TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

'Texas Motor Speedway' is a superspeedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas -- the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track layout is very similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway). The track measures 1.5 miles around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the quad-oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Lowe's Motor Speedways, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
The speedway has been managed since its inception by legendary racing promoter Eddie Gossage. His creative, colorful, fan-friendly approach to managing the track has become the standard by which all other tracks have been measured. He was the first to introduce Personal Seat Licenses to the sport, as well as Season Tickets. His stance on allowing fans to bring their own coolers, even in the face of restrictive Texas laws that at one time prohibited the speedway from selling alcohol as a result, has made him a favorite of the fans.
Based on qualifying speeds in 2004, 2005, and 2006 (with Brian Vickers shattering the qualifying record at Texas with a speed of 196.235 mph in the 2006 Dickies 500 qualifying), the Texas Motor Speedway was once considered the fastest non-restrictor plate track on the NASCAR circuit, with qualifying speeds in excess of 192 mph and corner entry speeds over 200 mph. However, as the tracks' respective racing surfaces continue to wear, qualifying speeds at Atlanta have become consistently faster than at Texas (2005 and 2006). Brian Vickers holds the qualifying record at TMS. In 2006, he posted a 196.235 mph speed. Elliott Sadler beat the record before Brian, qualifying in the 49/50th spot. Being the last person out on the track, Brian nipped Elliott Sadler's qualifying time. [1]
Two racetracks formerly on the Winston Cup (now NEXTEL Cup) schedule were closed to make room for Texas Motor Speedway's two race dates, with the North Wilkesboro Speedway being bought by TMS owner Bruton Smith and New Hampshire International Speedway owner Bob Bahre. The track was closed with one of the track's two dates going to both new owners. The North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina was also sold to Smith as a result of the Ferko lawsuit with the track's one remaining date also being handed over to Texas.
Texas Motor Speedway is home to two NASCAR Nextel Cup races: the Samsung 500 and the Dickies 500, as well as two Busch Series Races, the O'Reilly 300 and the O'Reilly Challenge and the Indy Racing League IndyCar series race, the Bombardier Learjet 550.
For a short time during construction in September 1996, the track's name was changed to Texas International Raceway. SMI's customary track naming convention had planned to have the "Motor Speedway" as part of the name. However, in August 1996, a small quarter-mile dirt raceway in Alvin, Texas (now known as Texas Thunder Speedway) had filed suit to use the name. On December 2, 1996, a settlement between the two tracks saw the "Texas Motor Speedway" name reinstated to the 1.5 mile oval, and the small number of Texas International Raceway merchandise instantly became collectible.

Contents

Firestone Firehawk 600

Current Races Hosted

See also

External links

Firestone Firehawk 600

TMS was supposed to host the Firestone Firehawk 600, a CART race, on April 29, 2001. It was to be the first CART race on a high-banked track specifically designed for NASCAR racing. CART had never scheduled a race on a track with banking greater than 18 degrees. However, the rival Indy Racing League has run a race there since 1997 (currently known as the Bombardier Learjet 550).
However, 21 of the 25 drivers who qualified for the race [2] complained of dizziness and disorientation during two days of practice. They had expected speeds well above 220 mph, and in fact the lowest qualifiying speed was 219 mph. During Saturday practice, several drivers complained of lightheadedness and dizziness. Drivers experienced G forces as high as 5.5; a G-load in the 3's is considered the maximum that a driver can endure in a typical race.
With the possibility of drivers blacking out on the track, CART postponed the race two hours before the scheduled start. TMS sued, claiming that CART should have known about the risks posed by the speeds. The two parties settled later in the year. CART, now known as Champ Car, has never returned to the track.

Current Races Hosted

★ Nextel Cup - Samsung 500

★ Nextel Cup - Dickies 500

★ Busch Series - O'Reilly 300

★ Busch Series - O'Reilly Challenge

★ Craftsman Truck Series - Sam's Town 400

★ Craftsman Truck Series - Silverado 350K

★ Indy Racing League - Bombardier Learjet 550

See also

★ List of NASCAR race tracks

External links

★ Trackpedia guide to driving Texas Motor Speedway

★ Texas Motor Speedway Official Site

★ Texas Motor Speedway Page on NASCAR.com

★ GNEXTINC.com: Texas Motor Speedway Page - Local area information, track specs, mapping, news and more.

★ Jayski's Texas Motor Speedway Page - Current and Past Texas Motor Speedway News

★ Texas Motor Speedway Fan Page - Photographs and articles on past speedway events.

★ High Resolution image from Google Maps