Texas road course nearing completion

FORT WORTH-DALLAS (July 31, 2000) - Paving is set to begin Wednesday, Aug. 2 on the new Texas Motor Speedway infield road course marking the start of the final phase of the two-month project. The first event slated for the new course will be the Grand Prix of Texas, Sept. 1-3.

"The construction is moving along as planned," said speedway general manager Eddie Gossage. "It's great to look down into the infield and see the progress that's been made in such a relatively short time frame. It's definitely going to be one of the finest road courses in the country."

The Labor Day weekend's Grand Prix of Texas will feature the American Le Mans Series. The three-day event also includes the BFGoodrich Trans-Am, Women's Global GT, and Star Mazda series as well as the Speedvision World Challenge.

The new course is designed to be used in four possible configurations, utilizing the entire 1.36-mile infield road course, or divided into two smaller ovals, measuring .51 and.45 miles. The fourth option, measuring approximately 2.83 miles, incorporates the infield oval and all but 60 yards of the 1.5-mile superspeedway, entering and exiting the new infield course on the backstretch of the superspeedway.

The asphalt surface will be made with a granite compound, instead of a traditional limestone base, and combined with a polymer for extra strength and durability. The paving is scheduled for completion on Aug. 11.