Gossage ready to get rolling on 2010

Posted Monday, Nov. 09, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By ANTHONY ANDRO

aandro@star-telegram.com

Texas Motor Speedway wrapped up its 2009 racing schedule with Sunday’s Dickies 500, and track president Eddie Gossage is already revved up about 2010.

"Maybe it’s just because I was out over the summer and I’m still fresh and excited, but I want keep going," said Gossage, who was away from the track most of the summer because of cancer treatments. "I feel really good about it. I’m very bullish on 2010."

The biggest question surrounding 2010 involves the names for the June IndyCar Series race and the November Sprint Cup date. Both Bombardier and Dickies will not be back as title sponsors for the races.

But Gossage doesn’t expect the races to be nameless for long.

"We’re real close," he said. "I don’t have any anxiety over that. I know one of them is wrapping up and the other is close."

That the track is close to wrapping up naming rights for the races just shows how strong things are at the 1 1/2 -mile quadoval.

While many Sprint Cup races have struggled to find sponsors and seen huge attendance hits, that hasn’t been the case at TMS. Attendance was down for Sunday’s race, but the dip from 171,000 last November to 167,000 was nominal.

And as Gossage is always willing to point out, it’s still the best-attended race in the Sprint Cup’s Chase for the Championship.

Next year will also bring new dates for the April Sprint Cup weekend as well as the June IndyCar race. There will also be an additional race with the ARCA RE/MAX Series racing at TMS during the April race week.

Even though the attendance numbers were good in 2009, work is already being done for next year.

Drivers shot spots over the weekend that will debut in February. E-mails will go to potential ticket buyers. Ticket specials like the Backstretch Busters could also return.

And in typical Gossage fashion, he won’t reveal everything he’s got planned.

"We’ve got a few things up our sleeve," he said.

One thing Gossage doesn’t have any control of is the racing itself. He was disappointed with the racing in the April Sprint Cup race, as well as the IndyCar Series race in June. But he liked the action in Sunday’s race, in which Jimmie Johnson went from slam-dunk champion to being involved in a title hunt with two races remaining.

"I think it redeemed the season," he said. "You got to witness a lot of interesting and significant moments by sitting here at the race. It was a pretty fair year."

Anthony Andro, 817-390-7760

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