AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n
Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n The Charlotte Motor Speedway has had little difficulty winning favorable legislation from state lawmakers over the years \u2014 without the need of a lobbyist.<\/p>\n Read more NC state auditor finds culture of \u2018extravagant spending of taxpayer dollars\u2019 in Cary<\/a><\/p>\n Last year, lawmakers passed a law shielding<\/a> the Concord speedway and other racetracks from noise and other nuisance complaints. In 2023, lawmakers gave it and other major sports venues in the state the right to set up sports betting hubs<\/a> that could bring in millions of dollars. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, lawmakers and then-Gov. Roy Cooper responded with $31 million in relief funds<\/a> for the speedway and a second track in North Wilkesboro owned by the speedway\u2019s parent company, Speedway Motorsports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The speedway hasn\u2019t had a registered lobbyist since 2016. But what it has done in recent years is continue to give state lawmakers and other officials special access passes worth several hundred dollars to each of its two marquee NASCAR races without reporting those expenses to the N.C. Secretary of State, which regulates lobbying.<\/p>\n That\u2019s about to change after The News & Observer inquired about the passes last year. The N&O had obtained reports that the speedway provided to the Secretary of State over a 13-year-period. They show the speedway providing special access passes that include parking, food and beverages to dozens of lawmakers and other state officials nearly every year from 2007 to 2019. All told, the passes from that period totaled $195,000.<\/p>\n The cheapest pass was $450, but the typical cost per official was $900, and for some who brought guests the cost was higher. In 2019, state Sens. Jim Burgin and Rick Gunn both received $2,250 in passes, while Rep. Brenden Jones \u2014 now the House majority leader \u2014 received passes worth $1,800 for the Coca-Cola 600.<\/p>\n The passes continued after 2019, but the reporting stopped. Until now.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing recent discussions with the Secretary of State\u2019s Office and staff changes, Charlotte Motor Speedway will file disclosure forms,\u201d said Bruce Thompson, a Raleigh lawyer. \u201cWe are committed to complying with all applicable laws and will continue working to satisfy disclosure requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson said speedway leaders hadn\u2019t been reporting the passes because they didn\u2019t view them as part of an effort to lobby state officials. The speedway provided the passes to whoever requested them from the legislature\u2019s motorsports caucus, he said. The caucus is an informal group of lawmakers who support motorsports.<\/p>\n The interactions speedway officials had with lawmakers and other officials at the races were minimal, Thompson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would go into the box and say, \u2018Are you having a good day?\u2019 and that\u2019s the extent of it,\u201d Thompson said. Thompson is also a lobbyist, but is only serving the speedway as an attorney, he said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Rep. Jones and Rep. John Torbett, another recipient of the speedway passes, said lawmakers \u201cneed to gain firsthand knowledge of an industry that plays a major role in North Carolina\u2019s economy and legislation in the General Assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n If the speedway had registered a lobbyist, state law could have likely prevented it from providing the tickets, or the speedway would have had to report them in quarterly expense reports. The legislature banned most gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and other state officials 20 years ago in response to scandals involving former House Speaker Jim Black, a Matthews Democrat. One exception to the ban is if all lawmakers are invited.<\/p>\n But the gift ban does not cover those who have not hired lobbyists. They do have to report gifts exceeding $200 for the purpose of lobbying to the N.C. Secretary of State\u2019s office. The speedway saw the phrase \u201cpurpose of lobbying\u201d as reason not to report.<\/p>\n The passes may not be an issue for the speedway going forward. On Monday, Speedway Motorsports announced that Charlotte Motor Speedway President Greg Walter is expanding his role<\/a> to include government affairs for the Charlotte and North Wilkesboro racetracks. A spokesman later said that would include Walter registering as a lobbyist, which would bring the tracks under the gift ban law.<\/p>\n The old speedway reports sat offline in the Secretary of State\u2019s office for years. The N&O discovered them in reporting a December 2024<\/a> story about two politically connected nonprofits taking lawmakers and other state officials on trips. One of them, Greater Carolina, had not reported expenses from a tour of bourbon distilleries in Kentucky that it held for lawmakers, lobbyists and their clients in 2024. Greater Carolina is a nonprofit promoting free-market conservative policies.<\/p>\n Tim Crowley, a spokesman for the Secretary of State\u2019s office, said in May 2025 the department planned to begin posting on its website the expenditure reports filed by entities that didn\u2019t hire a lobbyist, but they have yet to be made available online.<\/p>\n Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman has launched a criminal investigation<\/a> into Greater Carolina and its bourbon tours. Four lobbyists<\/a> who persuaded their clients to pay tour expenses, but did not report them, now face misdemeanor violations of the gift ban.<\/p>\n The other nonprofit has been reporting its spending as scholarships that are also required to be disclosed under the lobbying law.<\/p>\n Opportunity for NC<\/a> paid for six state lawmakers and other state officials to go to the Paris Olympics in 2024 to study how to manage major sporting events. Then, last summer, Opportunity for NC paid expenses for five lawmakers, three UNC school trustees and a member of the UNC Board of Governors for a trip to Finland. They went to attend educational and economic development meetings that might help Finnish \u201cdefense and dual use\u201d companies gain business opportunities in North Carolina, as well as seeking inroads for similar North Carolina businesses.<\/p>\n The total cost of the trip was nearly $49,000, the nonprofit reported to the Secretary of State. Among those who attended were Republican state Sens. Michael Lee of Wilmington, Bob Brinson of New Bern and Dave Craven of Asheboro; state Reps. Kyle Hall of Stokes County and Hugh Blackwell of Burke County; and NC State University trustee David Powers and UNC Asheville trustee Andrew Heath, who are also lobbyists. Powers and Heath also went on the Paris trip. Heath is a board member of Opportunity for NC, which has held events featuring Sen. Lee.<\/p>\n State law only requires recipients of such perks to report when the provider and the event are both outside of North Carolina. Otherwise, the provider is required to report.<\/p>\n Because of that law, there was no requirement for the officials who attended the speedway events or the out-of-state trips to disclose them on their annual statements of economic interest.<\/p>\n But some did. Several travelers on the Paris trip; one (Brinson) of the nine who took the Finland trip; and one lawmaker who attended the distillery tour reported the scholarships on their financial disclosures.<\/p>\n Read more Matt Rogers and Fraser Olender Split 8 Months After Confirming Romance<\/a><\/p>\n Gaps in disclosure have prompted calls to reform the ethics and lobbying laws so that the public can easily see who is providing the expensive perks to state officials who have the power to reward them with favorable legislation and other actions. Former Rep. Susan Fisher, a Buncombe County Democrat who worked on the reporting requirements in 2006, is among those saying more transparency is needed.<\/p>\n State law should make it easy for the public to see from both ends of the transaction \u2013 reports from the providers and reports from the recipients, said Brooks Fuller, Common Cause NC\u2019s policy director.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so clearly a bipartisan good government anti-corruption issue that any lawmaker that actually believes in public service should get behind that kind of reform,\u201d Fuller said.<\/p>\n But Republicans who have a supermajority in the state Senate and a near-supermajority in the state House have taken no such steps. Democrats also have not proposed expanding disclosure.<\/p>\n Democrats and Republican Rep. John Blust of Guilford County have pushed for other transparency measures<\/a>, including overturning, either partially or fully, legislation slipped into the final version of the 2023 state budget that exempted lawmakers from having to comply with the state\u2019s public records law. That and other proposed reforms have yet to be heard in legislative committees.<\/p>\n Thompson said the reporting on speedway passes provided to lawmakers and other state officials from 2007 to 2019 was done by Tim Hagler, a former vice president for community relations. He could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter that position was eliminated, we did not believe those filings were required,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n Secretary of State officials referred questions about the lack of reporting to the State Ethics Commission<\/a>, which regulates the law on gifts to state officials. Commission Executive Director Kathy Edwards pointed to state law that prevents the commission from speaking on specific cases.<\/p>\n The past reports show as many as 19 lawmakers have gone to a single race. Members of both parties have attended. Expenses were paid for Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat, in 2008 and state Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican, in 2014, the records show.<\/p>\n Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord is a big attraction. It\u2019s close to the vast majority of NASCAR racing crews that make North Carolina home, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. At the start of last year\u2019s legislative session, Gov. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat, co-hosted an event at the Executive Mansion celebrating NASCAR.<\/p>\n \u201cNASCAR is an important part of who we are in North Carolina \u2014 it\u2019s an economic engine and a source of pride,\u201d Stein said in an Instagram post<\/a> on Jan. 29, 2025. \u201cAlong with the Motor Sports Caucus in the NCGA, it was a treat to host NASCAR, legislators, and Council of State and cabinet members to kick off the beginning of the racing and legislative seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n The N&O reached out last week to three state senators and three House members who received passes in 2019.<\/p>\n State Sen. Paul Lowe, a Forsyth County Democrat, said he received passes because he is a motorsports caucus member. He knew little else, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a member of the motorsports caucus,\u201d he said. \u201cDetails about tickets and all that stuff I don\u2019t have a clue.\u201d<\/p>\n Demi Dowdy, a deputy chief of staff for House Speaker Destin Hall, a Caldwell County Republican, responded to The N&O\u2019s attempts to reach Reps. Jones of Columbus County and Torbett of Gaston County. She was speaking on behalf of them, she said.<\/p>\n Her response did not directly address The N&O\u2019s questions sent to Jones and Torbett, both Republicans. They included how the lawmakers got the passes, what happened while they were at the racetrack and if they had received passes since. The N&O also asked whether the law should be changed to provide more transparency over such gifts.<\/p>\n Dowdy\u2019s response:<\/p>\n \u201cMotorsports is a major North Carolina employer, and members need to gain firsthand knowledge of an industry that plays a major role in North Carolina\u2019s economy and legislation in the General Assembly. Legislators routinely meet with industry leaders and stakeholders across North Carolina to better understand the issues that come before the General Assembly. These events complied with all applicable laws, and characterizing members\u2019 visits as something improper ignores the reality of how effective legislators do their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n Brooks of Common Cause said the speedway\u2019s position that the passes were not intended or used to lobby officials doesn\u2019t cut it as an excuse for not reporting.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t pass the basic smell test of the way the influence and relationship building has worked in this state or any other state for as long as legislatures have been convening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The speedway is also a member of the North Carolina Motorsports Association<\/a>, which has employed a lobbyist each year since 2011. But state law does not require members of an association that hires a lobbyist to be treated as if they had hired the lobbyist as well.<\/p>\n Esther Frances contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 5:15 AM<\/span> with the headline “Free Charlotte speedway passes for NC leaders went undisclosed. That\u2019s going to change.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n