SMI’s Bruton Smith and NASCAR’s Bill France are on opposite sides of the biggest and most compelling lawsuit in the 55-year history of NASCAR. As most NASCAR fans have heard, the case of Ferko vs. NASCAR is about Texas Motor Speedway [TMS] not getting a second annual Winston Cup race. Plano resident Francis Ferko is a minority shareholder in Speedway Motorsports Inc. Smith is chairman of SMI, a $1.9 billion operation and the parent company of TMS. The lawsuit accuses NASCAR officials of failing to deliver on a promise to award TMS a second Winston Cup race. It sounds simple. It isn’t. This is major litigation that could rock NASCAR to its foundation. Big-money lawyers are preparing to argue the merits of the case. The suit is scheduled for trial in January 2004 in U.S. District Court in Sherman. Bill France gave his deposition in Daytona Beach three weeks ago. Smith was deposed in June. Some of the most prominent attorneys and most prestigious law firms in the country are involved. The TMS side includes Johnnie Cochran, who became famous as the attorney for O.J. Simpson. He has estimated financial damages at upwards of $1 billion, although other attorneys involved say $200 million is more realistic. NASCAR has the firm headed by David Boies, the man who argued for Al Gore in the litigation over the Florida voting process in the 2000 presidential election.(See full story at the Dallas Morning Star ) and see past news on my Lawsuit page .(9-4-2003)
