The NTT IndyCar Series has hosted auto racing events at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The race has had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and race distances over the years and therefore has had many different names. The event is traditionally a single race held on a Saturday night in early June. Twice, in 2011 and scheduled in 2021, the series has held twin races at the track. From 1997 until 2005, it served as the first race after the Indianapolis 500. It resumed this place in 2010 and in 2011. In 2020, it served as the first race of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while in 2021 the event moved to the first weekend in May.
The first Championship/Indy car races in the Dallas/Fort Worth area took place at Arlington Downs Raceway in nearby Arlington, Texas. AAA sanctioned five races from 1947 to 1950. USAC sanctioned ten Championship car events at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. The race was discontinued when the track closed in 1981.
In 1997, the IndyCar Series debuted at the track on a Saturday night in early June. It marked the first-ever superspeedway night race for American open wheel racing.[citation needed] During the race, one of the electronic scoring wires malfunctioned in the pit area, which caused unexpected scoring errors. Billy Boat was scored as the leader, and took the checkered flag as the winner. Arie Luyendyk, who felt he had been robbed of the win, stormed victory lane, where he was lunged at by Boat's owner, A. J. Foyt. Quickly the fight broke up. The next morning, it was determined that Luyendyk actually was the official winner. Foyt refused to return the trophy, and the race has since become a famous part of Texas Motor Speedway lore. Luyendyk received a replacement, and the "official" trophy years later, presented to him by track president Eddie Gossage. The IRL also fired USAC as the series' officiating and scoring partner in favor of doing so in-house, as the error was second in a row for the series after that year's Indianapolis 500.
From 1998 to 2004, a second 500km IndyCar Series race was held at the track in the fall. Known commonly as "Texas II," the race was always held during the day. It served as the IndyCar Series' season finale for each of its runnings.
In 2003, Gil de Ferran was leading on lap 187 when Kenny Bräck crashed on the backstretch. The massive accident seriously injured Bräck, and he raced only limitedly afterwards. With the race winding down under caution, and with cleanup still ongoing, officials stopped the race after 195 laps when it was clear they would not have time to go back to green. de Ferran was declared the winner in what was his final race in IndyCar (he had announced his retirement during the season).
Race length
When the track opened, the one-lap distance was measured as 1.5 miles (2.4km). IndyCar Series races were originally 208 laps (312mi/500km) long. In 2001, timing and scoring officials revised the measurement as 1.455 miles (2.342km), and the races were changed to an even 200 laps (291mi/468.319km). In 2007, the race was lengthened to 228 laps in an effort to create a longer product for time value purposes. Using the traditional 1.5-mile (2.4km) measurement, the race became 342 miles (550.4km). However, official IndyCar timing and scoring maintained the 1.455-mile (2.342km) measurement, and the race was officially 331.74 miles (533.88km). In 2014, the race was extended to 600 kilometers.[1] After revamping the oval track in 2016, the new one lap measurement is 1.44 miles for lap speed calculations.[2]
In addition, the start time was moved to 9:00p.m. CDT (10:00p.m. EDT) so the event would take place almost entirely under the lights, rather than in the mid-summer twilight.[3]
The race was slightly shortened to 300 miles and 200 laps in 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic protocols that used same-day practice and qualifying for the event. The 2020 Genesys 300 was the first IndyCar event since a hiatus due to the pandemic.[4] The 300-mile distance will also be used for 2021.[5]
Twin races
For 2011, a special Twin race format was adopted, a throwback to the USAC-style twin races of the 1970s and early 1980s. The race would consist of two 275-km (114 laps) races, with each race declaring a separate winner, and each race awarding half points towards the season championship. The starting lineup for the first race was determined during standard time trials. After the completion of the first race, a "halftime" was observed, and the starting lineup for the second race was determined by a random draw.
A mild controversy resulted from the halftime draw for the second race's lineup. It differed from previous "twin" races where the finishing positions for the first race determined the lineup, or the finishing positions were inverted. It was considered unfair by some,[6] and it was magnified when points contenders Will Power and Dario Franchitti drew 3rd and 28th starting positions, respectively. For 2012, the twin-race format was scrapped.
For the 2021 season, Texas will host a twin-race weekend with two separate points-paying events, with the and Genesys 300 and XPEL 375 to be held on May 1 and 2 respectively.[7]
The CART Champ Car series scheduled a race at the track for April 29, 2001. Following practice and qualifying, however, the race was cancelled "due to irresolvable concerns over the physical demands placed on the drivers at race speeds."[8] All but four drivers reported they had experienced vertigo-like symptoms due to lateral g-forces from driving in excess of 230mph (370km/h) on the steep 24 degree banks.
The Dayton Indy Lights race was completed with two cautions.
The Indianapolis 500, also formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or simply the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix. It is the largest sports venue in the world. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won several major sports car racing events. He holds the USAC career wins record with 159 victories, and the American championship racing career wins record with 67.
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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 reconfigured track measures 1.44 miles (2.32 km) with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° in turns 3 and 4. Texas Motor Speedway 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. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
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