FORT WORTH, Texas (May 5, 2016) – The following is a statement from Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage regarding Thursday’s release of the 2017 national series schedules by NASCAR, which includes the move of the speedway’s annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from Saturday evening to a return to a Sunday afternoon event beginning next season. The 2017 spring race, formerly the Duck Commander 500 that will have a new entitlement sponsor next year, is slated to run Sunday, April 9, and will be broadcast on FOX.
“Between meetings with our fan council, feedback from season-ticket holders and Texas Motor Speedway fans in general, the overall sentiment is that they preferred a Sunday race because it provided a more expansive weekend of activities. With NASCAR’s help, we are returning to a more traditional race weekend schedule: XFINITY Series practice on Thursday, Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying on Friday, the XFINITY series race and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ‘Happy Hour’ on Saturday, and the big race itself for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday. We also will return some other activities from the past that will cause our fans to spend more time at the track and in the campgrounds making for a full week of racing-related events. This is great for the tourism-related businesses in Dallas-Fort Worth and a great schedule for our fans. I would think our campgrounds will sell very quickly now. This weekend will be the biggest party in Texas!”
The annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race had been scheduled as a traditional Sunday event from the speedway’s inaugural year in 1997 through 2010. Texas Motor Speedway moved to a Saturday night race in 2011, where the event has remained with the exception of 2014 when it was shifted to a Sunday afternoon race to avoid a direct conflict with the NCAA Final Four men’s basketball tourney that was held in Dallas/Fort Worth.
Below is the link to the 2017 schedules for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series. The Texas Motor Speedway spring weekend will remain a NASCAR doubleheader with the XFINITY Series on Saturday, April 8, and Sprint Cup on Sunday, April 9. The Firestone 600 INDYCAR/NASCAR doubleheader will include the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, June 9. The AAA Texas 500 NASCAR tripleheader weekend will consist of the Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Nov. 3, XFINITY Series on Saturday, Nov. 4, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, Nov. 5.
