Texas Motor Speedway

Texas Motor Speedway (1.5 miles, Intermediate, quad oval) in Fort Worth, Texas

The Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval in the same form as Atlanta or Charlotte and is therefore also known as the sister track. All three ovals have a banking of 24 ° and the characteristic double kinked start / finish line, but Texas is about 35 years younger than his sisters. Other special features of the speedways are firstly, the very high price of money: Since the pot is well filled, of course, also get the start-and-park-entries a bigger piece of the pie than usual, which makes participation attractive. The race in Texas offer the winner a half million dollars and that is the third largest prize money for the Daytona 500 ($ 1.5 million) and the All-Star Race ($ 1 million), ahead of classics like Indy or the Coca 600-Cola, they have to offer just barely less than half a million dollars. Second, the seating capacity of 191 122 places after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (at least 257 325), the second largest in NASCAR, even before the two super speedways (Talladega: 175,000 Daytona: 167 785) and the Lowe's Motor Speedway (167,000).

Since 1997, the Cup will at Texas Motor Speedway, and since 2005 there is also a second race of the season. At that time, Texas and Phoenix each got an appointment from Rockingham and Darlington awarded one of the most controversial calendar adjustments NASCAR history. Rockingham was then no longer represented in the racing scene and the "Lady in Black" lost its traditional Labor Day race, the Southern 500 Although since last year, the only remaining Darlington race again the legendary name, but is now held on Mother's Day. The Texas Motor Speedway is thus represented in the Chase since 2005.

For IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway is synonymous with the super speedways of NASCAR. Flat-out it goes for the open wheel cars through the four turns, so slipstream duels are often breathtaking to see. 2011 divided the IndyCar officials the race in Texas as a test in two sub-events on in which each half of the normal points were awarded. This approach has not been successful after complaints about the driver reversed starting order for the second race.

Celebrity in the Formula scene gained the Oval in 2001, when the "Firestone Firehawk 600" the former CART series was canceled due to high speeds: Paul Tracy reached in free practice on Saturday, a record speed of 236,678 mph (380,896 km / h) at Texas Motor Speedway, at G-forces by a factor of 5 for about 3/4 of the round. After practice and qualifying reported 21 of the 25 participating drivers of dizziness when they had driven more than 10 rounds. Patrick Carpentier could not walk properly, for example, for ten minutes straight after disembarking. When the Indy cars as a G-Overload can not happen, however, because CART seinerseit turbo engines began, which were much higher speeds than is possible with today's suction units. At Wikipedia there is to this, in connection canceled, race still a complete, very interesting article .