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Texasspeedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Location 3545 Lone Star Circle, Fort Worth, Texas 76177
Active from February 29, 1996 - present
Major events NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NRA 500
AAA Texas 500

NASCAR Nationwide Series
O'Reilly Auto Parts 300
O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
WinStar World Casino 400K
WinStar World Casino 350K

IZOD IndyCar Series
Firestone 550

Surface Asphalt
Length 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Turns 4
Lap record 0:22.542 (Paul Tracy, Team Green, 2001, Cart FedEx Championship Series)
MVI 2863 Texas Motor Speedway Club building

Texas Motor Speedway Club building in Fort Worth, Texas

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 measures 1.5 mi (2.41 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly.

The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway).

The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedways, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.

History[]

The speedway has been managed since its inception by racing promoter Eddie Gossage.

Based on qualifying speeds in 2004, 2005, and 2006 (with Brian Vickers shattering the qualifying record at Texas with a speed of Template:Convert/mi/h 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 Template:Convert/mi/h and corner entry speeds over Template:Convert/mi/h. 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 Template:Convert/mi/h 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] The NASCAR records still fall short of the all-time TMS qualifying record though. Driving a Lola Ford Champ Car, Kenny Brack took pole for the aborted Firestone Firehawk 600, with an average speed of 233.447 mph in 2001.

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 Sprint Cup races: the NRA 500 and the AAA Texas 500, as well as two Nationwide Series races, the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the Indy Racing League IndyCar series race, the Firestone 550. The track also hosts two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, the WinStar World Casino 400K (which takes place on the same weekend as the Indycar Firestone 550) and the WinStar World Casino 350K.

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 mi (2.41 km) oval, and the small number of Texas International Raceway merchandise instantly became collectible. The following is a map of Texas Motor Speedway:

TexasMotorSpeedway

Between 2001 and 2002, the track, after the reconfiguration in 1998, was repaved because of a hole in turn three. On August 17, 2010, a press conference was held and it was announced that TMS's spring race will become a Saturday night event in 2011. The Samsung Mobile 500 will be held on Saturday April 9, 2011. The same year, the apron of the speedway was repaved.

Jeff Burton (1997) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr (2000) both earned their first Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway. Earnhardt's victory was a then-record for fewest races to notch a victory in the "modern era" on the Cup circuit, winning in just his 12th start, breaking the record held by his father, Dale Earnhardt (16 starts). (The record has since been broken three times, by Kevin Harvick (3 starts), Jamie McMurray (2 starts) and Trevor Bayne (2 starts))

On October 13, 2000, Tony Roper was racing in the Craftsman Truck Series O'Reilly 400 at Texas Motor Speedway when he attempted to pass Steve Grissom. However, another truck veered up the racetrack in the tri-oval, forcing Roper to evade, turning him into Grissom's front bumper. The contact caused Roper's #26 Ford to take a sudden hard-right turn, which then caused the truck to slam head-on into the concrete wall of the tri-oval. Roper died the next day as the result of the injuries he sustained from the crash.

In fall of 2012, Gossage added a carnival outside turn two to promote the track's "Wild Asphalt Circus" theme.[2]

Firestone Firehawk 600[]

Main article: Firestone Firehawk 600

The Firestone Firehawk 600, a CART race, was to be held on April 29, 2001. During practice and qualifying, however, 21 of 25 drivers[3] complained of dizziness and disorientation during two days of practice. Drivers experienced sustained G forces over 5 Gs, more than the typical human tolerance. With their powerful turbocharged engines and superspeedway downforce packages, the Champ Cars were averaging speeds well in excess of 230 mph (The track record, set by Paul Tracy, was 239.552 mph). This was much faster than IRL machinery of the time, and faster still than the speeds seen regularly by Sprint Cup cars.

With the possibility of drivers blacking out on the track, CART cancelled the race two hours before the scheduled start.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics[]

NASCARNEXTELCupFieldTexasMotorSpeedway

The pace car leading the field at the 2007 fall race

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series records[]

(As of 11/6/11)

Most Wins 3 Carl Edwards
Most Top 5s 10 Matt Kenseth
Most Top 10s 13 Matt Kenseth
Starts 22 4 Drivers
Poles 2 4 Drivers
Most Laps Completed 6997 Jeff Burton
Most Laps Led 756 Matt Kenseth
Avg. Start* 8.0 Steve Park
Avg. Finish 8.7 Matt Kenseth

* from minimum 5 starts.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners[]

  • An asterisk (*) indicates that the race was extended beyond the scheduled distance due to the green-white-checker finish rule
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 (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 4.067 sec
1998 April 5 Mark Martin 6 Valvoline Ford Taurus 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.573 sec
1999 March 28 Terry Labonte 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h UC
2000 April 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 5.920 sec
2001 April 1 Dale Jarrett 88 UPS Ford Taurus 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.73 sec
2002 April 8 Matt Kenseth 17 DeWalt Ford Taurus 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.888 sec
2003 March 30 Ryan Newman 12 Alltel Dodge Intrepid 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 3.405 sec
2004 April 4 Elliott Sadler 38 M&Ms Ford Taurus 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.028 sec
2005 April 17 Greg Biffle 16 Post-it/National Guard Ford Taurus 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 3.244 sec
2005 November 6 Carl Edwards 99 Office Depot Ford Taurus 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.584 sec
2006 April 9 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 5.229 sec
2006 November 5 Tony Stewart 20 Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 508.5 mi (Template:Convert/508.5*1609.344)* Template:Convert/mi/h 0.272 sec
2007 April 15 Jeff Burton 31 Prilosec OTC Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.410 sec
2007 November 4 Jimmie Johnson 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.944 sec
2008 April 6 Carl Edwards 99 Aflac Ford Fusion 508.5 mi (Template:Convert/508.5*1609.344)* Template:Convert/mi/h 0.399 sec
2008 November 2 Carl Edwards 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 8.310 sec
2009 April 5 Jeff Gordon 24 DuPont/National Guard GED Plus Chevrolet Impala SS 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.378 sec
2009 November 8 Kurt Busch 2 Miller Lite Operation Homefront Dodge Charger 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 25.686 sec
2010 April 19 Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.152 sec
2010 November 7 Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.488 sec
2011 April 9 Matt Kenseth 17 Crown Royal Black Ford Fusion 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 8.315 sec
2011 November 6 Tony Stewart 14 Office Depot Chevrolet Impala 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 1.092 sec
2012 April 14 Greg Biffle 16 3M/Filtrete Filters Ford Fusion 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 3.235 sec
2012 November 4 Jimmie Johnson 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Impala 502.5 mi (Template:Convert/502.5*1609.344)* Template:Convert/mi/h 0.808 sec
2013 April 13 Kyle Busch 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry 501 mi (Template:Convert/501*1609.344) Template:Convert/mi/h 0.508 sec

IZOD IndyCar Series statistics[]

IZOD IndyCar Series race winners[]

Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
1996-97 June 7, 1997 25px Netherlands Arie Luyendyk* Treadway Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:19:48 133.903 Report
1998 June 6 25px USA Billy Boat A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:08:46 145.388 Report
September 20 25px USA John Paul, Jr. Byrd/Cunningham Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:21:53 131.931 Report
1999 June 12 25px Canada Scott Goodyear Panther Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:00:06 150.069 Report
October 17 25px USA Mark Dismore Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:14:16 135.246 Report
2000 June 11* 25px USA Scott Sharp Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 1:47:20 169.182 Report
October 15 25px Canada Scott Goodyear Panther Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 1:43:36 175.276 Report
2001 June 9 25px USA Scott Sharp Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 200 300 (482.803) 1:55:44 150.873 Report
October 6* 25px USA Sam Hornish, Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 200 300 (482.803) 1:43:36 168.523 Report
2002 June 8 25px USA Jeff Ward Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:45:50 164.984 Report
September 15 25px USA Sam Hornish, Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:46:29 163.981 Report
2003 June 7 25px USA Al Unser, Jr. Kelley Racing Dallara Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 1:43:48 168.213 Report
October 13 25px Brazil Gil de Ferran Team Penske Dallara Toyota 195* 292.5 (470.733) 1:48:56 156.268 Report
2004 June 12 25px Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:53:24 153.965 Report
October 17 25px Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 1:49:32 159.397 Report
2005 June 11 25px South Africa Tomas Scheckter Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:45:47 165.047 Report
2006 June 10 25px Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:34:01 185.71 Report
2007 June 9 25px USA Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 1:52:15 177.314 Report
2008 June 7 25px New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 2:04:36 159.74 Report
2009 June 6 25px Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 1:55:16 172.677 Report
2010 June 5 25px Australia Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 2:04:47 159.508 Report
2011 June 11 25px Great Britain Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 114 171 (275.197) 0:54:47 181.649 Report
25px Australia Will Power Team Penske Dallara Honda 114 171 (275.197) 0:48:09 206.693
2012 June 9 25px Great Britain Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 1:59:02 167.217 Report
2013 June 8 25px Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 228 342 (550.395) 1:52:17 177.257 Report
  • 1997: Billy Boat took checkered flag as the winner due to scoring error; Luyendyk declared official winner the following day.
  • 2000: Postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain.
  • 2001: Postponed from September 16 due to 9/11.
  • 2003: Race shortened due to crash involving Kenny Bräck.

Current races hosted[]

Texas Motor Speedway

MVI 2862 TX Motor Speedway

A glimpse of the Texas Motor Speedway stadium before the crowds arrive.

Other races such as the Lone Star Legends[4] series take place during the summer. The dirt track facility hosts the occasional Monster Truck show as well as motocross and short course racing.[5]

Other events[]

On June 14, 1997 Texas Motor Speedway hosted the Fruit of the Loom CountryFest for an estimated 185,000 spectators. Featured performers were Jo Dee Messina, Bryan White, Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, The Charlie Daniels Band, Hank Williams Jr., LeAnn Rimes, Travis Tritt, and Randy Travis.

On June 21, 1997 Texas Motor Speedway hosted the Blockbuster Rock Fest where an estimated 385,000 fans bought tickets and attended. The 15 hour plus and 16 band concert featured the likes of Bush, No Doubt, Collective Soul, Matchbox Twenty, Jewel, the Wallflowers, the Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind, Sugar Ray, Paula Cole as well as many others. Because fans started arriving the night before, VH1 organized a kickoff concert on that Friday night. The concert remains one of the top attended concerts ever.

Ongoing classes and events are held regularly at the facility, such as the Texas Driving Experience[6] and Team Texas.[7] 87-year old Don Krusemark was killed in an accident during an event at the speedway hosted by the Texas Driving Experience.[8]

The Traxxas TORC Series held the series' first off-road racing event in 2009 at Texas Motor Speedway.[9] The 0.4 mile clay oval at the facility was transformed by adding jumps and whoops.[9] Winners in the two-race weekend were: Pro-4 winner Rick Huseman won twice; Pro-2 events were claimed by Ricky Johnson and Scott Taylor; and for Pro Lite class winners were Marty Hart and Casey Currie.[10] It was the only TORC event held at the track as of 2013.

The first annual Christian alt-rock festival FortyFest was held at the Texas Motor Speedway "Little Texas" facility in August 2010.

Texas Motor Speedway made an unsuccessful overture to move the annual Texas-Oklahoma rivalry football game from the Cotton Bowl to the infield of the modern racing facility in 2004.[11]

See also[]

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References[]

  1. "NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedule, Results & Tickets on". Nascar.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/. Retrieved 2012-11-07. 
  2. Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM. "The evolution of race promotion - Nov 06, 2012". Nascar.Com. http://www.nascar.com/news/121106/ups-game-changer-promotions/index.html. Retrieved 2012-11-07. 
  3. Firestone Firehawk 600 lineup. Usatoday.Com (2001-04-28). Retrieved on 2013-07-18.
  4. Lone Star Legends Website is und. Lslegends.webhost4life.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-18.
  5. [1][dead link]
  6. "Total Driving Experience". Texasdrivingexperience.com. http://www.texasdrivingexperience.com/. Retrieved 2012-11-07. 
  7. "Team Texas High Performance Driving School". Teamtexas.com. http://www.teamtexas.com/. Retrieved 2012-11-07. 
  8. Norton, Casey. (2010-05-17) Prize for blood donor ends in death at Speedway | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth. Wfaa.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-18.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "TRAXXAS TORC Series Hosts Season Opener at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track". Who Won.com. http://www.whowon.com/sResults.asp?SanctionID=257&StoryID=269572. Retrieved January 14, 2013. 
  10. "A Behind the Scenes Perspective of the TORC Series Debut in Texas". Race Dezert.com. http://www.race-dezert.com/home/a-behind-the-scenes-perspective-of-the-torc-series-debut-in-texas-1500.html. Retrieved January 14, 2013. 
  11. By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM. "Smith hoping to lure college football to Bristol - Aug 26, 2005". Nascar.Com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20121012190110/http://www.nascar.com/2005/news/headlines/cup/08/26/bruton.smith.26/index.html. Retrieved 2012-11-07. 

External links[]

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Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Texas Motor Speedway. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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