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TV and racing at Wilkes speedway?
Georgia developer has a lease, and plans for a reality show and a racing series for women
Charles Collins said he also plans to promote concerts at the speedway.
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Published: February 26, 2009
NORTH WILKESBORO
A developer has signed a short-term lease with the owner of North Wilkesboro Speedway and has plans to start a new racing series and reality show there.
Charles Collins, who says that he is a 43-year-old Georgia native and developer, has set up an office at the speedway and has keys for the locks.
During a tour yesterday, Collins said he has a short-term lease with Bruton Smith, the billionaire owner of the speedway.
"Yes, sir, I believe he does," Smith said in a telephone interview. Smith said he didn't know details of Collins' plans, but that the lease is for about three months.
The speedway is still for sale for $12 million to "whoever comes with the money first," Smith said.
Collins says he plans to produce a reality racing show there called Women So U Think U Can Race? He also said he plans to start a racing series for women called the AWESOME Racing Series. AWESOME stands for for All Women Stockcar Oval Motorsports Event.
"We're seeking women that want to go bumper to bumper," he said.
Collins said he hopes to start production of the show at the speedway in March or April and to have ticketed events for the public. He also plans to promote concerts there, he said.
Burned in the past by people who have announced pie-in-the-sky plans to buy and revitalize the North Wilkesboro Speedway but never did, officials in Wilkes County don't know quite what to make of the latest prospect.
Linda Cheek, the president of the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce and the point person for the county's Blue Ridge National Heritage Area's priority initiative to revamp the speedway, said she doesn't know what to think. She has heard a lot of people talking about Collins but has never spoken to him.
"I don't know if he's for real or not," she said.
Don Alexander, the director of the Wilkes Economic Development Corp., wouldn't answer any questions about Collins but issued a two-sentence statement that was approved by the county attorney.
"Mr. Collins has informed the Wilkes Economic Development Corporation of his plans for the North Wilkesboro Speedway, and has continually updated our office with regard to his efforts and progress," the statement said. "His vision for the North Wilkesboro Speedway, if realized, would be a very major development for Wilkes County, one which would have a significant and positive impact on the economy here."
Collins, who said he has been working on the project for the past year and has been in town for about four months, wouldn't say exactly where he had come from. He wouldn't answer specific questions about his past experience but said that he is a property developer who has built houses and had done some shopping-center renovations.
He talked about needing sponsors for the new efforts.
He said he can understand why people are skeptical about plans for the speedway.
"They had so many people come in and say, ‘We're going to do this,' and ‘I got a dream,'" he said. "I'm a reality man. I work to make it happen. I push to make it happen and don't give up. I'm a seeker for success. I can make it work."
He said he hopes to eventually buy the speedway.
In a 2002 interview, Smith said that the track is worn out and needs to be repaved, and that there are sewer problems there. Yesterday, Smith said that for what Collins is going to do right now, those improvements won't be necessary.
Collins said that the track is still in good shape. He said that the sewer is fine, and they can use portable toilets until eventually bringing in a main sewer line.
"I got big plans for this place, and that's about as far as I'm going to go," Collins said. "We're getting ready to crank this place up."
■ Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com.
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