TMS offering "10 Years Strong" edition

[NickHolt]

Texas Motor Speedway

P.O. Box 500, Fort Worth TX 76101

(817) 215-8520

 

Texas Motor Speedway offering "10 Years Strong" hardbound edition

 

Fort Worth, TX (October. 18, 2006) – The final chapter in the first decade of Texas Motor Speedway will be written Sunday, Nov. 5 at the Dickies 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend.

 

Literally.

 

As Texas Motor Speedway closes out its 10th anniversary of racing with the Dickies 500, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race also will put the finishing touches on a unique collector’s edition hardbound book chronicling the speedway’s most memorable moments.

 

The Texas Motor Speedway “10 Years Strong” anniversary book takes readers on a historical ride beginning with Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Chairman Bruton Smith’s vision of a speedway west of the Mississippi, through the construction process and then inside the speedway’s most memorable moments, with the final one being “Texas” Terry Labonte’s final Cup start coming in the Dickies 500.

 

The anniversary book, expected to be available by mid-December, possesses two unique editorial aspects that should prove especially entertaining to readers. All the stories are first-person accounts by those who had a special link to the rich history of Texas Motor Speedway. Drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveal their inner thoughts and interesting sidelights as he recounts his first career Cup and Busch wins at TMS. A.J. Foyt and Arie Luyendyk give their honest and contrasting accounts of their 1997 scuffle in Victory Lane following the first Indy Racing League event run at TMS.

 

The other aspect is titled “The Inside Line,” in which Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage shares a brief “inside” story on the various moments, such as the fact that Foyt never has returned the trophy from that 1997 race where Luyendyk was named the winner due to a scoring error.

 

“Having the history of our speedway told in first-person accounts is a fascinating and extremely entertaining journey for the readers,” Gossage said. “We are extremely appreciative of those drivers providing insights to their special moments at TMS. We wanted to make this anniversary book unique from all the others, and we feel that we have achieved that goal. This collectible book will be a treasured gift for many of our fans.”

 

In addition to Earnhardt Jr., Foyt and Luyendyk, some of the others who authored first-person accounts are:

 

· Terry Labonte, who has one account of his 1999 Cup win at TMS and will have another on the final Cup start of his career.

 

· Jeff Burton reminisces about winning the first Cup race at TMS in 1997, which also was the first Cup victory of his career. Mark Martin talks about being the first-ever Busch Series winner at TMS. And Johnny Rutherford discusses being the true “first” winning driver at the speedway.

 

· Al Unser Jr. writes about the final win of his Indy-car career, which came at the 2003 Bombardier Learjet 500k.

 

· Tony Stewart returns to his open-wheel roots and talks about competing in the first IRL race at TMS and what it meant to the series.

 

· Rusty Wallace discusses the merits behind Texas Motor Speedway deserving and earning a second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup date.

 

· Kyle Petty authors an emotional account of his late son Adam’s first Cup start coming at TMS.

 

· Sam Hornish Jr. and Elliott Sadler recount winning the closest IRL and Cup races, respectively, in the history of TMS.

 

· Kevin Harvick recounts his 2001 TMS visit when he was chasing a Busch title and moving into Richard Childress Racing’s Cup ride for Dale Earnhardt, who lost his life earlier that season in the Daytona 500.

 

· Kenny Brack recounts the bizarre cancellation of the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) event in 2001.

 

· Brendan Gaughan discusses his four consecutive Craftsman Truck Series wins at TMS, which established and remains a track record for consecutive victories.

 

The list of authors in the book goes on and on, with each in their own words recounting the emotions and pageantry of their tie to Texas Motor Speedway history.

 

The book also features exquisite art, with a specially designed cover and numerous full-page photographs. The cover was designed by noted sports artist David Arrigo, who painted a collage of the top-10 moments in TMS history. A special 8x10 limited-edition print of that cover art also is included inside the book. The photography that traces the history of the speedway is courtesy of Getty Images, Gregg Ellman Photography and speedway archives.

 

The limited edition book, priced at $50, is scheduled to go on sale in mid-December and will be available at Speedway World, the Official Store of Texas Motor Speedway. For information on purchasing the book, call (817) 215-8565 or toll free (888) 816-TMS1.