Ollen Bruton Smith, the founder and executive chairman of Sonic Automotive, Speedway Motorsports and Speedway Children's Charities died on June 22, 2022, of natural causes. He was 95. Born March 2, 1927, Smith was the youngest of nine children and grew up on a modest farm in Oakboro, North Carolina.

As a member of the Greatest Generation, Smith learned the value of hard work early in life. With an inspiring determination and relentless optimism, Smith built a business empire through the automotive and motorsports industries and left a legacy to inspire generations of his family, friends and colleagues. Smith founded Speedway Motorsports by consolidating his motorsports holdings in December 1994, and in February 1995, he made it the first motorsports company to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

In January of 1997, Smith founded Sonic Automotive and took it public on the New York Stock Exchange in November of the same year. In just a few years, Smith grew Sonic into one of the nation's largest companies, and in 2000 it was first officially recognized as a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2014, Smith's passion for automotive retail continued with the creation of EchoPark Automotive.

In the years that followed, Smith found success opening several automotive dealerships. Opened in 1966, his first dealership was Frontier Ford in Rockford, Ill, where he married and started a family. While growing his automotive business, Smith's passion for auto racing never wavered.

Under Smith's innovative direction, Speedway Motorsports facilities were the first in racing to add condominiums, fine-dining Speedway Clubs, superspeedway lighting and giant high-definition video screens.