Bruce operated TBJ Promotions, which has promoted a handful of select sprint car and midget events for the last decade, at the same time that he raced. Once his driving career began to wind down, he delved into a storage facility business, a landscaping company and drive-through coffee stands in his home state of Oklahoma.
“I wanted to be more proactive instead of reactive,” he said. “If you are going to have a lifelong career in racing, whenever you are done in the driver’s seat you have to find a job in racing because that’s the only thing you know and the only thing you’ll be good at.
“I look at the business a lot like racing. In the business world, I treat every day like it is a race where I’m competing against everyone else,” Bruce explained. “Having the will to win is what drives my businesses. A lot of that came from the racing aspect. The ultimate goal for me in business is to win. Instead of winning races, I’m trying to win at business.”
However, being a business owner isn’t an easy task for someone who is racing full time.
“The racing takes up so much of your time,” said 2005 Knoxville Nationals winner Kraig Kinser. “When you do the Outlaws stuff it’s a commitment. There’s not much stuff I could own and be away from. As far as investments, yeah, I’ve invested. You’re always trying to work for your retirement.
“You try to put stuff aside throughout the years here and there for retirement,” Kinser noted. “You try to be aware of it. This (COVID-19 pandemic) is a perfect example of it. You try to plan so you can survive and continue to race whether there’s an injury or an epidemic. You try not to spread yourself too thin. You try to plan to be more financially secure for hard times. Race car drivers are no different. You either plan for it or you don’t.”
Smith’s advice for up-and-coming drivers is to save money.
“The smarter guys, which I didn’t do, need to be saving and putting money back to build their own retirement,” he said. “If you’re not paying attention, all of a sudden you’re done driving and you’re in trouble. A retirement fund is something that needs to be set up professionally. These young drivers need to be aware of that and start that right away. When you’re racing, if you’re doing it for a living, it is a full-time job. You don’t have time for another job. Even if you don’t race every day, your mind needs to be there every day.
“It’s like football or basketball, the next day could be it if you get hurt. Things change,” Smith added. “I watched my dad. He’s been hurt a few times. It was tough because you didn’t really have insurance or anybody to lean back on to pay the bills while you’re not racing. That’s something we never really planned for. I never ran into any problems where I missed a race, but I watched it with him, and it was a struggle.
“It seems the race drivers run it like a business, but it’s not a real solid business. There are insurance policies and I did have one. My dad didn’t have it, but I did. I’d get paid something like $1,500 a week if I got hurt. That’s something I’d recommend right there — a separate insurance policy. They have them where they will pay you weekly when you’re not racing. We have a house, kids and a family. What happens if I do get hurt?”
While there are annual insurance policies that professional drivers can sign up for to gain security during their careers, the question of where the money will come from after retirement looms large.
“Be a realist with yourself,” Bruce said. “Once you realize you’re not going to become a millionaire or do this your whole life, once you realize that, start making backup plans. There is always going to be a life after racing. You’re not going to be able to do this forever. Do you want to be a crew chief? Do you want to go in the manufacturing side of it? Do you want something completely outside of racing? It depends on what makes you get out of bed in the morning.”