Race Seven: Bombardier Learjet 550.
Texas Motor Speedway

The Bombardier Learjet 550 is an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas. The race is held on a Saturday night in early June. From 1997-2005, it served as the first race after the Indianapolis 500. When it debuted in 1997, it was the first IndyCar race in the state of Texas since 1979.

Since its inception, the Bombardier Learjet 550 is widely considered the second-largest race on the IndyCar calendar (second only to the Indy 500) in terms of attendance, popularity, and prestige.

"Setting up a car for Texas is always a challenge. The track's high-banked turns allow the driver to remain full-throttle the entire lap and results in 'pack' racing. The challenge is in trimming as much aerodynamic drag from the car as possible, yet keeping the car drivable when it is in the middle of a pack of cars."
Eddie Jones, Race Engineer,
#26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone, on the Bombardier Learjet 500.

Open wheel racing at TMS
The first Championship/Indy car races in the Dallas/Fort Worth area took place at Arlington Downs Raceway in nearby Arlington, Texas. AAA sanctioned five races from 1947-1950. USAC sanctioned ten Championship car events at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. The race was discontinued when the track closed in 1980.

In 1997, the IndyCar Series debuted at the track on a Saturday night in early June. It marked the first-ever superspeedway night race for American open wheel racing. The race proved to be a spectacular event. During the race, one of the electronic scoring wires malfunctioned in the pit area, which caused unexpected scoring errors. Billy Boat was scored as the leader, and took the checkered flag as the winner. Arie Luyendyk, who felt he had been robbed of the win, stormed victory lane, where he was lunged at by Boat's owner, A.J. Foyt. Quickly the fight broke up. The next morning, it was determined that Luyendyk actually was the official winner. Foyt refused to return the trophy, and the race has since become a famous part of Texas Motor Speedway lore. Luyendyk received a replacement, and the "official" trophy years later, presented to him by track president Eddie Gossage.

From 1998-2004, a second IndyCar Series race was held at the track in the fall. Known commonly as "Texas II," the race was always held during the day. The fall race was discontinued after 2004 when the Ferko lawsuit forced NASCAR to eliminate the Grand Slam and add a second Nextel Cup race to the circuit.

IndyCar Series races were originally 208 laps (312 mi/500 km) long. Beginning in 2001, the track was remeasured as 1.455 miles, and the races were shortened to an even 200 laps (297 mi/481 km). In 2007, the race was lengthened to 228 laps.

Backstory:
About TMS

The speedway has been managed since its inception by legendary racing promoter Eddie Gossage. His creative, colorful, fan-friendly approach to managing the track has become the standard by which all other tracks have been measured. He was the first to introduce Personal Seat Licenses to the sport, as well as Season Tickets. His stance on allowing fans to bring their own coolers, even in the face of restrictive Texas laws that at one time prohibited the speedway from selling alcohol as a result, has made him a favorite of the fans.

Based on qualifying speeds in 2004, 2005, and 2006 (with Brian Vickers shattering the qualifying record at Texas with a speed of 196.235 mph in the 2006 Dickies 500 qualifying), the Texas Motor Speedway was once considered the fastest non-restrictor plate track on the NASCAR circuit, with qualifying speeds in excess of 192 mph and corner entry speeds over 200 mph. However, as the tracks' respective racing surfaces continue to wear, qualifying speeds at Atlanta have become consistently faster than at Texas (2005 and 2006). Brian Vickers holds the qualifying record at TMS. In 2006, he posted a 196.235 mph speed. Elliott Sadler beat the record before Brian, qualifying in the 49/50th spot. Being the last person out on the track, Brian nipped Elliott Sadler's qualifying time.

Two racetracks formerly on the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) schedule were closed to make room for Texas Motor Speedway's two race dates, with the North Wilkesboro Speedway being bought by TMS owner Bruton Smith and New Hampshire International Speedway owner Bob Bahre. The track was closed with one of the track's two dates going to both new owners. The North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina was also sold to Smith as a result of the Ferko lawsuit with the track's one remaining date also being handed over to Texas.

Texas Motor Speedway is home to two NASCAR Nextel Cup races: the Samsung 500 and the Dickies 500, as well as two Busch Series Races, the O'Reilly 300 and the O'Reilly Challenge and the Indy Racing League IndyCar series race, the Bombardier Learjet 550. For a short time during construction in September 1996, the track's name was changed to Texas International Raceway. SMI's customary track naming convention had planned to have the "Motor Speedway" as part of the name. However, in August 1996, a small quarter-mile dirt raceway in Alvin, Texas (now known as Texas Thunder Speedway) had filed suit to use the name. On December 2, 1996, a settlement between the two tracks saw the "Texas Motor Speedway" name reinstated to the 1.5 mile oval, and the small number of Texas International Raceway merchandise instantly became collectible.



 

 

RACE SEVEN
Race 7 of 16
Saturday June 7th 2008, 10pm

Bombardier Learjet 550

Qualifying:
Friday June 6th, 5.45pm

Race:
Saturday June 7th, 10pm.