Hear the roar: Bruton Smith wants officials to stop spinning their wheels on paying what they promised for his speedway to stay put.

• Author: Martin, Edward

Here are the numbers: Six months of work for 300 construction workers, 57 contractors, more than 3,000 cubic yards of concrete and one 81 -year- old billionaire who fought City Hall and won $80 million. That last one would be Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., owner of the new zMAX Dragway in Concord.

The saga began in October 2007 when neighbors around Speedway Motorsports' Lowe's Motor Speedway complained to the Concord City Council that Smith's drag strip--bulldozers were already clearing ground, albeit without building permits--would be too noisy. The council voted to block it. Smith threatened to move the speedway, stranding a motor-sports industry that UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton estimates is worth $3.9 billion a year in direct spending to the Charlotte region.

The City Council quickly shifted into reverse, clearing the way for construction. But Smith, claiming that he could build a new speedway elsewhere for $350 million, refused to back down. And he didn't until Concord and Cabarrus County voted to pitch in $30 million each in incentives to keep the speedway. They hope to get the other $20 million from the N.C. Department of Transportation, mostly in road improvements, but the state has made no commitment. Late last year, Smith consented, saying he intended to keep the speedway there "forever" and spend $200 million to upgrade it. By then, another race was on. Smith and the National...