FORT WORTH, Texas – “Big Hoss,” already acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest TV, has gotten even bigger … and better.
Texas Motor Speedway has completed the expansion project that added a massive ribbon-style, high-definition scoreboard for fans to follow the lap count, running order and more beginning with Saturday night’s Firestone 600 Verizon IndyCar Series race (8 p.m. CT, TV: NBC Sports Network, Radio: IMS Radio Network, 95.9 The Ranch locally).
The scoreboard, 9½ feet high by 218 feet in length that runs at the bottom of “Big Hoss,” adds 2,064 square feet to the behemoth TV and increases the total viewing experience to 22,698 square feet or just over a half acre. Comparably, “Big Hoss” is 97 percent larger than the videoboard at AT&T Stadium (11,520 sf), home of the Dallas Cowboys in nearby Arlington.
The scoreboard was built as a technological advancement to the traditional electronic scoring pylons used at speedways, including at Texas Motor Speedway where the 110-foot tall scoring pylons in Turns 1 and 4 will eventually be removed. The project was completed in approximately two months.
The 12-story high “Big Hoss” features a selection of 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 frontstretch.
All tickets for Saturday night’s Firestone 600 are general admission at $28 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Race admission is free for all first responders showing proper identification at the gates in addition to a guest as part of “Back The Blue Night.”
The Firestone 600 is the resumption of the race that was postponed Saturday, June 11, due to weather and rescheduled for the following day. A total of 71 of the scheduled 248 laps were run June 12 before the race was suspended due to inclement weather. The race, which now is in the championship stretch of the season as the third-to-last race, will resume on Lap 72 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver James Hinchcliffe leading.
For more information, please visit www.texasmotorspeedway.com or call the speedway ticket office at 817.215.8500.
Click here for video comments from Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage on expansion of “Big Hoss.”
Story and graphic courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations
