Texas Governor to Start Spring Race

FORT WORTH-DALLAS (Feb. 11, 1999) - Texas Governor George W. Bush will serve as the Honorary Starter for the March 28 PRIMESTAR 500 NASCAR Winston Cup auto race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Bush will drop the green flag to start the 43-car race with an estimated 215,000 spectators in attendance -- the largest gathering ever to witness a sporting event in the state of Texas and the third-largest crowd in American sports.

The PRIMESTAR 500 will take the green flag at 1:00 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, March 28. In addition to those in attendance, a nationwide audience will watch the race which will be broadcast live on CBS. Last year, approximately 8,467,200 fans viewed the CBS telecast of the Texas NASCAR Winston Cup event. Performance Racing Network (PRN) will broadcast the event live over more than 500 radio stations nationwide.

"We are honored that Governor Bush will start the PRIMESTAR 500," said Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Eddie Gossage. "The PRIMESTAR 500 will truly be one of the premier sporting events in America this year."

NASCAR Winston Cup auto racing attracts more spectators than any other form of motorsports worldwide. In the United States alone, more than 6,000,000 spectators attended 1998 Winston Cup series events.

Texas Motor Speedway has added 15,000 seats -- 4,800 of them permanent -- for the 1999 PRIMESTAR 500 to accommodate the increased demand from fans. Defending Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon will be among the leading contenders for the PRIMESTAR 500 victory along with last year’s race winner, Mark Martin.

Tickets for the March 28 PRIMESTAR 500 are available at the Texas Motor Speedway ticket office, by calling the ticket hotline at (817) 215-8500, at all area TicketMaster locations or on-line at the speedway’s website, www.texasmotorspeedway.com.