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INDYCAR: Texas Twin 275s For 2011
On Saturday, June 11, fans will have the opportunity to become a part of history as Texas Motor Speedway will debut the Firestone Twin 275s.
Media Release  |  Posted August 17, 2010  
Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe won this year's Texas 550K event. In 2011, he'll have the chance to bag two trophies in the same night. (LAT)
Texas Motor Speedway unveiled dynamic and historic changes to two of its marquee races during a special 2011 race schedule announcement extravaganza Tuesday night before a standing-room only crowd of more than 1,600 at the House of Blues in Dallas.

In an effort to enhance the entertainment value and add variety for its fans, Texas Motor Speedway made its most dramatic changes to the Samsung Mobile 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in April and the Firestone 550k IZOD IndyCar Series event in June.

The changes to the Firestone 550k will not only be monumental for Texas Motor Speedway, but also the Indy Racing League IZOD IndyCar Series. For the first time in series history, IndyCar Series drivers will compete in two individual races in the same evening. The newly named Firestone Twin 275s – formerly the Firestone 550k – will consist of two full-field, 275-kilometer races (171 miles/114 laps each) with two race winners being crowned.

The news highlighted Tuesday evening’s special event hosted by Texas Motor Speedway for its season-ticket holders and the production had the atmosphere of an awards ceremony with an array of special guests and entertainment.

Joining Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Chairman/CEO Bruton Smith and Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage on stage for the celebratory announcements were NASCAR Chairman/CEO Brian France, Indy Racing League CEO Randy Bernard, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, as well as numerous prominent sponsor executives among the audience.

“When it came to this special event and the 2011 schedule for our fans, the ‘No Limits’ theme fit just perfectly,” Gossage said. “We worked diligently with NASCAR and the Indy Racing League to provide a racing season with a dramatic new look for our race fans. With the move to a night Sprint Cup race and historic twin Indy-car races to go along with a NASCAR triple-header to close our season, we have a special racing season in store for the fans of Texas Motor Speedway.”

The IZOD IndyCar Series will once again be paired with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but will return to its traditional design in the IndyCar Series schedule. The Firestone Twin 275s weekend will be held June 9-11 and return to an off week between it and the Indianapolis 500, the series’ two marquee events. The IZOD IndyCar Series scheduled an off-week between the two premier events from Texas Motor Speedway’s inaugural 1997 season through 2005.
The weekend will initially have a familiar look as NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying for the WinStar World Casino 400 will be held Thursday, June 9, and be followed Friday, June 10, by IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying and the WinStar World Casino 400 that evening, beginning at 8 p.m. CT.

On Saturday, June 11, fans will have the opportunity to become a part of history as Texas Motor Speedway will debut the Firestone Twin 275s, the first dual race event held in the history of the IZOD IndyCar Series. In the history of major U.S. open-wheel racing that also encompasses both USAC and CART, only 17 twin races have been run with the first being a USAC-sanctioned event at Canada’s Mosport road circuit in 1967. The final twins race was a CART-sanctioned event at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1981, the last of nine twin races run on ovals.

The “Firestone Texas Two-Step” evening will feature the full IZOD IndyCar Series field competing in two separate 275-kilometer races with two points-paying winners being crowned. Each twin race will award one-half the finishing points of a standard IZOD IndyCar Series event, with the combined points adding up to one full race point total. Additional details of the format will be announced at a later date. The historic Firestone Twin 275s will be broadcast live on VERSUS beginning at 8 p.m. CT.

“Randy (Bernard) and I discussed hosting twin races in January when he first took the job heading the Indy Racing League,” Gossage said. “The concept has Indy-car history to it, but at the same time provides a new dynamic event to our fans as well as the drivers themselves. Texas Motor Speedway traditionally has hosted some of the series’ most exciting races and the Firestone Twin 275s’ format should provide plenty more in the future. Drivers have two shots at winning and fans get an opportunity to see not one but two great races in one evening. It should be a tremendous show.”

2011 TMS Schedule-At-A-Glance
(All Times Central)

Firestone Twin 275s IZOD IndyCar Series/NASCAR Doubleheader Weekend

Thursday, June 9 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying Night, 6 p.m. CT (No TV)
Friday, June 10 – IZOD IndyCar Series Qualifying, 3 p.m. (VERSUS), WinStar World Casino 400 Camping World Truck Series race, 8 p.m. (SPEED)
Saturday, June 11 – Firestone Twin 275s IZOD IndyCar Series race, 8 p.m. (VERSUS)




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