Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway at a glance
- Location
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Type
- oval
- Length
- 1.5 mi (2.414 km)
- Turns
- 4
- Direction
- counter-clockwise
- Banking
- 20° turns 1-2, 24° turns 3-4, 5° frontstretch and backstretch
- Surface
- asphalt
- Opened
- 1996
- Owner
- Fort Worth Sports Authority (operated by Speedway Motorsports)
- Capacity
- 75,000
- Address
- 3545 Lone Star Circle
- Phone
- +1-817-215-8510
- Website
- texasmotorspeedway.com
Track map and layout
Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-oval with asymmetric banking: turns 1-2 sit at 20 degrees while turns 3-4 are steeper at 24 degrees, a quirk that has made the track notoriously tricky to set up a car for evenly across all four corners. A 2017 repave reduced turns 1-2 from 24 to 20 degrees specifically to open up multiple racing grooves and reduce the single-lane racing that had drawn driver criticism. The track's frontstretch carries 'Big Hoss TV,' a Guinness-certified world-record-sized HD video screen, and the property also includes a 2.324-mile infield road course used for driving schools and non-NASCAR events, plus a short paved oval and a dirt track for regional racing.
Named corners and sections
- Turns 1-2. Repaved and reduced to 20 degrees of banking in 2017 to widen the racing groove.
- Turns 3-4. Steeper at 24 degrees, the track's signature handling challenge for setup and late-race grip.
Configurations
| Layout | Length | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Oval | 1.5 mi | Used for all NASCAR national-series racing |
| Infield road course | 2.324 mi | Used for driving schools and club events, not top-level NASCAR competition |
Events and race weekends
Texas hosts NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series racing, historically including a playoff-round Cup race, with the Würth 400 as a recent headline event. The track lost its IndyCar Series date after the 2023 season, ending a run stretching back to 1997. Support events on Cup weekends include the Xfinity and Truck Series, and the venue's large multi-track campus also hosts NHRA and short-track events across the season.
| Event | Series | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Würth 400 | NASCAR Cup | varies | Recent naming for Texas's Cup Series race; scheduling has shifted between spring and fall in different seasons |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series race | NASCAR Xfinity | varies | Support race on the Cup weekend |
Getting there and parking
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the closest major airport, roughly 20-25 minutes from the speedway outside of race-weekend traffic, making Texas one of the more airport-convenient tracks on the NASCAR schedule. Dallas Love Field is a secondary option further east across the metro area.
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) · about 25 min drive
- Dallas Love Field (DAL) · about 40 min drive
Parking
General on-site parking is available for race weekends; heavy traffic builds on surrounding highways and access roads before green flag, so early arrival is recommended.
Because DFW sits so close to the track, many fans fly in the morning of qualifying or race day rather than booking a hotel.
Hotels and camping near Texas Motor Speedway
Most visitors stay in the greater Fort Worth or Dallas metro area, from downtown Fort Worth to suburbs closer to the track such as Roanoke and Northlake, all within a 20-30 minute drive. Hotel rates and availability tighten significantly around the Cup Series race weekend given the size of the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Where to look
Downtown Fort Worth, and suburbs such as Roanoke, Northlake and Denton nearer the track; the wider Dallas-Fort Worth metro for more hotel inventory.
Camping
Infield, VIP and outside reserved and unreserved camping areas are available for race weekends.
RV
RV camping is permitted in designated lots with rules against parking in fire lanes or within 15 feet of hydrants; ATVs and personal golf carts are not allowed.
Track days, driving experiences and lap records
The public cannot bring personal cars onto the NASCAR oval, but ride-along and driving experiences in real stock cars are offered on select dates through NASCAR Racing Experience, and the track's infield road course occasionally hosts club and driving-school events separate from top-level competition. There is no standing public HPDE program on the main oval.
Who runs days here
Lap records
| Category | Time | Driver | Car | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Cup qualifying | 0:28.175 | Carson Hocevar | NASCAR Cup car | 2025 |
Spectator guide
Texas's grandstands wrap the quad-oval's frontstretch and turns, with the giant Big Hoss TV screen visible from most seats for replays and leaderboard information. The track's size and Dallas-Fort Worth setting draw large race-day crowds, so navigating between grandstands and parking takes planning.
Seating
Frontstretch grandstands overlook the start/finish line, pit road and the Big Hoss video board; turn grandstands at both ends give closer views of the differently banked corners.
Best places to watch
Frontstretch seating for the biggest-picture view including the video screen; turn 3-4 seats for the steepest, most demanding section of track.
Bag policy
Small bags and coolers permitted (no glass); strollers, umbrellas, drones, weapons, fireworks and wheeled devices like skateboards or scooters are prohibited, per official venue policy.
Weather
- Mar-Apr: Mild to warm spring weather, highs typically 70-80°F with a real chance of wind or storms
- Sep-Nov: Warm to mild fall conditions, highs commonly 75-85°F depending on the exact race date
History of Texas Motor Speedway
Building a Texas superspeedway
Texas Motor Speedway broke ground in April 1995 and opened in 1997 as a joint venture between Speedway Motorsports and the city of Fort Worth, built at a cost of about $110 million to give NASCAR a flagship venue in the lucrative Dallas-Fort Worth market. The track's opening Cup weekend in 1997 was marred by traffic gridlock so severe that thousands of fans missed the start of the race, an early embarrassment that pushed the venue to invest heavily in access roads and infrastructure in the years that followed.
A demanding, asymmetric oval
Unlike a true oval, Texas was built with mismatched banking, 24 degrees in turns 3-4 against a shallower angle in turns 1-2, which drivers criticized for producing single-groove racing and handling imbalance for years. The track also became a fixture on the IndyCar calendar from 1997, hosting the series most seasons through 2023.
Repave and reconfiguration
A major 2017 repave reduced the banking in turns 1-2 to 20 degrees specifically to widen the racing groove and encourage more side-by-side competition, addressing years of driver feedback about the track's handling quirks. Around the same period, Texas added 'Big Hoss TV,' at the time the largest HD video screen in the world by Guinness World Records certification, towering over the frontstretch grandstands.
Present day
Texas lost its IndyCar Series date after the 2023 season as the series scaled back its oval schedule, leaving NASCAR's Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series as the track's headline tenants alongside NHRA drag racing and short-track events on its smaller companion ovals. The venue remains one of the largest and most heavily attended stops on the NASCAR calendar, anchored by its Dallas-Fort Worth market and the giant video screen that has become its signature landmark.
Frequently asked questions
How long is Texas Motor Speedway?+
The oval is 1.5 miles per lap, with 20-degree banking in turns 1-2 and 24-degree banking in turns 3-4.
Why does Texas Motor Speedway have different banking in each set of turns?+
It was built that way from the start; a 2017 repave reduced turns 1-2 from 24 to 20 degrees to widen the racing groove, but turns 3-4 remain steeper.
Does IndyCar still race at Texas Motor Speedway?+
No, the IndyCar Series raced there most seasons from 1997 through 2023 but dropped the date after 2023 as it scaled back its oval schedule.
What is the nearest airport to Texas Motor Speedway?+
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), about 20-25 minutes from the track.
What is the seating capacity of Texas Motor Speedway?+
Grandstand capacity is roughly 75,000.
Can I drive on the Texas Motor Speedway oval myself?+
There is no public HPDE program on the oval; ride-along experiences in real stock cars are available through NASCAR Racing Experience on select dates.
Other tracks nearby
- Circuit of The Americas · 202 mi · road course
- Hallett Motor Racing Circuit · 223 mi · road course
- Heartland Motorsports Park · 417 mi · road course & oval
- Kansas Speedway · 442 mi · oval
- NOLA Motorsports Park · 471 mi · road course
- La Junta Raceway · 490 mi · road course
Facts checked against 6 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-09.