Profiling the Texas Motor Speedway and its NASCAR Highlights
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The Texas Motor Speedway is one of the homes of NASCAR races, and although it hosts a short list of races each year, it’s one of the commonly heard names among NASCAR news buffs and NASCAR fans. Located between Fort Worth, Denton, and Justin, Texas, the speedway is a big one in more ways than one. The speedway was recently considered the fastest track when using speeds from 2004 and 2005 in order to compile data, but more recently, changes in the track’s surface have forced this title to move on to another track, the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Both of these tracks are part of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which means that the tracks are identical. Also in this family is the recently renamed Lowe’s Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway). The last member of the group is the Bristol Motor Speedway, which tends to get a little less press because it is not as large as the other tracks; however, some prefer it for the very reason that it’s a short-track.
There are currently four NASCAR regular-season events that are held at Texas Motor Speedway each season. Some of these events are newer than others, and some belong to the Nextel Cup Series while others belong to the Busch Series of races. There are currently no Craftsman Truck Series races held at the speedway in Denton County, Texas, but that could change in the future. Texas Motor Speedway also hosts the Indy Racing League’s Bombardier Learjet 500; it’s a short list, but also an exciting one that make up the NASCAR series races. The Busch races are the O’Reilly Challenge and the O’Reilly 300; the Nextel Cup races are the Dickies 500 and the Samsung/Radio Shack 500. Seeing the names of these events all together like that is another coherent example of the magnitude of event sponsorship in NASCAR. The amount of races named after sponsors, and even racetracks themselves now being named after sponsoring companies, is innumerable.
Another great NASCAR feature of the Texas Motor Speedway is their NASCAR driving school. The driving school offers the opportunity for die-hard fans to really get their kicks by driving an authentic NASCAR stock car. The price tags are not so insignificant, but for an appropriately expensive sum of money, one can buy the opportunity to ride around the racetrack at high speeds in the passenger seat of a racecar or even learn to do the driving oneself. Of course, most fans are interested in the latter option, paying thousands of dollars to drive original stock cars around the track a pre-determined number of times. Throughout the driving school, it is supposed that one will gain the experience needed to successfully drive at NASCAR speeds. The driving school teaches skills according to the skill level of the driver, and of course students of the driving school must be able to show a valid driver’s license before being allowed to get behind the wheel of the car.
Whether for race watching or car-driving, Texas Motorsports Speedway is an exciting place for NASCAR fans to be. Certainly, some other tracks draw more races and are higher on the popularity list of drivers across the country, but when it comes right down to it, the speedway in Texas is one of the icons of American racecar driving. Whether it’s because of the favorable climate or because of the sheer magnitude of the fan base, nobody really knows. What is certain is that Texas Motorsports Speedway is a great place for NASCAR fans to come together for a tailgate party or to have the amazing opportunity of driving an authentic NASCAR racecar around, around, and around again the track.
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