Only Indianapolis Motor Speedway is bigger. Indy-cars will stop here in the summer. Local fans have embraced the raceway. The Winston Cup race is a sellout and the Busch event already has sold more than 77,000 tickets, ensuring a record crowd for that series. No. 1, it gives us prestige.
Crazy things happen and it makes it an eventful day.
It's not just another race. Drivers got their first feel for the track last week with two days of testing. Rusty Wallace had the fastest laps both days, at 184.3 mph on Thursday, then upping it to 185.75 mph on Friday. On both days, Wallace drove the car he used to win last year's Goody's 500 in Bristol, Tenn., another Smith-owned track. Several drivers compared Texas Motor Speedway to a third Smith raceway, Charlotte.