Race track deal emerged at great cost to taxpayers

A Charlotte Observer investigation by Adam Bell revealed what happened behind the scenes after a race track owner threatened to move his speedway following a dispute with a community over plans to add a drag strip there. The billionaire owner landed $80 million in taxpayer incentives in exchange for staying in town. A review of more than 1,100 pages of previously confidential documents obtained under the NC Open Records Act, and interviews with more than two dozen people, detailed the lengths to which bickering local officials went to keep the track, including a last-minute decision that cost taxpayers an extra $20 million.