Three race weekends highlight TMS’ 20th year in 2016

The 2016 racing season marks the 20th year for Texas Motor Speedway, and the track announced the dates for its three major weekends Saturday.

Much as it has in previous years, the schedule features a NASCAR doubleheader in April with Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series races; a June date that brings IndyCar and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to town; and a tripleheader in November featuring all three NASCAR series.

The spring race weekend is set for April 7-9; the summer dates are June 9-11; and the fall dates are Nov. 3-6.

The IndyCar Series, despite uninspiring racing in recent years at TMS, remains a staple in Texas two weeks after the Indianapolis 500. The open-wheel circuit continues to return to the track, and the hope is the 2016 season generates more interest in the sport as it celebrates the 100th running of the Indy 500 in May.

As far as the fall date, it remains the same in the NASCAR season. The Chase race at TMS will be the middle race in the “Eliminator Round,” as it has been the past two years under the format. The second race in that round proved to be a good thing last year with tensions boiling over between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. It remains to be seen whether a similar situation will unfold next month.

Season tickets for the 2016 races will be available beginning Nov. 2, and are as low as $199 for adults and $139 for children 12 and under. Individual tickets for the spring and summer races go on sale Feb. 12. An individual sales date for the fall races has not been set.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the TMS ticket office at 817-215-8500, or by visiting the track’s website.

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Three race weekends highlight TMS’ 20th year in 2016."