CONCORD, N.C. -- Marcus Smith was finishing a chicken quesadilla at the Speedway Club atop Lowe's Motor Speedway on Tuesday afternoon when the conversation turned to Danica Patrick. The president of LMS was asked what it would mean to NASCAR if the IndyCar Series darling began running a partial Nationwide Series schedule, along with a few Truck Series and perhaps ARCA events, in 2010. Smith gave an indirect answer, saying he would love to see her do a variation of the double -- the Saturday Nationwide race and Sunday Indianapolis 500 instead of the Sprint Cup race and 500 all on Sunday -- in May at LMS. He admitted he'd put out feelers to see if there was interest, knowing all eyes in the motorsports world would be on his track that weekend if he pulled it off. No, Smith hasn't reached the level of the man who sat in his chair for more than 30 years before departing. H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler was considered the king of track promoters, once called a combination of P.T. Barnum, Don King and Walt Disney. Wheeler blew more things up and pulled off more crazy stunts to put fannies in seats than anybody in the history of the sport, maybe all of sports. His motto was simple: "Keep 'em entertained and they'll keep coming back." Smith so far has been more practical, focusing on lowering the prices of tickets, hotels and food to ease the strain on fans during tough economic times. But if he can get Patrick to do the weekend double that could be the first step in starting his own legacy. Everybody in NASCAR wants a piece of Patrick these days. JR Motorsports has offered her the opportunity to drive a limited number of Nationwide and ARCA races around her IndyCar schedule. Michael Waltrip has offered her the opportunity to do the same, throwing in the Truck Series as an enticement. The sport needs Patrick more than she needs it because there is no female face here and because she attracts sponsors in a world where sponsors are becoming scarce. The promoter side of Smith understands that, which is why he's already planted seeds for the May weekend when he has a Chase race less than two weeks away. He also understands the transition won't be easy and hopes Patrick is brought along slowly, not "set up to fail" three years down the road if she makes the jump full time to NASCAR. He knows if she can succeed it will benefit not only him but every track promoter. Give him credit, though, for getting ahead of the game. Every great promoter has to start somewhere.