Racing This Weekend At Texas Motor Speedway

It's going to be a fun-filled, fast weekend of racing at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend and several KIXS 108 VIP members will be in attendance on our nickel! Congrats to Cody Marek, Billy reeder, Tammy Smith, and Alicia Alvarez, the winners of tickets and pit passes for the entire weekend!

The Firestone 550 has remained a staple on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule and the 16th edition of "America's Original Nighttime IndyCar Race" will provide a whole new look, but the same great racing that Texas Motor Speedway has been known to provide.

The new DW12 Dallara chassis has brought with it a sleek look while at the same time competitive racing. Four of the first six races have included nine or more lead changes but the biggest indicator for the Firestone 550 may be the only oval race to date at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where drivers swapped the lead in the Indy 500 a race-record 34 times.

A test session at Texas Motor Speedway last month provided teams the opportunity to experience how the new car will react to the 1.5-mile, 24-degree banked track. With data collected and an oval race under their belt, drivers are ready for the Firestone 550, which is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.

"I think it's going to be exciting," Castroneves said of the Firestone 550. "The fans are going to enjoy these new cars because it does look really cool. The speed may not be up like we use to be, but at the end of the day you want to have a great show not only for the racing community but for the fans out there."

Drivers are continuing to learn more about the new chassis as the season progresses. With the first sample of oval racing coming at Indy, drivers found out how the car can handle in race conditions.

"It's a challenge," 2012 and three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti said about the new car. "It was certainly a challenge at Indy. I think it was a great race. A lot of people were able to make a lot of passes. I was able to go from the back to the front and I wasn't the only one that did that. So it seemed to put on a good race. For a first oval race, it was pretty good."

Previous Texas Motor Speedway winner Tony Kanaan, who joined KV Racing Technology teammate and good friend Rubens Barrichello during May's open test at TMS, has experienced the close racing that "The Great American Speedway!" has featured through the course of 16 years. For Kanaan, the challenges are what make the Firestone 550 interesting for the drivers and fans alike.

"I think it's so competitive and how the track makes our cars," Kanaan said. "You don't know who is going to win the race until the last lap, which is exciting at times."

The Firestone 550 IZOD IndyCar Series caps off an evening of high-speed thrills that includes the debut of Global Rallycross Championship's Hoon Kaboom Texas. Tickets are available by contacting the Texas Motor Speedway ticket office at (817) 215-8500, or by visiting kixs.com or www.texasmotorspeedway.com.