Daytona 500 watch party another fan favorite to kick off 2020 racing season at Texas Motor Speedway

Thousands of fired up race fans picked out their favorite spot in the Texas Motor Speedway infield to take part in and enjoy the sixth annual Daytona 500 watch party on the world’s largest HD TV, kicking off the 2020 NASCAR season in style.

 

The 22,698-square-foot “Big Hoss TV” screen was again the focal point for race fans to pack the RV for the weekend or load up the family truckster and pitch the pop-up tent for the day to capture all the racing excitement from Daytona Beach, Fla. Campers began arriving Thursday evening for what’s become an annual February tradition at the speedway celebrating its 24th season of the best motorsports in North America.

 

“This is like controlled chaos where nobody gets hurt, all the drama is on Big Hoss TV and there’s plenty of good food,” said Barry Fry of Lubbock, Texas, who was part of a group of 20 race fans who plan to be back for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 weekend in March. “It’s like one big huge family out here. You bring your own food but you walk 50 feet down the road and you’re full because everyone you come up to says ‘Here, try this.’ It’s just a great atmosphere to kick off the season at Texas Motor Speedway.”

 

Long-time Texas Motor Speedway race fan Karen McGwier, a resident of Slayton, Texas, had a homemade scale-model replica of Texas Motor Speedway’s Victory Lane on display in her family’s campsite. She said her family took pictures of 2019’s TMS Victory Lane celebrations to make sure their replica was as exact as possible.

 

“We designed it on the way home from last year’s watch party so we’ve been looking forward to this for a full year,” said McGwier. “We studied how the real one looks and tried to make a true replica of how it’s set up. We have our flames and our smoke and now we’re ready to watch the race to bring us back to victory lane.”

 

For Texas Motor Speedway President/GM Eddie Gossage, the watch party and the fact that it’s a free event serves multiple purposes. It’s both a thank you to longtime supporters of the speedway and a welcome to anyone interested in dipping their toe in the water of what a weekend in No Limits, Texas, can be.

 

“This event over the years has turned into a great opportunity for our race fans to celebrate the start of another great race season in a very unique way by catching all the action on Big Hoss TV,” said Gossage. “It’s a bit of an annual homecoming for long-time fans to shake off the winter rust and, just as important, it gives new fans an opportunity to park in the infield and get just a small taste of the real excitement of a NASCAR or INDYCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.”

 

 

TMS PR