Texas Motor Speedway Totally Explained

Everything about Texas Motor Speedway totally explained

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.

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. (External Link

) 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. (External Link

)

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 (External Link

) 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.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats

NASCAR Records

As of 04/06/08

Most Wins - (2) - Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards
Most Top 5's - (5) - Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth
Most Top 10's - (7) - 6 Drivers
Starts - (14) - 5 Drivers
Poles - (2) - Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman
Laps Led - (453) - Tony Stewart
Avg Start (Minimum 5 starts) - (8.0) - Steve Park
Avg Finish (Minimum 5 starts) - (9.2) - Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Winners

Race Extended Due to Green-White-Checker Finish

Season	Date	Winning Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Make	Distance	Margin of Victory
1997	April 6	Jeff Burton	99	Exide Batteries	Ford Thunderbird	501 mi	4.067 sec
1998	April 5	Mark Martin	6	Valvoline	Ford Taurus	501 mi	0.573 sec
1999	March 28	Terry Labonte	5	Kellogg's	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	501 mi	UC
2000	April 2	Dale Earnhardt Jr	8	Budweiser	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	501 mi	5.920 sec
2001	April 1	Dale Jarrett	88	UPS	Ford Taurus	501 mi	0.73 sec
2002	April 8	Matt Kenseth	17	DeWalt	Ford Taurus	501 mi	0.888 sec
2003	March 30	Ryan Newman	12	Alltell	Dodge Intrepid	501 mi	3.405 sec
2004	April 4	Elliott Sadler	38	M&Ms	Ford Taurus	501 mi	0.028 sec
2005	April 17	Greg Biffle	16	Post-it/National Guard	Ford Taurus	501 mi	3.244 sec
2005	November 6	Carl Edwards	99	Office Depot	Ford Taurus	501 mi	0.584 sec
2006	April 9	Kasey Kahne	9	Dodge Dealers/UAW	Dodge Charger	501 mi	5.229 sec
2006	November 5	Tony Stewart	20	Home Depot	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	508.5* mi	0.272 sec
2007	April 15	Jeff Burton	31	Prilosec OTC	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	501 mi	0.410 sec
2007	November 4	Jimmie Johnson	48	Lowes/Kobalt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	501 mi	0.944 sec
2008	April 6	Carl Edwards	99	Aflac	Ford Fusion	508.5* mi	0.399 sec

Current Races Hosted

Sprint Cup Series - Samsung 500

Sprint Cup Series - Dickies 500

Nationwide Series - O'Reilly 300

Nationwide Series - O'Reilly Challenge

Craftsman Truck Series - Sam's Town 400

Craftsman Truck Series - Silverado 350K

Indy Racing League - Bombardier Learjet 550Further Information

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