Texas 2nd date

[antig24]

TMS getting 2nd race in 2005: Texas Motor Speedway will have its long-awaited second NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race in 2005. The Fort Worth racetrack will be granted two races per season as part of a settlement of Francis Ferko's lawsuit against NASCAR, sources told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday. Ferko, of Plano, filed the suit in February 2002 on behalf of shareholders of Speedway Motorsports, the company that built and operates TMS. An announcement could be made next month, though sources said the settlement probably won't be declared final until the summer. NASCAR usually unveils its schedule in August or September. TMS President Eddie Gossage declined to comment. Calls to NASCAR and its attorney, Alan B. Vickery, weren't returned. Ferko attorney Samuel A. Cherry Jr. said last month that settlement negotiations were under way. The second date, which sources said will probably be in early November during the 10-race "Chase for the Championship," is the key piece of an agreement that keeps the Cup schedule at 36 races and involves four other facilities: Phoenix International Raceway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and North Carolina Speedway.

• Darlington, owned by lawsuit co-defendant International Speedway Corp., loses one of its two dates and will hold its race the day before Mother's Day, traditionally an open weekend for the Cup Series.

• North Carolina, an ISC track that was pared to one race this season, will lose its remaining February date.

• Phoenix, another ISC racetrack, will also have two Cup dates -- in February (North Carolina's race) and November (Darlington's second date). Phoenix and TMS will be two of 14 facilities with two races in 2005.

• Atlanta, a sister track of TMS in Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports empire, will keep its two dates, but the spring race will be pushed later into March in an attempt to ease weather concerns.

NASCAR and ISC are owned by the France family of Daytona Beach, Fla., and are accused by Ferko of violating federal antitrust laws. Ferko also claims that NASCAR breached "express" and "implied" contracts with the "promise" of a second date for TMS.

"We've heard our name mentioned in relation with a second Nextel Cup race for almost two years now, yet we have not heard anything official from anyone," Phoenix raceway President Bryan Sperber said Tuesday. "If it did happen, we would be ecstatic and would certainly do our best to represent NASCAR as best we could."

Darlington, in rural South Carolina, and North Carolina Speedway, in the small town of Rockingham, surfaced in reports last month as speedways that could be affected by the lawsuit. Their small markets and relatively limited seating capacities (combined 120,113) ultimately cost the two traditional NASCAR tracks.

"What we're going through now is not a great deal different than what the NFL, the NBA and certainly the NHL went through: the nationalization of the sport," said H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, and president and chief operating officer of Speedway Motorsports. "There are forces at work outside of racing -- sponsors or TV -- that want those bigger numbers, and you can't get bigger numbers without bigger markets. It's going to be very difficult economically if you don't have 100,000 seats. You might be able to get along for a while, but with the way purses have escalated, you're going to have to have those seats."

TMS has them. Track officials estimated that more than 200,000 fans attended the April 4 Cup race, the Samsung/RadioShack 500, which drew a 5.6 rating and a 13 share for Fox Sports. Those numbers are an attractive fit for the Chase for the Championship, the sprint for the Nextel Cup title over the final 10 races of the season. ISC racetracks will host the final three races this season (Phoenix, Nov. 7; Darlington, Nov. 14; Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 21). Atlanta, on Oct. 31, is the only Speedway Motorsports track in the final five. Next season, Phoenix and Miami will host the final two, preceded by Atlanta and Texas.

"I think a place like this ought to have two races for sure," Cup driver Rusty Wallace said last month during a test session at TMS. "There are some tracks that have got two races that sure can afford to go back to one. When you come to a place like this, it's exciting because they fill the grandstands up. It's great."

Tracking the lawsuit

Five racetracks stand to be affected by the settlement of the Francis Ferko lawsuit against NASCAR.

• Texas Motor Speedway: Gets second Nextel Cup date, probably in early November.

• Phoenix International Raceway: Gets second date, probably in early February.

• Atlanta Motor Speedway: Keeps two dates, with first moving later into March.

• Darlington Raceway: Loses one of two races; the remaining race moves to Mother's Day weekend.

• North Carolina Speedway: Loses only remaining Cup date.(Fort Worth Star Telegram - need to register or see story at ThatsRacin.com)(4-21-2004)

 

 

I hope Texas is happy now, they just killed off a great race track. I don't mind Phoenix getting a 2nd date, but I don't think Texas deserves one. Rockingham was one of the last tracks where the driver actually made a big difference and could move around on the track to fix his car. O well, I guess that's NASCAR for ya.

[PewterC3]

I disagree with you. Texas Motor Speedway is a great track and deserves to host more races. I guess your trying to say TMS is not a drivers track. I say BS.

 

Face the facts...Nascar is contining to evolve and the small hometown tracks just don't fit the bill anymore....unless those fans want to pay double what fans pay for a seat at the bigger tracks.

[General Lee 01]

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That's all I have to say.

[Elwood]

Texas is a good track. That is still no reason to rob the places that built the sport from having dates. I say they in order to expand the sport as much as they would like they should have only one race at each track (except maybe Daytona and Bristol ) and have 30 different tracks. Then they get to expand, but nobody is getting better treatment than anyone else. And then they could also BRING BACK NORTH WILKESBORO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hecktorx]

Again, Nascar gives up on quality racing for $$$$$. If they were going to take a race away from a track to give to Texas, why not Loudon. At least then it would be an improvement in race quality.

 

Well, maybe with the track getting 2 races a year, the second groove at Texas will come in faster. Until then, I guess we have another 180mph parade to watch each year.

 

Kenny

[Shadowfax]

Texas a good track? When? If its not the trucks or the IRL running on it the action blows. Every cup and bgn race is single file. If they get tires they race side by side for about 5 laps. Every race I've seen there is strung out in 10 laps time under green. Also the traffic control for the texas crowd blows. Texas closes down all interstate on ramps a few miles from the track. Which means if you stop an exit before the track to take a leak or get gas, you are screwed. They make you drive all the way back from where you came for about 3 miles then rejoin traffic at a blistering pace of 2 mph. There are no state police involved, its just locals. And then those locals are a max number of 10 guys maybe to direct traffic.

 

No organization what-so-ever on Texas's part when it comes to that race. I've been there 3 times, and Im never going back until the racing gets better and Texas gets its head out of its butt as far as traffic directing. They need to take a que from Dega and setup a central command with coordination between state, county, and local police to help alleviate the traffic problem.

 

Poor racing, and poor traffic conditions gaurntee Bruton Smith isnt getting another penny out of me for Texas anyways. I watched 3 and half hours of single file racing for an almost pass in the final lap. Pretty shoddy if you ask me. Texas does not deserve a second date.

[Elwood]

Sorry, but I can't call it evolving when all they want to do is have every race one the same track just in a different city. That's the beauty of having all of these small hometown tracks, they each have their own challenges and benefits, the drivers and crews have to be able to adjust and do well at them all. All they want to do now is make every race like Charlotte. Well, then just races every week at one track for 36 weeks, that's what they're trying to do anyway. They variety is what makes NASCAR so much different than other sports. I like TMS, but i think that robbing the sport of the variety of tracks like they are doing is screwing it up. They might get the money now, but in the long run the sport is going to be hurting from lack of variety.

[PewterC3]

Texas a good track? When? If its not the trucks or the IRL running on it the action blows. Every cup and bgn race is single file. If they get tires they race side by side for about 5 laps. Every race I've seen there is strung out in 10 laps time under green. Also the traffic control for the texas crowd blows. Texas closes down all interstate on ramps a few miles from the track. Which means if you stop an exit before the track to take a leak or get gas, you are screwed. They make you drive all the way back from where you came for about 3 miles then rejoin traffic at a blistering pace of 2 mph. There are no state police involved, its just locals. And then those locals are a max number of 10 guys maybe to direct traffic.

 

No organization what-so-ever on Texas's part when it comes to that race. I've been there 3 times, and Im never going back until the racing gets better and Texas gets its head out of its butt as far as traffic directing. They need to take a que from Dega and setup a central command with coordination between state, county, and local police to help alleviate the traffic problem.

 

Poor racing, and poor traffic conditions gaurntee Bruton Smith isnt getting another penny out of me for Texas anyways. I watched 3 and half hours of single file racing for an almost pass in the final lap. Pretty shoddy if you ask me. Texas does not deserve a second date.

 

Let's just say we agree to disagree.