More on Texas Motor Speedway 2011 schedule

Texas Motor Speedway unveiled dynamic and historic changes to two of its marquee races during a special 2011 race schedule announcement extravaganza Tuesday night before a standing-room only crowd of more than 1,600 at the House of Blues in Dallas. The Samsung Mobile 500 will become the first Saturday evening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the 15-year history of Texas Motor Speedway when the event runs on April 9. The event also will be the first night race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The news highlighted Tuesday evening's special event hosted by Texas Motor Speedway for its season-ticket holders and the production had the atmosphere of an awards ceremony with an array of special guests and entertainment.

The Samsung Mobile 500 race week, featuring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series, will have an entirely new look as the majority of on-track activity will be run in the evening. The week opens with The Dallas Morning News Qualifying Days, with the Nationwide Series teams qualifying Thursday, April 7, for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 and Sprint Cup Series teams qualifying Friday, April 8, for the Samsung Mobile 500. The O'Reilly Auto Parts 300, which has been a Saturday daytime race since 1997, will also have a historic footnote as it becomes the first Nationwide Series race run at night in Texas Motor Speedway history when it moves to 8:00pm/ct Friday, April 8. The Nationwide race will be preceded by the final "Happy Hour" practice for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers for the Samsung Mobile 500. The Samsung Mobile 500 moves from its traditional Sunday afternoon slot to a night show on Saturday, April 9, which will be the first evening race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The race will be broadcast live in primetime on FOX beginning at 7:00pm/ct.

The 2011 Texas Motor Speedway season will close with the Nov. 3-6 NASCAR triple-header weekend that is highlighted by the AAA Texas 500, the eighth race in the 10-event Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The race week will kick off Thursday, Nov. 3, with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying for the Longhorn 350k. On Friday, Nov. 4, qualifying for the AAA Texas 500 and O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Nationwide Series race will be held in the afternoon and then followed that evening by the Longhorn 350k starting at 8:00pm/ct. Final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series "Happy Hour" practice will open Saturday, Nov. 5, and then be followed by the running of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge with the start time still to be determined. The race week culminates Sunday, Nov. 6, with the AAA Texas 500, which has proven to be a pivotal race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series battle for the championship. The AAA Texas 500, which begins at 2:00pm/ct, will be broadcast live on ESPN. Season tickets for 2011 will go on sale Wednesday at 9:00am/ct and are available by calling the Texas Motor Speedway ticket office at (817) 215-8500 or visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com. Individual tickets for the 2011 Samsung Mobile 500 and Firestone Twin 275s race weekends will go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 30. The availability of individual tickets for the 2011 AAA Texas 500 will be announced at a later date. TMS PR