Texas Motor Speedway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Texas Motor Speedway | |
| The Great American Speedway | |
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| Facility statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | 3545 Lone Star Circle, Justin, Texas 76247 (this is the mailing address, the track is located in Fort Worth) |
| Broke ground | April 11, 1995 |
| Opened | February 29, 1996 |
| Owner | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Operator | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
| Construction cost | $250 million USD |
| Architect | |
| Former names | |
| Texas International Raceway (1996) | |
| Major events | |
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Samsung 500 Dickies 500 |
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| Seating capacity | |
| 212,585 (NASCAR & IndyCar) | |
| Current dimensions | |
| Track shape | Quad-oval |
| Track length | 1.5 miles |
| Track banking | Turns - 24 degrees |
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 mailing address lists nearby Justin, Texas, the nearest post office, but the track itself is in Fort Worth -- signage on the Turn 1 and 3 walls reads "Fort Worth -- Denton County".) 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.
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 last but not least, the Indy Racing League 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.
One key characteristic of Texas are the tunnel bumps in Turns 2 and 4 which give uniqueness to this 1.5 mile downforce "cookie cutter" racetrack.
Contents |
[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 [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.
[edit] Current Races Hosted
- Nextel Cup - Samsung 500
- Nextel Cup - Dickies 500
- Busch Series - O'Reilly 300
- Busch Series - O'Reilly Challenge
- Indy Racing League - Bombardier Learjet 550
[edit] See also
[edit] 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
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or MapQuest
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racetracks |
|---|
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Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Martinsville - Miami - Pocono - Phoenix - Richmond - Sonoma, California - Talladega - Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Busch Series racetracks |
|---|
| Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Martinsville (1982–1994, 2006), Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal (2007), Nashville, Phoenix, Richmond, Sparta, Kentucky, Talladega, Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky |
| Tracks of the Indy Racing League |
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| Ovals Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chicagoland • Homestead • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Motegi • Nashville • Richmond • Texas Road/Street Courses Former Tracks |
| Tracks of the Champ Car World Series |
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| Current Tracks (2007)
Assen • Cleveland • Edmonton • Houston • Las Vegas • Long Beach • Mexico City • Mont-Tremblant • Phoenix • Portland • Road America • San Jose • Surfers Paradise • Toronto • Zhuhai • Zolder Former Tracks (Ovals) Former Tracks (Road Courses) Former Tracks (International) |
| Tracks of IROC |
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| Current Tracks Daytona International Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway • Atlanta Motor Speedway Former Tracks |
