Texas Motor Speedway today announced its 25th season schedule for 2021 in spectacular fashion, showcasing a NASCAR tripleheader weekend concluding with the $1 million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, June 13.
The complete remake of the traditional TMS schedule also includes moving the fall NASCAR playoffs doubleheader one week earlier in October and Racing’s Fastest Doubleheader NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend in early May.
The high-energy event, complete with smoke machines, and a cascade of $1 million NASCAR All-Star bills, took place at Texas Live! in Arlington. On hand were key executives from Speedway Motorsports, parent company of Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
“If everything is bigger in Texas, 2021 will be the biggest year ever for NASCAR in the Lone Star State with the addition of the NASCAR All-Star Race,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “Speedway Motorsports is proud to bring this legendary event to Texas Motor Speedway and add to the legacy of the Great American Speedway.
“It’s hard to believe we are about to celebrate our 25th year. When my dad, Bruton Smith, built Texas Motor Speedway, he wanted everything to be bigger and better than anything that had been built before. He wanted a SHOW-PLACE, and nearly 25 years later, it’s still one of the finest racing facilities in the world. It’s the perfect place to host an event as big as the NASCAR All-Star Race.”
The 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race, scheduled for June 14, marks the third time the event has been run at a facility other than Charlotte Motor Speedway, joining Atlanta Motor Speedway, which hosted the event in 1986, and Bristol Motor Speedway, which hosted the event in 2020.
“Texas Motor Speedway is a fantastic facility in a market with many passionate NASCAR fans,” said NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell. “Marcus Smith, Eddie Gossage and their team always put on a first-class show for the fans in Texas, so we’re looking forward to what this unique event has in store at another first-time track for the NASCAR All-Star Race.”
Texas Motor Speedway’s 2021 major events season takes the green flag May 1 with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Texas 300 and follows immediately with the May 2 Genesys 300. Racing’s Fastest Doubleheader weekend harkens back to 1998-2004 when the speedway hosted two annual INDYCAR events in the summer and fall. For 2021, the 230-mph excitement will somehow be bottled up in one amazing spring weekend.
The first NASCAR weekend at No Limits, Texas, moves from its traditional late March date to the middle of June. The lead up to the June 13 NASCAR All-Star Race includes the June 11 SpeedyCash.com 400 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the June 12 Texas 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
The fall NASCAR Playoffs weekend moves up one weekend from this year’s late October date. The Oct. 16 O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race leads off the doubleheader weekend with the Oct. 17 Autotrader EchoPark 500 NASCAR Cup Series race.
“This is an amazing schedule of the best motorsports in the world and it will all take place at Texas Motor Speedway,” said Texas Motor Speedway President and General Manager Eddie Gossage. “The NASCAR All-Star Race is a true all-star competition instead of what you often see in other sports because that $1 million prize at the end creates a no-holds-barred event unlike any other. With Racing’s Fastest Doubleheader NTT INDYCAR SERIES races the month before and our fall NASCAR weekend deep into the playoffs, there’s not much more that a race fan could ask for.”
Texas Motor Speedway’s 25th Season of Speed Major Event Schedule
May 1 – Texas Indy 300/NTT INDYCAR SERIES
May 2 – Genesys 300/NTT INDYCAR SERIES
June 11 – SpeedyCash.com 400/NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
June 12 – Texas 300/NASCAR Xfinity Series
June 13 – NASCAR All-Star Race
Oct. 16 – O’Reilly Auto Parts 300/NASCAR Xfinity Series
Oct. 17 – Autotrader EchoPark 500/NASCAR Cup Series