Bruton Smith, auto retail and racing pioneer, dies

Bruton Smith, giving a speech after being inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame in April 2009, opened his first new-car dealership, Frontier Ford, in 1966 in Rockford, Ill. Sonic Automotive went public in January 1997. (SONIC AUTOMOTIVE)

June 22, 2022 09:10 PM

Bruton Smith, a longtime car dealer and pioneer in public automotive retail, as well as NASCAR hall-of-famer, racetrack owner and philanthropist, died on Wednesday.

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