PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Friday, May 29, 1998

Track's facelift nearly complete

By ROBERT G. WIELAND / Associated Press Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Texas Motor Speedway is "smooth, smooth, smooth," after being improved to resolve drivers' complaints, general manager Eddie Gossage said Thursday.

The track spent between $2 million and $3 million to improve drainage, increase banking on two turns and resurface the entire 1.5-mile oval with a finer aggregate asphalt, Gossage said.

"You can run over a dime and tell whether it's heads or tails in a Winston Cup car," said Gossage, who personally took a spin Thursday morning to check out the banks and surfaces. "I couldn't even feel the seams."

Drivers complained after last month's NASCAR Texas 500 that turn four was too tight. Water seeping through the asphalt changed the first turn into a giant puddle.

Now Gossage says a month of intense construction has made the track ready for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race on June 5 and an IRL race the next day.

"It's a completely different racetrack, but that's me in my layman's opinion," Gossage said. "It will be up to the drivers to decide."

One driver who thought the changes were unneeded was Greg Ray of Plano, Texas.

"There was nothing wrong with this racetrack before," Ray said as he prepared to take several laps in a pace car.

However, Ray admitted while negotiating the fourth turn that it was much improved.

"The banking starts before the turn and stays until they're done turning, so it gives extra control," said Ray, who drove a car sponsored by the Texas Motor Speedway in last week's Indianapolis 500.

The changes should result in faster speeds and better passing, he said.

Gossage said lap times should improve because the first and fourth turns are now wider on the inside.

Because the official distance around the track is measured 10 feet from the outside wall, drivers who hug the center could notice they are only driving 1.45 miles or less, he said.

"They're not going any faster, they'll just be driving less distance," Gossage said.

No seats were removed for the improvements, but about 1,500 spectators at trackside will lose their straight-ahead view because of a higher wall, he said.