggest opportunity," Smith said Wednesday during a luncheon at Lowe’s Motor Speedway where he covered a variety of topics during a media-directed Q & A.

Providing that sort of access to drivers is just one way Lowe’s Motor Speedway and its sister tracks live up to a motto of putting “Fans First,” Smith said.

The commitment to doing that also includes affordable race ticket prices.

Smith noted that “we have held ticket prices, for at least the last five years, flat” and he said as venues compete for fans’ entertainment dollars in the face of rising gas prices, “we'll work to lower the cost of going to a race, including lowering the cost of tickets.”

Fans make a big commitment to come to a race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Smith said, averaging a 400-mile one-way trip, then paying for accommodations, food and tickets.  Fans who attended this year’s Coca-Cola 600 have already been offered 10 percent off renewals for next year.

While rising gas prices have fueled media stories about efforts to keep fans coming to the tracks, it’s not new territory for track promoters, Smith said.

“It’s nice that we've been through some ups and downs” such as a recession and a fuel crisis before.  “We're not in uncharted waters.”

Smith is not in uncharted waters, either. He may be new to this job but not to LMS and Speedway Motorsports. Since junior high school, he’s done it all -- from shooing pigeons, picking up trash, painting and weed-eating to negotiating the historic naming rights deal with Lowe’s.

That deal is in its final year of a 10-year agreement and discussions are continuing regarding a renewal. 

Smith was tapped last month by his father Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, to fill the position vacated by Humpy Wheeler as Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s president and general manager. He was also named chief operating officer and president of SMI.

“I'm not stepping in to be the new Humpy,” Smith said. “I'll be myself. Humpy can't be replaced.”

Smith, 35, has since 2004 been director and executive vice president of national sales and marketing for the company’s seven tracks and other properties. That came after stints as a marketing assistant, account executive and manager of new business development for SMI.