That is why the rack in the center does not work for you. You can raise the L and R speakers so thay are inline with the center channel.
problem solved!
Levi, the rack I have there now is just interim. I actually did simply take a hacksaw to my old rack!
Here's the rack i intended to purchase a few weeks back

so I could place the centre channel atop the middle shelf. However, this configuration does not allow me to use the 'floating' shelf appraoch that this line was designed for. So, $2,000 for a rack that you can't use the way it was intended....can't get there yet!
I'm going to wait a month or two before ordering the racks I decided on...in case I change my mind and want to make it work so that the centre channel is below the TV. It can be easily done other ways...but the other ways mean big $$ in cable changes.
So, the centre channel may not go above the TV..but if it does, I won't be too tore up

Here's a pic from about 5 or 6 years ago with the old TV...

So, for now I'm not going to order any racks for a while until I know for sure which path I want to go down

keith