From coronavirus protocols for fans to the race itself, TMS president is a happy camper
Texas Motor Speedway held the first signature sporting event in the state amid the coronavirus pandemic when IndyCar started its season last month with the Genesys 300. The track then became the state’s first sporting venue to open its doors to fans for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
As far as TMS president Eddie Gossage is concerned, everything went about as well as expected for the 15,000 to 20,000 fans in attendance.
“Our staff executed things really well,” Gossage said. “We converted in a short period of time from paper tickets to mobile tickets. That’s no small task. Our team did a really good job with that. I was pleased.
“It’s still a bummer to not have the place packed. We usually see people grilling out, smoking barbecue and crawfish boils, so it was frustrating not to have that. But the people that were there were having a great time. I was on the concourse and everyone was coming over and saying how great it was to be doing something normal. That’s what you want. It was a good race day.”
A race day that ended with the famed No. 3 car, driven by Austin Dillon, in Victory Lane. Gossage shared a number of his post-race thoughts with the Star-Telegram on Monday afternoon.
How did all of your coronavirus protocols work out with the fans? “I was really pleased. I watched a lot of people come in and out and everybody had on masks. If they didn’t, they were asked to and they had them and put them on. They were good about that, good about maintaining distancing. The lines to concession stands and souvenir stands stretched across the concourse, which was not normal, but it was long because they were staying apart. We thought it came off really well. We also had very few cases of heat issues, less than we anticipated, so that was good.”
Were there any fans who had signs of illness when they showed up? “No, not that I’m aware of. Like I said, we had to ask some fans to put a mask on and everyone had them. They put them on and went about their business. No complaints. It’s what we expected. Racing fans are extremely well behaved.”
What would be your message to other venues that are preparing to welcome fans back? “I think we had at least eight different organizations from other stadiums and colleges on hand. I’m sure they saw things they would do differently, and other things they would do the same. But my advice to anybody is that you cannot communicate enough with the fans. We still had some fans show up with coolers and you go, ‘How did they not know it wasn’t permitted this time?’ I thought we really drove that point home, but clearly not enough. So the more communication with fans, the better.”
Finally, what did you think of the race itself? “I thought the last third of the race was really good. You had Ryan Blaney, who was just so much faster than everybody else, and then where does Austin Dillon come from? It certainly had the drama you’re hoping for and looking for. I thought it was a pretty good race. It wasn’t a single-lane, follow-the-leader thing. It was fun to watch and the suspense and drama as it wound down made it interesting.”
