Best Road Trips for Race Fans: Everything’s Bigger in Texas
Cameron Aubernon
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Everything’s bigger in the Lone Star State, and that includes the hot racing action down in the Lone Star State! Let’s mosey on over to the ol’ Republic for some Buc-ee’s, bluebells, and burnouts!
In our next installment of Race Tricks for Road Trips, we visit the great state of Texas to find NASCAR, dirt tracks and wide open spaces.
And if you've been to any of these tracks, which is YOUR favorite?
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Dallas has “Jerry World” (AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys), Fort Worth has “Big Hoss,” the largest HD screen in all of Texas (the original version was on the Guiness Book of World Records as the then-largest HD screen in the world), located along the backstretch of Texas Motor Speedway. The 1.5-mile oval itself is the successor to the 2-mile Texas World Speedway in College Station, which permanently closed in September 2017 to become housing. TMS opened in 1996, hosting its first NASCAR Cup race the following year. Tony Stewart set the all-time race lap record in 1998 at that year’s Indy Racing League event at TMS, the True Value 500.
The only dedicated Grade 1 FIA-spec road course in the United States (the other U.S.-based Grade 1 road course lives within – and uses part of – the 2-mile oval of Indianapolis Motor Speedway), Circuit of the Americas is the current host for Formula One, MotoGP, FIA World Endurance Championship, Trans-Am Series, MotoAmerica, GT World Challenge America, and all three of NASCAR’s top series. Designed by Hermann Tilke and Tavo Hellmund, and opened in 2012, the 3.426-mile track draws from several famous F1 tracks, including Brazil’s Interlagos, England’s Silverstone, Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina, and Germany’s Hockenheim. F1’s Charles Leclerc holds the fastest race lap record on the grand prix configuration, piloting his Ferrari SF90 to a time of 1:36.169 during the 2019 United States Grand Prix.
“The Palace of Power,” Houston Motorsports Park features one of the fastest eighth-mile concrete dragstrips in the United States; the current record as of this writing is 3.717 seconds at 199 mph. Next to the strip is a 3/8-mile paved oval, which hosts various drifting, Legends, eco stocks, and spectator racing events. The owners’ main goal is to get street racers off the streets of Houston and onto its eighth-mile by making HMP “an attractive, safe and controlled venue” where all can test their skills and their high-horsepower machines.
Motor Speedway Resort Houston opened in December 2005, and has since become one of the premier spots in the U.S. for many IndyCar teams looking to prepare for the upcoming season. Open 363 days of the year, many organizations flock to the facility’s 2.38-mile road course, including SCCA, Porsche Club of America, RIDE SMART, and the 24 Hours of Lemons. If your car’s not up to the task of taking on those 17 turns the road course possesses, you yourself might try your luck on the .75-mile karting track and its own 17 turns at up to 50 mph with MSR Houston’s own 9-horsepower karts. You can also drive one of the facility’s Mercedes-AMG machines on the road course as part of the Mercedes-AMG Experience packages.
Also known as H2R, Harris Hill Raceway is a small road course compared to some of the other entries here, but its 11-turn, 1.82-mile surface is challenging enough for everyone’s enjoyment and learning experiences. The Texas Motorcycle Academy hosts its motorcycle classes at H2R, whose membership includes six-to-eight track days per month. And for those who drive, the coaches at H2R are ready to help make the most of their students’ (and their cars’) abilities.
Not too far from Austin in the unincorporated area of Paige is Cotton Bowl Speedway. The 3/8-mile dirt track is an International Motor Contest Association-sanctioned facility, hosting IMCA SportMods and Stock Cars, as well as the Texas Dirt Truck Series and STIMS Modifieds. Monster trucks and Austin’s Lantern Fest also visit this short track.
South of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Ennis is NHRA’s first “super track,” Texas Motorplex. Built in 1986 by NHRA funny car driver Billy Meyer, the quarter-mile dragstrip has been the host of the Texas NHRA FallNationals since its opening in 1986 (where Top Fuel driver Darrell Gwynn set a Top Fuel E.T. record of 5.280 on the first-ever pass on the quarter-mile. John Force, Kenny Bernstein and Tony Schumacher have all claimed wins over the decades since at the Motorplex.
Out in the North Texas town of Decatur is the 2.7-mile, 15-turn private road course known as Eagles Canyon Raceway. Built to the FIA-spec width of 40 feet with a 48-foot wide front straight, ECR offers drivers of all skill levels learning programs to improve their performance on the track, including a race licensing program for those wanting to take their racing career to the next level. SCCA, NASA, and the 24 Hours of Lemons have all visited ECR since the track’s opening in late 2007. And speaking of openings, ECR will open its 2.4-mile rally and 1.3-mile SxS (side-by-side) short courses – the latter designed by off-road legend Ivan “Ironman” Stewart – for off-road training and racing starting in 2025.
Not too far away from Texas Motorplex is Big O Speedway, a quarter-mile high-banked dirt oval where the World of Outlaws would have brought their big 410 V8s during the early part of the organization’s campaign for the first time ever in 2024, but rain put a stop to those plans. When the big winged warriors are away, Big O offers plenty of big dirt action, including UMP modifieds, super late models, factory stocks, and even Ford Crown Victorias beatin’ and bangin’ ‘round the oval on a Texas Saturday night.
Another quarter-mile dirt oval to join the World of Outlaws for 2024 is Kennedale Speedway Park, becoming part of the series’ history with the state of Texas, having been born in the Lone Star State in 1978. Outside of history, IMCA Mods, ASCS Outlaw Sprints, trailer races and other fun events fill out the short track’s calendar every year
