Texas Motor Speedway
| The Great American Speedway | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | 3545 Lone Star Circle, Fort Worth, Texas 76177 |
| Time zone | UTC−6 / −5 (DST) |
| Capacity | 181,655 |
| 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 |
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Xfinity Series Cowboy 300 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rattlesnake 400 Striping Technology 350 Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 24° |
| Lap record | 0:22.542 (Paul Tracy, Team Green, 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 measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is a quad-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.
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 196.235 mph (315.810 km/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 192 mph (309 km/h) and corner entry speeds over 200 mph (320 km/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 196.235 mph (315.810 km/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. 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 Monster Energy NASCAR 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 with the track's one remaining date also being handed over to Texas.
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Wikipedia