Texas World Speedway

Texas World Speedway
TWS
LocationCollege Station, Texas, United States
Coordinates30°32′13″N 96°13′16″W / 30.537°N 96.221°W / 30.537; -96.221
Broke ground1967
OpenedNovember 1969; 55 years ago (1969-11)
Closed18 September 2017; 7 years ago (2017-09-18)
Major eventsFormer:
IMSA GT Championship (1972, 1995–1996)
NASCAR Cup Series
Texas 500 (1969, 1971–1972)
Budweiser NASCAR 400 (1972–1973, 1979–1981)
AMA Superbike Championship (1991–1992)
SCCA Escort World Challenge (1991)
Can-Am (1969)
Oval (1968–2017)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.000 miles (3.218 km)
Turns4
Long Road Course (1968–2017)
Length2.900 miles (4.666 km)
Turns15
Race lap record1:33.900 (New Zealand Denny Hulme, McLaren M8B, 1969, Can-Am)
Short Road Course (1968–2017)
Length1.900 miles (3.058 km)
Turns8
Race lap record0:55.948 (Italy Max Papis, Ferrari 333 SP, 1996, WSC)

Texas World Speedway (TWS) was a motorsport venue located in College Station, Texas. The track was one of only eight superspeedways of two miles (3.2 km) or greater in the United States used for racing, the others being Indianapolis, Daytona, Pocono, Talladega, Ontario (California), Auto Club, and Michigan (there are several tracks of similar size used for vehicle testing). The track was located on approximately 600-acre (240 ha) on State Highway 6 in College Station, Texas. There was a 2-mile (3 km) oval, and several road course configurations. The full oval configuration was closely related to that of Michigan and was often considered the latter's sister track, featuring steeper banking, at 22 degrees in the turns, 12 degrees at the start/finish line, and only 2 degrees along the backstretch,[1] compared to Michigan's respective 18, 12, and 5 degrees. The last major race occurred at the track in 1981. The track was used by amateur racing clubs such as the SCCA, NASA, Porsche Club of America, World Racing League, Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing, CMRA, various performance driving schools (HPDE) and car clubs, as well as hosting music concerts and other events. The speedway was also a race track location for the video game, Need for Speed: Pro Street.

  1. ^ "1978 USAC Texas Grand Prix telecast". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.