Texas Motor Speedway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Texas Motor Speedway
The Great American Speedway
Location 3545 Lone Star Circle, Justin, Texas 76177
Capacity 212,585 (NASCAR & IndyCar)
Owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Operator Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Broke ground April 11, 1995
Opened February 29, 1996
Construction Cost $250 million USD
Former Names Texas International Raceway (1996)
Major Events NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Samsung 500
Dickies 500

NASCAR Nationwide Series
O'Reilly 300
O'Reilly Challenge

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Sam's Town 400
Silverado 350K

Indy Racing League
Bombardier Learjet 550

CORR (temporary circuit)
Quad-oval
Surface Asphalt
Circuit Length 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns: 24°
Lap Record 0:23.136 (Kenny Bräck, Rahal Letterman Racing, 2001, Cart FedEx Championship Series)

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway 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.

Contents

[edit] History

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 Sprint Cup Series) 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. The following is a map of Texas Motor Speedway:

Texas Motor Speedway made an unsuccessful overture to move the annual Oklahoma-Texas rivalry football game from the Cotton Bowl to the infield of the modern racing facility in 2004. [2]

[edit] Firestone Firehawk 600

See also: 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 [3] complained of dizziness and disorientation during two days of practice. They had expected speeds well above 220 mph, and in fact the lowest qualifying 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 absorbed into the IndyCar Series) never returned to the track.

[edit] NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats

The pace car leading the field at the 2007 fall race
The pace car leading the field at the 2007 fall race

[edit] NASCAR Records

As of 04/06/08

[edit] NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Winners

  • Race Extended Due to Green-White-Checker Finish
Season Date Winning Driver Car # Sponsor Make Distance Avg Speed Margin of Victory
1997 April 6 Jeff Burton 99 Exide Batteries Ford Thunderbird 501 mi 125.111 mph (201.347 km/h) 4.067 sec
1998 April 5 Mark Martin 6 Valvoline Ford Taurus 501 mi 136.771 mph (220.112 km/h) 0.573 sec
1999 March 28 Terry Labonte 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 501 mi 144.276 mph (232.190 km/h) UC
2000 April 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo 501 mi 131.152 mph (211.069 km/h) 5.920 sec
2001 April 1 Dale Jarrett 88 UPS Ford Taurus 501 mi 141.804 mph (228.211 km/h) 0.73 sec
2002 April 8 Matt Kenseth 17 DeWalt Ford Taurus 501 mi 142.453 mph (229.256 km/h) 0.888 sec
2003 March 30 Ryan Newman 12 Alltell Dodge Intrepid 501 mi 134.517 mph (216.484 km/h) 3.405 sec
2004 April 4 Elliott Sadler 38 M&Ms Ford Taurus 501 mi 145.358 mph (233.931 km/h) 0.028 sec
2005 April 17 Greg Biffle 16 Post-it/National Guard Ford Taurus 501 mi 130.055 mph (209.303 km/h) 3.244 sec
2005 November 6 Carl Edwards 99 Office Depot Ford Taurus 501 mi 151.055 mph (243.099 km/h) 0.584 sec
2006 April 9 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger 501 mi 137.943 mph (221.998 km/h) 5.229 sec
2006 November 5 Tony Stewart 20 Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 508.5* mi 134.891 mph (217.086 km/h) 0.272 sec
2007 April 15 Jeff Burton 31 Prilosec OTC Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 501 mi 143.359 mph (230.714 km/h) 0.410 sec
2007 November 4 Jimmie Johnson 48 Lowes/Kobalt Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 501 mi 131.219 mph (211.177 km/h) 0.944 sec
2008 April 6 Carl Edwards 99 Aflac Ford Fusion 508.5* mi 144.814 mph (233.056 km/h) 0.399 sec

[edit] Current Races Hosted

Victory Lane at the April 2007 NEXTEL Cup race
Victory Lane at the April 2007 NEXTEL Cup race
Turn 4
Turn 4

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racetracks
ISC
SMI
Atlanta · Bristol · New Hampshire · Infineon · Las Vegas · Lowe's · Texas
Other
v • d • e
Current NASCAR Nationwide Series racetracks
v • d • e
Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks
v • d • e
Tracks of the Indy Racing League
Ovals
Road/Street Courses
Former Tracks
v • d • e
Circuits of the American Le Mans Series
Current circuits (2008)
Former circuits
Former European Le Mans Series circuits (2001 only)
v • d • e
Tracks of IROC
Ovals
Road Courses