They called it tough. They called it unfair. The harshest of the knee-jerk critics last year said that developer Bruton Smith should bulldoze Texas Motor Speedway and start all over again. General manager Gossage says he's going to take Wheeler's remarks as a compliment and build from there.
Image is everything, it appears, even in the decal-splattered world of auto racing.
For most of us, that first view of the speedway is the one we never forget. You're riding north on Interstate 35W, you crest the hill just outside of Roanoke, and there it is. The whole thing is, well, Titanic-sized, if Gossage doesn't mind the analogy. The only sports facility larger in the United States is the aforementioned Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and that places the Texas track with select company. But TMS is not Indy yet.