FORT WORTH – Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage says that “Big Hoss,” the world’s largest TV and Guinness World Record holder that towers over the backstretch of Texas Motor Speedway, is about to get even bigger and better.
Track officials have announced that they will expand the Panasonic-built “Big Hoss” with an additional 2,071 square feet on the lower portion of the behemoth to construct a ribbon-style, high-definition scoreboard for fans to follow the lap count, running order and more for its NASCAR and INDYCAR events. The scoreboard, which has 16 mm pixel resolution as a surface-mounted diode compared to Big Hoss’ 20 mm as a discrete LED, also will have the ability to be utilized for advertising opportunities, graphics, race statistics, video, advertising and even social media.
“We have decided to add some to it to make it even bigger,” Gossage said. “Our old scoring pylons near Turn 1 and Turn 4 are outdated and it is becoming harder to find parts for them when they need repairs. We decided to add to the world’s biggest TV and put our scoreboard there. We think this is the best place to have all of the information right there in one location.”
Gossage said the scoreboard, which will be 9½ feet high and 218 feet in length, will increase the total viewing experience of “Big Hoss” to 22,704.64 square feet or nearly a half-acre.
“We don’t want to take anything away from the picture or cover up anything on the existing screen,” Gossage said. “The screen will have its own band that will be 10 feet tall and you will be able to see where your driver is running on the track.”
Gossage also said that the 110-foot tall scoring pylons situated in Turns 1 and 4 will be removed after this weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Verizon IndyCar Series races.
Officials said the new scoreboard will be built where the Texas Motor Speedway branding currently is located on the lower portion of the 12-story high TV on the backstretch. The speedway signage will be relocated to the top of the board.
The project is scheduled to begin following this weekend’s Firestone 600 INDYCAR/NASCAR doubleheader weekend and is expected to take three weeks to complete. TMS will debut the new scoreboard and Big Hoss TV redesign at the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR tripleheader set for Nov. 3-6.
“Big Hoss TV” is unlike any other of its kind. The system features 19 different video cameras spread across the 1.5-mile speedway to captivate fans with instant replays, latest driver and race stats, interactive entertainment, and more. It also boasts a 140-degree horizontal viewing radius, which translates into a crystal-clear picture from any of the 128,655 seats along the front stretch.
Comparably speaking, the video board at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Speedway Motorsports, Inc. sister track to TMS, measures 16,000 square feet and the one at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys in nearby Arlington, is at 11,520 sf.
“We think it is going to be pretty exciting,” Gossage said. “We already had the biggest TV in the world here in Texas, so why not make it even bigger and better?”
Click here for video comments from Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage regarding the expansion of “Big Hoss.”
