SPEEDREADS SPEEDREADS
T E X A S M O T O R S P E E D WAY
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october 13, 2016
Final ride
Stewart’s final NASCAR Cup race at TMS coming in AAA Texas 500 PAGE 2
STEWART TRIBUTES
TMS to celebrate Stewart’s last race at the track PAGE 4
ROUND OF 8 Set
XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8 field set for O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge on Nov. 5 at TMS PAGE 6
LIL’ HOSS TV
Hear from Tony Stewart on what he likes about Texas Motor Speedway PAGE 7 Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | O c t o b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 | A A A Te x a s 5 0 0
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SPEEDREADS
LEAVING A LEGACY
STEWART PREPARES FOR FINAL RACE AT TEXAS
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SPEEDREADS Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart continued his tradition of lending a major hand to the Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter by hosting his annual “Smoke Show” Fantasy Camp on Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway. Stewart, who has hosted his annual “Smoke Show” event since 2008, enjoyed the afternoon with 21 campers who came from eight different states (Texas, New York, Connecticut, Louisiana, California, Mississippi, Illinois, North Carolina) and Canada. The day-long event raised more than $119,000 for Speedway Children’s Charities and pushed the overall total generated by the “Smoke Show” to more than $1.7 million. Stewart, who announced last year that 2016 would be his final season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is not going to let his status as a Cup driver stop him from continuing the tradition of the “Smoke Show” for years to come. “We definitely want to keep this going,” Stewart said. “It’s been a great event and it’s raised a lot of money for the Texas Chapter. It’s something that I’m proud to be a part of and just because I’m not going to be a fulltime Cup driver any longer doesn’t mean I’m not going to do this.” Stewart, who missed the first eight races of the season recovering from injuries sustained from an off-season, all-terrain vehicle accident, qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the 10th time in his career after
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winning at Sonoma. He was eliminated from championship contention after struggling through the Round of 16 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Now with just six races remaining in his decorated Sprint Cup Series career, including the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, Nov. 6, at Texas Motor Speedway, Stewart is focused on going out on a high note. “I still wish we were in the middle of the Chase,” Stewart said. “The positive thing about not being in the Chase at this point is we can go have fun these last six weeks and do everything we can to win a race or as many as we can before it’s over.” A longtime fan favorite, Stewart made his retirement announcement last year so fans could get one more opportunity to see him race. For Stewart, that decision has paid off after hearing from the fans each week. “It’s been fun meeting people at the track each week saying that they came to the race because it was our last year,” Stewart said. “It validates why we did what we did with that decision.” While Stewart will be closing the chapter on his Cup career, he will not be ending his racing career. Stewart announced he is set to make his Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track debut next April during the Tony Stewart Presents the Texas Sprint Car Nationals featuring the American Sprint Car Series. The two-day event on April 7-8 is a new addition to the
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SPEEDREADS O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend. “I’m going to race more races next year than I am this year by probably 20 races,” Stewart said. “That’s one of the two I have confirmed on my schedule so far. I’m excited about it. It’s what I wanted to do anyway. I wanted to get back to dirt racing. They have a beautiful track over there so I can’t wait.”
Tony Stewart, who has always been a crowd favorite at TMS, will be running his last NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the track in the AAA Texas 500.
BOBBLEHEAD HIGHLIGHTS TRIBUTES FOR RETIRING THREETIME CUP CHAMP STEWART AT AAA TEXAS 500 As three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart winds down his final season in the series, Texas Motor Speedway has several tributes planned around the AAA Texas 500 set for Sunday, Nov. 6. The most prominent of the salutes will be for the fans attending Stewart’s final start at Texas Motor Speedway, where the first 30,000 ticket holders will receive the limited-edition bobblehead presented by State Waterheaters. The eight-inch bobblehead features Stewart’s likeness with his trademark facial scruff and familiar Mobil 1 firesuit as he hoists a checkered flag inside Texas Motor Speedway.
Tony Stewart poses with the bobblehead that will be The bobbleheads will be distributed in Texas Motor Speed- given away to the first 30,000 fans at the AAA Texas way’s Fan Zone beginning at 8 a.m. on race day. Fans 500. must show their individual AAA Texas 500 race ticket in order to receive a bobblehead. The promotion will limit one bobblehead per individual. Other tributes of note: • Stewart’s car number 14 will be lit each night on the back side of Big Hoss, the world’s largest TV. The tribute began Wednesday evening in conjunction with the “Smoke Show” and will extend through the evening of the AAA Texas 500. • Stewart’s car number logo will be displayed on the infield grass throughout the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR tripleheader weekend. • A 20-image photo gallery of Stewart’s career at Texas Motor Speedway dating to the inaugural year in 1997 will be displayed on the website as well as available to fans for a #TBT race-week salute on social media platforms. • A video tribute of his TMS highlights during AAA Texas 500 pre-race activities that also will be available for media in advance. • Stewart will be featured in the popular head-over-body movie shorts on Big Hoss, where his head will be over the body of the actor from a scene in a popular movie. A sneak preview of the clip will be released during race week. • Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage will present Stewart with his retirement gift during pre-race activities for the AAA Texas 500. What will Gossage have up his sleeve for his good friend? Last year, he gave retiring four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon a pair of Shetland ponies for his kids. Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | O c t o b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 | A A A Te x a s 5 0 0
SPEEDREADS
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Wins (Fall 2006, Fall 2011) 2 2 Pole Positions (Spring 2010, Spring 2014) Top-5 Finishes 6 25 Consecutive Starts (1999-2013) 200.111 278 Laps Led - Single Race (Fall 2006) Career Laps Led 801 Fastest Qualifying Lap (Fall 2014)
BY THE NUMBERS
TONY STEWART’S NASCAR CAREER AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY Te x a s M o t o r S p e e d w a y | O c t o b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 | A A A Te x a s 5 0 0
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SPEEDREADS
SPLASH ’N GO
NOTES FROM TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY AAA Texas 500 media credential deadlinE NEARS
XFINITY SERIES ROUND OF 8 CHASE FIELD SET The XFINITY Series championship field was trimmed from 12 to eight at Charlotte last weekend. Joey Logano, a Cup Chase contender ineligible for the XFINITY Series championship format, edged Elliott Sadler (left) by .462 of a second for his 27th career win in the series. Sadler and Daniel Suárez earned two of the berths in the Round of 8 by virtue of their race wins in the round at Kentucky and Dover, respectively. Erik Jones (below), 10th in the Chase points coming into Charlotte, advanced with a fifth-place finish and will by joined Justin Allgaier (6th at Charlotte), Blake Koch (12th), Brendan Gaughan (13th), Ryan Reed (15th) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (20th). The four eliminated from championship contention were Ryan Sieg, Ty Dillon, Brandon Jones and Texas native Brennan Poole. The Round of 8 opens Saturday at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. CT, TV: NBCSC, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM). Texas Motor Speedway will play host to a Round of 8 race on Saturday, Nov. 5, with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. ... The Camping World Truck Series was idle this past weekend and the Chase resumes Saturday, Oct. 22, with the fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Two of the eight drivers will be eliminated from championship contention following that race. William Byron secured one of the automatic berths in the Round of 6 with his win at New Hampshire.
The credential deadline for the AAA Texas 500 weekend is Friday, October 21. Credentials can be requested through www.smicredentials.com. Those not yet registered for the website will first need to apply for access through the site. Once a registration confirmation e-mail is received, the credential request can then be submitted. Requests following the deadline will not be accepted.
It’s a good track for me and there is a lot of support for me there because I have many friends in the area. It’s a track where we have run well at in the past. We are always competitive when we come to Texas Motor Speedway. - XFINITY Series Chase leader Daniel Suárez (above) on racing at Texas Motor Speedway.
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FINAL PIT STOP
SPEEDREADS
VIDEO SOUND BITES, SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT
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LIL’ HOSS TV
Tony Stewart talks about his love of Texas Motor Speedway. Click on photo to watch video.
social gathering
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SPEEDREADS
PUBLIC SCHEDULE
AAA TEXAS 500 WEEKEND EVENTS
SATURDAY, October 29 8a
VIP & Outside Campgrounds open
TUESDAY, November 1 9a-5p
Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours
WednesDAY, november 2 9a-5p 10a 10a
Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Reserved Infield Camping Opens (South Tunnel) Burnout Alley Load In
ThursDAY, november 3
9a-5p Texas Motor Speedway Credentials Office Hours 10:00a NCWTS Haulers Enter 11:00a-5p NCWTS Registration Open 11:30a-6:30p NCWTS Garage Open 2:15p Gate 4 Open 2:30p-3:25p NCWTS Practice 3:30p NXS Haulers Enter 4:30p-5:25p NCWTS Final Practice 6:00p NSCS Haulers Enter
FRIDAY, november 4
8a-7p NSCS Registration Open 8:30a-7:30p NSCS Garage Open 9a-7:30p Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours 10:00a-7p NXS Registration Open 10:30a-9p NXS Garage Open 10:30a NCWTS Garage & Registration Open 11:00a Gate 4 Open 11a-1:30p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 11:30a-12:55p NSCS Practice 1:30p-2:25p NXS Practice 2p Gates 2, 3, 5 & 6 Open for Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Only 2:45p NCWTS Qualifying 4p-5:25p NXS Final Practice 5:15p-7:30p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 5:45p NSCS Qualifying 7:00p NCWTS Registration Closes 7:30p NCWTS Longhorn 350 (147 Laps, 220.5 Miles)
SATURDAY, November 5 7:30a 7:30a 8a-2p 9a
NXS Garage & Registration Open NSCS Garage & Registration Open Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Gates 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 Open for Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Only 9a-11a NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 9:30a-10:25a NSCS Practice 10:45a NSCS Qualifying 12p-2p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 12:30p-1:20p NSCS Final Practice 2:00p NXS O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (200 Laps, 300 Miles) 2:30p NXS & NSCS Registration Closes 4:00p NSCS Garage Closes
SUNDAY, November 6 7a 8a-1p 9a 9a 11a
NSCS Garage & Registration Open Texas Motor Speedway Credential Office Hours Gates 2-8 Open Luxury Suites and Victory Lane Club Open Loud & Proud Pre-Race Show Fueled by American Ehtanol Concert featuring Jake Owen 12p-7p NSCS “HOT PASS” IN EFFECT 1p NSCS AAA Texas 500 (334 Laps, 501 Miles) 1:30p NSCS Registration Closes 30 min Portacool Post-Race Show featuring post race Jason Boland & The Stragglers
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