Texas World Speedway

7,635 Views | 46 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by eric76
bcs_tx_guy
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Why did NASCAR and other major races stop coming to TWS? I have heard many rumors and was wondering if anyone knew the truth.
La Fours
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AG
My guess is the location. But I honestly don't know.
Joe Schillaci 48
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Last NASCAR race 1981. Benny Parsons winner
First NASCAR race 1969 Bobby Isaac winner

USAC (ie Indy cars) 1979 A J Foyt winner
(USAC ran at TWS from 1973-1979.) Foyt won four times. Another Texan, Johnny Rutherford won in 1976

There was one SCCA CanAm series race. New Zealander Bruce McLaren won in 1969. He unfortunately died in a CanAm Race less than one year later in England.

USAC stock cars ran there until about 1984. Guys like Kerry Earnhart (sp?) and his little brother Junior raced in those races.

Terry Labonte raced late model stock cars there too.. His younger brother Bobby LaBonte raced in a class that had Honda's, etc. Bobby's Ford Pinto (I'm not kidding) was stolen one Saturday night in front of the old Ramada Inn at the intersection of Texas and University. (It is now a private dorm and I can't recall the name.)

Another funny story in 1974 or 1975, there was a USAC car sponsored by Budweiser. At that time there was a law in Texas that would not allow advertising of alcoholic beverages on anything but a delivery vehicle. TABC was adament and was going to block the car from racing.
The car owner staged a publicity stunt in front of the old Ponderosa Hotel. The crew placed a case of Bud on the back of the race car and the crew pushed the car to the Texaco gas station next door. The station is now the home of D&D Moving. The owner of the gas station accepted delivery of the Bud and the TABC approved it as a delivery vehicle.

I'm sure that is more information than you want but I can supply more.

[This message has been edited by brazos county observer (edited 7/30/2009 10:56p).]

I continue to edit because I can't spell

[This message has been edited by brazos county observer (edited 7/30/2009 10:57p).]
denied
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I have wondered that too.

It is one of only a few Superspeedways and would be cheaper to bring up to date than to build a new one. I wish there were more superspeedway races, because I enjoy those more (not a racing fan). It may be destined to live out its life as a test track though, due to the ban.

I keep saying I am going to go over the hill sometime and check it out, but have yet to do so.
BRIANVD04
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AG
What ban are you talking about?
AgSportsFan
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AG
Thanks for the history lessons BCO. Great stories!
denied
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Brian,

NASCAR has banned testing on tracks that are on the circuit. Since TWS is not on any of the three major circuits teams can test their cars and drivers on the track.
Rufus T. Aggie
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quote:
There was one SCCA CanAm series race. New Zealander Bruce McLaren won in 1969.

This was the first race at the speedway.

In the late 80's - early 90's the owner sold the track to a group from Japan. The new owners spent money redoing the oval, hiring the guy that did the Indy track. After the track was complete, the new owners defaulted on the payments and the old owner got it back.


EMY92
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AG
I think TWS is a sister track to Michigan International Speedway.

And Rufus is right, the track was refurbished while I was in school.

I would say location and access to the track hold it back. Hwy 6 struggles with the crowd for a football game, double it and that is what Nascar would bring.
AgFan1999
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AG
Supposedly, Greg Biffle was testing there in January.
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Rufus T. Aggie
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when it first opened it was Texas International Speedway. There were several race tracks besides Michigan and Texas that were in the same group.

The pasture parking areas were always a problem, especially when it rained. When the track opened, Highway 6 was only a 2 lane road, so there would be long lines of traffic both directions.
Joe Schillaci 48
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AG
The Willie Nelson picnic in the 70's was a huge culture shock for BCS.

I think it ran for 2-3 days and it was wild.

Someone who had a little too much to either drink or smoke ( knowing the attendee's my money is on smoke) was trying to start a fire on his propane stove in the parking lot. It was extremely dry and he started the parking lot on fire. People were pushing cars out of the way of the flames but many cars were burned. One the the cars belonged to an A&M student named Robert Earle Keen. Someone told me that on one of his albums, there is a picture of his car burning. Perhaps someone could confirm?

Also a the speedway has it's on water treatment plant. A Brazos county constable working security came upon a large group of people skinny dipping in the partially treated water (It looked OK but it still was not treated. He yelled at the young men and women and told them to get out of the water. The shouted "(*&^( you. Come and get us." He decided to let them stay but never told them what they were swimming in.

JP's had a court set up in the woods north of the Speedway and violators were arraigned on the spot.



Joe Schillaci 48
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Rufus T Aggie: You seem to know a lot about TIS/TWS. Did you work there too?

I think the person who uses Eric 76 who post a lot on the Panhandle/South Plains board worked there too. I think Eric worked in the same area that I was in. Eric, if you see this please respond.
Stoney
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S
If you check the Speedway website, you'll see that there is something going on out there many weekends. Motorcycles, Vintage cars, Porsche clubs, Ferarri clubs, track days, scca races...
Most of the time you can get in free by signing a liability waver.The most I've ever paid was ten bucks.
The grandstands aren't open, but there are good spots in the infield, and you can wander around in the pits.
If you just like seeing stuff on the track (Like me) pack a cooler and have a ball for cheap.
Nom de Plume
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Great stories.
TexasRebel
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quote:
Someone told me that on one of his albums, there is a picture of his car burning. Perhaps someone could confirm?


The Album is Picnic

and according to the story, the Plate number RHP-997 follows.

Rufus T. Aggie
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Brazos County Observer- Nope, did not work there, just went there a few times.
SHSUwannabeAG
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according to this article (http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/04/03/maumann.retro.racing.texas/index.html) it was low attendance and track facilities that forced NASCAR to discontinue racing at TWS. i worked with the owner of the speedway on a project back in the late 90's and according to him NASCAR wanted him to pave the parking lot but he refused. they felt that on a wet weekend a muddy field was not acceptable and also on a dry weekend a grass fire could destroy vehicles. i tend to agree with NASCAR on this one. just seems unprofessional to me. oh what could have been!!

[This message has been edited by SHSUwannabeAG (edited 7/31/2009 9:54a).]
BQ_90
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The track is fine but the grandstand is unsafe and needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Which would cost too much from what I heard.


Joe Schillaci 48
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quote:
NASCAR wanted him to pave the parking lot but he refused. they felt that on a wet weekend a muddy field was not acceptable


Buddy Baker's tractor trailer rig, carrying his race car, etc arrived at the track and the driver parked on the grass near the building that fronts Hwy 6. The truck got stuck in the mud. Baker's dad Buck,(who was NASCAR legend before his son) wanted TWS to tow it out of the mud. TWS said no way. Baker had to call A-1 for a huge tow truck to pull it out.

NASCAR and the Baker family were none to pleased. Buddy still "bad mouths" TWS.

If the Brazos Valley ever needed rain, they scheduled a race at TWS. It seemed like it rained everytime there was an event.
Joe Schillaci 48
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quote:
The track is fine but the grandstand is unsafe and needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Which would cost too much from what I heard.


I heard the same story but I can't confirm it.
89ag96
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Greg Biffle hit 218mph entering turn 1 during practice at TWS earlier this year - said it was the fastest he's ever gone in a stock car. The recent resurfacing apparently added a bunch of grip.

I recall seeing a NASCAR/Arca shootout there back in the early 90's. Darrell Waltrip won the race. Also got to see Dale Sr in that race. Good race, except the parking area was all mud.

With *a lot* of renovation effort maybe there would be a chance of seeing NASCAR trucks or ARCA back at TWS someday. But that would mean a huge amount of effort and $'s. Maybe Chet can send TWS some stimulus money.
89ag96
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quote:
I think TWS is a sister track to Michigan International Speedway.


Go to your favorite map site and look at the aerial views of TWS and MIS. They are practically identical in layout, even with regard to orientation to North. The banking is different, and MIS now has a seating capacity of around 125,000.
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95_Aggie
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Considering that 6 will soon be a divided freeway all the way to Houston, I think its in an awesome location. All it needs is more hotels and accommodations around it.

Is the transportation access to TMS all that much better? OK ... other than IH35 ...

[This message has been edited by AGnCS (edited 7/31/2009 11:57a).]
evermoreAg
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When it was built part of the rationale for building a very large facility way out in the boonies was that it was within 3 1/2 hours of most of the population of Texas (greater Houston area, D-FW, Austin, San Antonio, etc.), plus a bunch of Louisiana folks. And it did draw friends of mine from the D-FW and Houston areas...just not enough of them.

Plus, as others have mentioned, the weather never cooperated--schedule a race and it started raining a couple of days before and just kept on.
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CEAg78
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Guy who built the Speedway up in DFW reportedly said, "Down in College Station, it just rains when ever it wants to."

That's always cracked me up.
spazdout
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Depends on what track biffle was on, the nascar portion of the track is just like the grandstands...needing a fair bit of repair. And Nascar 1, 2, 3 & 4 never seen cars on them unless its a spin or "off track" vehicle.

Alot of pro-teams will come out and use the road circuit to test for other course's in the nation.

Rufus T. Aggie
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Ok, I found my copies of the programs for the Can-Am race and the Texas 500 that were the first 2 races at the speedway.

The speedway was initially built and owned by American Raceways, Inc. They owned Texas International Speedway, Atlanta International Speedway, Riverside International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Eastern International Speedway. President of the company was Lawrence H. LoPatin.

It says that they built the whole complex in a little over 8 months from the first official announcement on January 28 to November.
The Can-Am was on November 6, 1969 and the Texas 500 was on December 7, 1969. They say you could see 85% of the road course and 100% of the D shaped banked oval from the grandstands.

Prize money/posted awards for the Can-Am race was a total of $61,050. 1st place was $19,000; 2nd was $10,650; 3rd was $7,650. Money was awarded all the way to 20th which was $200 (16th-20th received the same)
Texas 500 prize money/posted awards was $93,150. That includes $8,375 NASCAR championship money. 1st had $15,600;2nd $8,150; 3rd $ 5,675. Money was awarded all the way to 44th which received $700. Time trials had total of $ 1,145. Three days of time trials with Thursday 1st $125; Friday 1st- $100; Saturday 1st-$75.

The pace car for both races was a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with a 428 CJ engine. Color was a special "Texas Red".

The other races they had scheduled for were in 1970 were the Lone Star 500 on June 21, 1970. Texas Trans Am - Trans Am sedan racing championship on April 26, 1970
Can-Am Round Up on November 8, 1970.



[This message has been edited by Rufus T. Aggie (edited 7/31/2009 8:49p).]
AggiePhil
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This thread got me interested in the Texas International Speedway/Texas World Speedway all over again. I've read some neat articles about it over the years but unfortunately only have the really old ones available at the moment. Here are those older articles, courtesy of COCS Project HOLD and some Photoshop work on my part. Hope you enjoy.











1984Consol
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So what happened- why were the grandstands left to fall into such ill repair and why was the racetrack seemingly neglected for all these years? I read in one post that the weather was always rainy when there was a race, but is that really why it has not seen as much race action as it should have?
Burdizzo
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I went out there a few times a couple of years ago. The stands are small by current NASCAR standards, but they are serviceable. The press box is pretty well trashed, however. I think that is what people talk about when they say the stands are "condemned"

The infield facilities are fairly spartan by NASCAR standards as well.

I emailed the owner in the late-1990's if he had any interest in bringing a NASCAR truck, Busch, or regional race to the facility. He said he had no interest in that.

As College Station continues to grow south, that land near an overpass will be come more valuable for something besides a racetrack. I would not expect to see it last much longer.
Tom in College Station
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It's all about money Consol. There just wasn't enough to keep the track going. That and a stubborn owner in the late 70's/early 80's seemed to be the downfall to me.
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