Smith tries to drive Cash for Clunkers 2.

• Position: Charlotte

If you failed to trade in that gas guzzler for an Earth-friendly fuel sipper in a deal greased with federal money, don't despair. The car dealer who claims credit for last summer's "Cash for Clunkers" program is angling for an encore, though the main reason for it might no longer exist.

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Bruton Smith, CEO of Charlotte-based Sonic Automotive Inc., hopes to persuade Congress to push though "Cash for Clunkers No. 2" this year. Last summer, Smith says, he drafted the bill that his friend Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who is Senate majority leader, shepherded through Congress. Smith also is CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The government paid $3 billion in incentives to get people into more fuel-efficient cars, partly to reduce fuel consumption and automobile emissions but mainly to increase auto sales. "In just a few short weeks, nearly 680,000 older vehicles were replaced by new, more fuel-efficient vehicles," says the federal Transportation Department's report to Congress.

That benefited Smith and Sonic, the nation's third-largest automotive retailer with 148 franchises. The program accounted for more than a quarter of the new cars Sonic sold in July and August. It also helped other North Carolina car dealers. Registrations for new vehicles statewide jumped 31% from July to August, when Cash for Clunkers shifted into high gear. Smith says he had been working on the idea for a decade, but conditions weren't right until last year. Now, he wants...