History
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 Texas Motor Speedway. The event was traditionally a single race held on a Saturday night in early June. Twice, in 2011 and 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. In 2021 the event moved to the first weekend in May, and in 2022 the event was moved to a March date.
In September 2023, it was announced that Texas Motor Speedway was not on the 2024 IndyCar schedule.
Race length
When the track opened, the one-lap distance was measured as 1.5 miles (2.4 km). IndyCar Series races were originally 208 laps (312 mi/500 km) long. In 2001, timing and scoring officials revised the measurement as 1.455 miles (2.342 km), and the races were changed to an even 200 laps (291 mi/468.319 km). 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 (2.4 km) measurement, the race became 342 miles (550.4 km). However, official IndyCar timing and scoring maintained the 1.455-mile (2.342 km) measurement, and the race was officially 331.74 miles (533.88 km). 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 9:00 p.m. CDT (10:00 p.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.
In 2021 Texas hosted a twin-race weekend with two separate points-paying events, named the Genesys 300 and XPEL 375 and held on May 1 and 2 respectively. [7] Qualifying for both rounds was canceled due to rain, with the starting grid decided by the championship standings entering each race. Álex Palou, competing for Chip Ganassi Racing, was awarded pole position for the Genesys 300 as he was the points leader following the previous round at St. Petersburg. Palou's teammate Scott Dixon, who started ninth, won the first race and took his only victory of the season. Dixon advanced to take the lead in the points standings, and consequently started the XPEL 375 on pole the following day. The second race was won by Arrow McLaren SP's Pato O'Ward, who claimed his first IndyCar Series victory.
The event returned to a single-race format for 2022 onwards, and its distance was extended to 375 miles. [8]
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