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Bruton Smith cedes additional Speedway Motorsports Inc. voting power to three sons

Burton Smith Getty

Speedway Motorsports Inc. founder Bruton Smith, who holds just over 70 percent of the company’s voting stock, has ceded greater voting power in the company to his three sons.

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given the 88-year-old Smith’s sons – Marcus, Scott and David – an unspecified share of their father’s voting power, according to paperwork filed with the SEC.

The paperwork said the reason for the change is “for business succession purposes.” As part of the transfer of voting power, an undisclosed number of shares of Smith’s Sonic Financial Corp. and OBS Holdings were sold.

SFC and OBS reportedly own 29 million combined shares of SMI stock.

Bruton Smith remains SFC’s majority owner/CEO. The company controls 57 percent of SMI’s voting power. The elder Smith, who was recently voted to the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class, stepped down as SMI’s CEO in February, ceding his former role to son Marcus.

At the same time, Bruton Smith assumed a role of executive chairman of SMI, which owns eight racetracks – Charlotte, Texas, Bristol, New Hampshire, Atlanta, Kentucky, Las Vegas and Sonoma – that host 13 races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, including the Sprint All-Star Race and this weekend’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in northern California.

Scott and David Smith serve as president and vice-chairman, respectively, of Bruton Smith’s auto dealership empire, Sonic Automotive. However, unlike SMI, Bruton Smith remains as chairman and CEO of Sonic Automotive.

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