After battling the short tracks of the southeast for two straight weeks, the Sprint Cup Series teams return to speedway action this weekend at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) located in Fort Worth. The track is one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit and looks forward to introducing its fans to the new Sprint Cup car, formerly the Car of Tomorrow, which makes its debut at TMS in Sunday's Samsung 500.
Boasting some of the closest racing action of the season, Texas has hosted 14 Sprint Cup races since opening for business in 1997. In those 14 events there has been only one repeat winner, Jeff Burton who serves as the defending champion of the Samsung 500 as well as the inaugural race winner. Last season's two events at TMS were arguably the best racing action of the season as both race winners were determined by less than a second in their margin of victory.
Following the March race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a sister track to TMS, Goodyear officials announced the tire manufacturer will utilize the same tire compound at the upcoming Sprint Cup race responsible for the exciting finishes at Texas in 2007. Tires were a hot topic in the NASCAR garage following Atlanta as several drivers voiced complaints regarding the tire, which was composed of a different compound structure than the one ran at TMS.
In addition to a strong showing on-track by the stars of the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, track president Eddie Gossage will again deliver on entertainment for fans coming to the speedway. On Friday, following Sprint Cup qualifying, country music stars Big & Rich will host a concert on the frontstretch. Tickets for qualifying are the only form of admission that fans will need to see this special performance.
Fans holding to tickets to Sunday's race will also be in store for another musical treat as The Doobie Brothers will perform on race morning on the frontstretch beginning at 11:30 a.m. The band, which rose to popularity in the 70s, is famous for numerous hits including their first #1 song, Black Water.
Finally, a trip to TMS would not be complete without the race winner donning a cowboy hat in victory lane. This custom is made possible by Charlie 1 Horse, the cowboy hat manufacturer based in Garland, Texas who has produced hats for TMS race winners during the NASCAR and IndyCar Series race weekends.
FOX is scheduled to broadcast live television coverage of the Samsung 500 beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled to fall at 2 p.m. ET
Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway
- Qualifying Record: Brian Vickers (196.235 mph, 27.518 seconds), November 3, 2006
- Race Record: Carl Edwards (151.055 mph, 3 hours, 19 minutes, 0 seconds), November 6, 2005
- 2007 Winner: Jeff Burton
- Total Purse: $7,336,866
