11-05-2025
Texas Ride-Alongs Bring Back Nostalgic Thrills Of Years Gone By
NASCAR Racing Experience setting up for business at Texas Motor Speedway, May 10, 2025.
Tim Bovasso
It was 22 years back that I had run laps at Texas Motor Speedway. I was younger then, and had set up a test to clock an average lap in an Indy car at over 200 mph, a pretty daunting task for a journalist who is not a pro race-car driver. Put into perspective, the average speed the real-deal IndyCar drivers turn laps is around 220 mph.
To achieve my 200-mph dream, which was hatched in 1977 when Tom Sneva first broke the 200-mph barrier at Indy, I would need to run a lap in under 27 seconds on the 1.5-mile-long Texas oval.
With the help of race team owner Sam Schmidt and NASCAR Racing Experience (NRE) founder and CEO Bob Lutz, I raised $25,000 for two charities - the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation and Racing For Kids - to stage the test. As preparation, I ran more than 100 lead-follow laps in Lutz's Indy cars at Texas.
Forbes writer Jim Clash prepares for a 200-mph test at Texas Motor Speedway, October 16, 2002.
Steve McNeely
When the big day arrived, I was given 10 laps to hit the 200 mph average in a Sam Schmidt Indy car that had competed in the big Texas Indy race the previous day. Sure enough, on the 10th lap, I hit 201.2 mph (see video). I had achieved my dream, and two charities were $25,000 richer. Win-win, but a real nail-biter.
Fast forward to this past weekend where I returned to the speedway for the first time since 2002, except now I was not in an Indy car, but a slower (albeit safer) stock car. And I wasn't running laps by myself. I was giving rides to NRE customers. That meant that I had someone else's well-being in my hands.
I was a bit nervous beforehand. The track had been reconfigured in 2017, lowering the banking in Turn 1 and 2 to 20 degrees versus 24 degrees in the past. That meant I would have to back off somewhat going into Turn 1. Turns 3 and 4 were still 24 degrees.
Tornado chaser Tim Bovasso (left) and cave explorer Bill Steele, Texas Motor Speedway, May 10, 2025.
Jim Clash
Mostly I give rides at Daytona International Speedway, a longer oval at 2.5 miles. So I wasn't used to driving at a shorter, tighter track. But there would be some muscle memory from 2002, I was thinking. Some of the Daytona support crew were at Texas as well, so that gave me an additional layer of comfort.
My first laps were eye-opening. While the speeds are slightly lower at Texas than at Daytona, I found that things come at you much more rapidly, and the G-forces in the car are higher due to a tighter turning radius. You have to focus 100 percent of the time running on a 1.5-mile track.
But once I settled in and began giving rides to NRE customers, I felt right at home. Two friends came over in the morning - cave-diver Bill Steele and tornado hunter Tim Bovasso. They had a blast on their rides. Later on, it was packed. Between three drivers, myself one of them, we gave in excess of 170 rides due to a number of unscheduled walk-ups.
It wasn't 200 mph - more like 160 - but it felt good to be giving out bucket-list experiences. There were folks there from countries including Australia, Puerto Rico, France and England who had come to Texas just for a ride.
After having been in the car from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m., I was exhausted. Later, though, I thought about my 200-mph run in 2002 and realized how special it was. I was running laps in the high 30-second range in the stock car, whereas it was a blistering 26 seconds in the Indy car. Huge difference.
Dinner at a Roanoke, Texas, barbecue restaurant after a busy day at the racetrack. (L-R) Texas Motor Speedway track operations manager Todd Bell, ride-driver Marc Ludwick and spotter Wade Messina.
Jim Clash
That said, I would never attempt that 2002 test again. Crazy fast and exceedingly dangerous. But what did I know back then? I was fearless in my youth, as I'm sure is the case with many folks.
