Texas Motor Speedway is a

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

located in the northernmost portion of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

city of

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

– the portion located in

Denton County, Texas Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establish ...

. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° in turns 3 and 4. Texas Motor Speedway is a

quad-oval Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic ...

design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

and

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Nicknamed “The Great American Speedway“ the racetrack facility is one of the largest motorsports venues in the world capable of hosting crowds in excess of 200,000 spectators.

History

The speedway has been managed since its inception by racing promoter Eddie Gossage until June 2021 when he stepped down from the position of track president, citing retirement from motorsports management. Based on qualifying speeds in 2004, 2005, and 2006 (with Brian Vickers shattering the qualifying record at Texas with a speed of in the 2006 Dickies 500 qualifying), the Texas Motor Speedway was once considered the fastest non-

restrictor plate A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. This kind of system is occasionally used in road vehicles (e.g., motorcycles) for insurance purposes, but mainly in automobile racing, to li ...

track on the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

circuit, with qualifying speeds in excess of and corner entry speeds over . 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 Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured ...

holds the NASCAR qualifying record at TMS. In 2006, he posted a speed.

Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...

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. 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 schedule were closed to make room for Texas Motor Speedway's two race dates, with the

North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill fr ...

being bought by TMS owner Bruton Smith and

New Hampshire International Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...

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 Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States, named after the Marquess of Rockingham. The population was 9,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County. The city is the home of Rockingham Speedway, f ...

was also sold to Smith as a result of the

Ferko lawsuit ''Ferko, et al. v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., et al.'', commonly known as the Ferko lawsuit, was an American lawsuit between plaintiff Francis Ferko, a resident of Plano, Texas, and a minor shareholder of the then-public ...

with the track's one remaining date also being handed over to Texas. Texas Motor Speedway is home to the Cup Series'

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The inaugural race took place on November 6, 2005. The race has always started in the late aft ...

, as well as the exhibition

NASCAR All-Star Race The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NAS ...

. The track also hosts two

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

races, the

Alsco Uniforms 250 The SRS Distribution 250 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that has taken place each spring at Texas Motor Speedway since 1997. Since 2005, this has been one of two races for the series at the track, the other being the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 ...

and the Andy's Frozen Custard 335, the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

Genesys 600 The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...

, and the

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

SpeedyCash.com 220 The SpeedyCash.com 220 is an annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas. The race was previously a standalone race in the month of June for the Truck Series at the track, but it shared a ...

. 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 Alvin is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city population was 27,098. Alvin's claim to fame is Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, ...

(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 oval, and the small number of Texas International Raceway merchandise instantly became collectible. 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 was held on Saturday April 9, 2011. The same year, the apron of the speedway was repaved.

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...

(1997) and

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

(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. On September 23, 2013, the track announced that by the 2014 spring Cup race, the world's largest video screen would be added. The

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

screen, nicknamed "Big Hoss", is wide and tall. In 2014, Texas Motor Speedway did not sell tickets on the backstretch for either of its NASCAR Cup Series races, reducing the seating capacity of the track to 112,552. The world's largest

high-definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (No ...

screen at a motor speedway, Big Hoss, was introduced in the Duck Commander 500. In 2017 along with a repaving of the track surface, the Track was reprofiled to have the banking in turns 1 and 2 be reduced from 24 degrees to 20 degrees along with having the racing surface width expand from 60 feet to 80 feet in turns 1 and 2 as well. As a consequence of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Texas The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...

, TMS held graduations for 23 area high schools in late spring 2020. With the reveal of the

2021 NASCAR Cup Series The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, wher ...

schedule, Texas Motor Speedway began hosting the

while losing the spring Cup date with the addition of the

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States G ...

in Austin.

Firestone Firehawk 600

The Firestone Firehawk 600, a

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

race, was to be held on April 29, 2001. During practice and qualifying, however, 21 of 25 drivers complained of dizziness and disorientation during two days of practice. Drivers experienced sustained

G force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

s over 5 ''g'', more than the typical human tolerance. With their powerful 900+ hp turbocharged engines and superspeedway downforce packages, the Champ Cars were averaging speeds well in excess of 230 mph. This was much faster than IRL machinery of the time, and faster still than the speeds seen regularly by NASCAR Cup Series cars. With the possibility of drivers blacking out on the track, CART cancelled the race two hours before the scheduled start.

Statistics

Track records

Note: The NASCAR timing and scoring use a length of . This length was used by IRL in their races in 1997 and 1998, too. Since 1999 the IRL timing and scoring use a remeasured track length of . The CART measured for the inaugural and later cancelled race a length of . In 2017, IndyCar use a track length of 1.44 miles for timing and scoring.

Lap Records

The official race lap records at Texas Motor Speedway are listed as:

NASCAR Cup Series

Records

(As of 6/9/2021) * from minimum 3 starts.

NASCAR Cup Series winners

Notes

*2002, 2010 (spring), & 2014 (spring): Race moved from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon due to rain. *2006 (fall), 2008 (spring), 2012 (spring), 2014 (both), 2018 (fall) & 2022 (spring): Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish. 2014 (fall) took two attempts. *2011 (spring): First scheduled night event in Cup Series history at Texas Motor Speedway. *2016 (spring): Race was delayed by rain for 2 hours. Race was completed early Sunday morning at 2:45 am CT. *2016 (fall): Race shortened due to rain. *2020 (spring): Race was moved back by several months as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. *2021–2022 (spring): Were the

IndyCar Series winners

*1997:

Billy Boat William Leonard Boat (born February 2, 1966) is an American former open-wheel driver who raced in the Indy Racing League. Racing career Boat began his career in USAC where he won 11 straight Western Series races on his way to the 1995 champion ...

took checkered flag as the winner due to scoring error; Luyendyk declared official winner the following day. *2000 and 2016: Postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain. 2016 race further postponed due to more rain/logistical issues. *2001: Postponed from September 16 due to 9/11. *2003: Race shortened due to crash involving

Kenny Bräck Kenny Bräck (born 21 March 1966) is a Swedish former race car driver. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He won the 1998 Indy Racing League championship and the 1999 Indianapoli ...

Current races hosted

–

Xpel 375 The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...

* NASCAR Cup Series –

–

– Andy's Frozen Custard 335 *

–

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

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 Bryan Shelton White (born February 17, 1974) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's '' Between Now ...

Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd or simply Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964) is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles, incl ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

The Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The D ...

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

, and

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

. 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 and Team Texas. The

Traxxas TORC Series TORC: The Off-Road Championship (TORC) was an American short course off-road racing series. It tours throughout the United States featuring professional four and two-wheel-drive Trophy Trucks along with a Pro Light class. TORC was founded by off ...

held the series' first off-road racing event in 2009 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 0.4 mile clay oval at the facility was transformed by adding jumps and whoops. Winners in the two-race weekend were: Pro-4 winner Rick Huseman won twice; Pro-2 events were claimed by

Ricky Johnson Richard Bernard "Ricky" Johnson Jr. (born July 6, 1964) is an American former professional motocross, off-road truck and stock car racer. He competed in AMA motocross and Supercross during the 1980s and, won seven AMA national championships. He ...

and Scott Taylor; and for Pro Lite class winners were

Marty Hart The first season of ''True Detective'', an American anthology series, anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto, premiered on January 12, 2014, on the premium cable network HBO. The principal cast consisted of Matthew M ...

and

Casey Currie Casey Currie (born December 5, 1983) is an American off-road racing driver. Along with Ricky Brabec in the bike category, Currie was the first American to win at the Dakar Rally in 2020, having won the UTV category with Sean Berriman for Monster ...

. It was the only TORC event held at the track as of 2013. In June 2017, the track hosted the

Stadium Super Trucks The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...

as a support event for IndyCar. The series raced on a dirt track consisting of the infield, pit road, and the frontstretch. To promote the event, the speedway's turn two featured an off-road expo nicknamed the "Off-Road Ruckus", allowing visitors to drive their off-road vehicles along an obstacle course and observe exhibits. 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 Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

rivalry football game from the Cotton Bowl to the infield of the modern racing facility in 2004.

References

External links

Texas Motor Speedway Official Site
*
Trackpedia guide to driving Texas Motor Speedway
o
NASCAR.com
nbsp;– Local area information, track specs, mapping, news and more.

nbsp;– Current and Past Texas Motor Speedway News
Texas Motor Speedway Fan Page
nbsp;– Photographs and articles on past speedway events.
Dale Jarrett Racing Experience at Texas Motor Speedway
*High Resolution image fro
Google Maps
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