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Texas Motor Speedway earns Track of the Year award

by Mike Haag | Posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations

FORT WORTH – In an effort to recognize greatness across its premier motorsports facilities, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE: TRK) officials has named Texas Motor Speedway its “Track of the Year” for 2015.

“Our success is born from the immense pride that each of our employees has in Texas Motor Speedway,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “Our team continually strives to identify ways to enhance the experience for our fans as well as seeks to be the industry leaders in every aspect that drives our overall success. I’m extremely proud of this group, especially knowing the amount of talent we have at each and every one of our SMI tracks.”

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Texas Motor Speedway was chosen as Track of the Year from among the eight Speedway Motorsports facilities. The award is presented annually for best overall performance in aspects such as fan friendliness, attendance, financial performance, sponsor relations and creativity.

In 2015, Texas Motor Speedway hosted an action-packed entertainment lineup including two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, plus NASCAR XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series events and a Verizon IndyCar Series race and the Red Bull Air Race. “The Great American Speedway” created successful corporate sales and consumer marketing campaigns attracting hundreds of thousands of race fans and continued to be a pacesetter with fan amenities such as “Big Hoss,” the world’s largest high-definition LED screen, and an enhanced kids’ zone and fan zone.

Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage presents retiring driver Jeff Gordon with custom-made TMS boots, Shetland ponies for his kids during a press conference at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage presents retiring driver Jeff Gordon with custom-made TMS boots, Shetland ponies for his kids during a press conference at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“All of our Speedway Motorsports facilities pride themselves on being the best entertainment venues in the world,” said Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports. “We are fortunate to have innovative leaders who continue to drive our company forward and push their respective speedways to be the very best in the entertainment industry. We are proud to celebrate David and Jerry’s accomplishments and to recognize the staff at Texas Motor Speedway for their success this year.”

This is the first time in the four-year history of the award that Texas Motor Speedway has been named “Track of the Year”. Gossage was named the “Promoter of the Year” the first two years it was awarded in 2012 and 2013.

Other awards included Las Vegas Motor Speedway Senior Vice President of Operations, David Stetzer, earning the O. Bruton Smith Award for 2015, while Bristol Motor Speedway General Manager Jerry Caldwell was recognized as Promoter of the Year.

Previous Speedway Motorsports award recipients:

2014

  1. Bruton Smith Award- Claudia Byrd, Bristol chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities

Track of the Year- Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Promoter of the Year- Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway

2013

  1. Bruton Smith Award- Bill Brooks, Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

Track of the Year- Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Promoter of the Year- Eddie Gossage, Texas Motor Speedway

2012

Track of the Year- Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Promoter of the Year- Eddie Gossage, Texas Motor Speedway

 

About the Author

Mike Haag has covered motorsports in San Antonio and South Texas for more than 35 years. In addition to covering motorsports for the San Antonio Express-News for nearly 28 years, Mike also has co-hosted TrackSmack with Dawn Murphy for 18 race seasons. In addition to being a writer, Mike taught high school English and Journalism for 30 years before retiring in May, 2020.