Bryan-College Station Eagle from Bryan, Texas • 43

jKV fljlk ''5 7 a i V' I 7 1 w54OT8 TIUNel' I EXS" WW He hi I 4 ill ilr I 1 1 1 1 SCWlBMgL MEaaJaaaMhar 4mSM MbJHI £7jrjgfcs IB 4 4 aa 57 4 T7? Mwf iKtfksw i HOME Display center tj fll Ilfl BB 2 I Bf! PsTJa'w 'THsLL K' rfi1' Zs MMHoPkl MBsZtB" 1 1 3lMr 4 4 4 41 Hg B5ro ri'j a is ilfl i 1 yf aH SfcfeSElbw si wnBOWRlSS1! li "inally they made an agreement with Bill rance Sr (then president) of the National Associa tion or Stock Car Auto Racing Inc to run some NASCAR races at their tracks As a result of that the association With NASCAR they decided to go ahead and build this track TWS (which was named Texas International Speedway at that time) was started in the spring and finished in record time by November of 1969 It cost nearly $7 million to build Margolian TIS vice president and general manager pushed the construction crews to almost unbelievable achievements (to get the track done in a a newspaper story in the Eagle on Nov 10 1969 said The facility was built with both an oval and a road course The track which was meant to be fast from the beginning was? designed with 22 degree banks on the oval banks that were made of asphalt 6 inches thick The grandstands made up of sturdy aluminum chairs seated about 26500 people In cluding the infield the facility was built to hold about 56000 TIS also had two buildings full of garages and an elaborate press box 1 racing is the fastest growing sport in the United States and is considered by many to be the sport of the LoPatin said in January of 1969 see in Texas the agressive spirit associated with this part of the country a spirit that developed great racing drivers and will develop great en thusiasm among fans The Speedway will bring auto racing on a grand scale to The first race at the track was the Texas Can Am a 210 mile race run on the three mile road course which took place in November of 1969 The race was held on a Sunday afternoon and coincided with the opening day of deer season and the home games of both the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Oilers Newspaper accounts say the race drew about 24260 people fewer than were expected People who were at the race said the 24260 estimate was too high to be accurate LoPatin told the newspapers that the turnout wholly despite the fact that the spectators did not nearly fill the facility Bryan College Station community members ac tively supported the race The Jaycees pushed pro grams the Bryan Lions Club acted as ushers and worked the gates the ighting Texas Aggie Band entertained The second race a NASCAR Grand National Race held a month later also drew a disappointing crowd Shortly after that second race all the major races scheduled for 1970 were canceled Two months later a suit was filed against TIS in the name of Mrs JE Marsh Sr the previous owner of the land for failure to pay interest on a note of more than $1 million After only two races the track was in serious financial trouble Headlines that just months before had read time Racing Roars Into had turned into Rivl to Now Lies Strangely and Auction Most people who observed American building of TIS agree that the financial problems of the track started long before the start your of the first race people who built it were broke before they ever opened the Conole said people who built it were just not racing people In fact I doubt if they had ever seen a race say a couple years before they built the Bill rance Sr now retired as president of NASCAR agreed was my understanding that there were Some bad financial problems before it he said from the NASCAR office in lorida recently seem to remember something about a 10 race TV package that they were counting on that fell After almost a year and a half of court battles where a reorganization under the bankruptcy laws was denied TIS was sold to Daniel Holloway Bryan College Station Eagle The Great Texas Truck Stop (top) a mobile home sales office (middle) and a shooting range (bottom) are three non race related business enterprises being developed by RC Each photM by David Einwl Conole on the Texas World Speedway proper ty located off Highway 6 South outside of College Station 3 Saturday December 11 1982 I ffVWI.