Houston Motorsports Park Joins NASCAR Whelen All-American Series

March 24, 2009

NASCAR announced today that Houston Motorsports Park will be a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track in 2009.

Houston Motorsports Park, a D-shaped .375-mile banked asphalt and concrete oval, opens with the five-division, NASCAR-sanctioned “Fiesta’s Speedfest 09 presented by Cricket Wireless” Saturday, March 28. The track is located inside Beltway 8, not far from downtown Houston.

Photo courtesy of Houston Mortorsports Park

“Our mission is to provide the highest quality affordable fun for the fans, the highest quality racing environment for the racing teams, and an outstanding value for the investment of sponsors,” said John Mandabach, vice president for marketing. “NASCAR is the next step in our evolution. It brings more excitement and prestige for our track and greater recognition for our participants.”

“We are very pleased to welcome Houston Motorsports Park into the NASCAR family,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations. “It is a tremendous facility in one of the biggest markets in the United States. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is the foundation of the sport and is exemplified by tracks like Houston. The state of Texas has a long history of great racing and a large NASCAR following. We look forward to crowning the first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Texas state champion.”

Houston Motorsports Park is owned by Graham Baker and opened as a dirt track in 1977. It was paved in 2000. Unique to the track are two lanes of concrete racing surface in the turns, much like Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

“The concrete lends itself to letting the drivers have two grooves for side-by-side racing,” Mandabach said.

Weekly divisions at the track include NASCAR Fiesta Late Models, NASCAR Cricket Modifieds, Pro Trucks, Pro Stocks, Limited Modifieds, Eco-Stocks, Legends and Bandoleros. The track operates on an every-other Saturday night basis. The track website is www.houstonmotorsportspark.com. The facility also includes an award winning .125-mile NHRA-sanctioned drag strip.

Since its inception, the NASCAR Home Tracks have served as a springboard in the careers of many NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler, Martin Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers all began their NASCAR careers racing in one of the NASCAR Home Tracks’ series. More information on NASCAR Home Tracks is available at www.nascarhometracks.com.

By NASCAR PR

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