RIP Texas Motor Speedway race promoter Eddie Gossage

[maumann]

This may be a little too inside baseball for anyone who didn't cover auto racing, but Eddie was a real character and tireless promoter for his track in Fort Worth.

Learned the trade under the master, Humpy Wheeler, and was one of Bruton's lop lieutenants.

65 is way too damn young. I always enjoyed the pats on the back and the little chats we had about racing and everything else in the world.

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CONCORD, N.C. — On behalf of the Gossage family, Speedway Motorsports sadly shares the news Thursday that legendary motorsports promoter and longtime company employee Eddie Gossage has passed away at the age of 65.

"Today we have lost one of the world's biggest race fans," said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. "From his legendary promotions to the lasting relationships he developed throughout the sports and entertainment industries, Eddie Gossage meant so much to the world of motorsports. On behalf of our Speedway Motorsports teammates across the country, our hearts go out to his many friends and his beloved family.

"We are praying for his wife, Melinda, daughter Jessica, son Dustin and daughter-in-law Lauren during this trying time as well as his grandchildren Lyra, Evelyn and Oliver. We know the children were the light of his life.

"Eddie's career spanned 32 years promoting major events at Charlotte Motor Speedway and supporting my father, Bruton, with the iconic showplace that is Texas Motor Speedway," Smith added. "His impact in our sport will be felt for many years to come. We repeat one of Eddie's favorite sayings often: 'If we don't make a big deal out of it, nobody else will.' He lived that mantra every day at work developing creative publicity stunts, pre-race shows and over-the-top entertainment."

Gossage's passing comes on the eve of the 40th NASCAR All-Star Race weekend. One of the first major races he ever promoted was the 1992 NASCAR All-Star Race, known then as The Winston and marketed as 'One Hot Night.' The event, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS), was the first-ever NASCAR night race at a superspeedway.

His successes at CMS, alongside Speedway Motorsports Chairman and Founder Bruton Smith and CMS President and General Manager Humpy Wheeler, paved the way for Gossage to chart his own course at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). When the track was built in 1996, Gossage was named its first general manager. For 25 years, until his retirement in 2021, Gossage hosted major sports and entertainment events, establishing TMS as not only The Great American Speedway, but an iconic venue that welcomed sports fans and entertainment-seekers from around the world. Gossage excelled in a state where everything is bigger and his personality and promotional flair were popular from the campgrounds to suite level. As passionate as he was about big events, Gossage also had a tremendous heart for children and the fundraising efforts of the TMS chapter of Speedway Children's Charities.

"Eddie Gossage was a trailblazer, promoter and innovator at a time when attracting attention was critical as Speedway Motorsports expanded NASCAR into the Lone Star State," said Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark Faber. "Each day I come to work, I see the impact he had throughout our property. Eddie laid a foundation for success to build upon for generations to come and made Texas Motor Speedway a showplace of which Texans will always be proud."

Funeral arrangements will be shared at a later date.

 

[Typist Clerk]

A shocker. Sixty-five is way too young to die.

 

[Driftwood]

Yeah. RIP.
I remember AJ ripping Gossage and throwing a laptop following an IRL race at Texas.

 

[franticscribe]

IndyCar lasted a lot longer in Texas than it would have if it hadn't been for Gossage, and at a time when the series needed stability from a second oval track.

I always respected him for making that race work, especially after the extreme g-force problems in the early oughts. Would've been easy to wash his hands of open wheel racing after that.

 

[playthrough]

IndyCar lasted a lot longer in Texas than it would have if it hadn't been for Gossage, and at a time when the series needed stability from a second oval track.

I always respected him for making that race work, especially after the extreme g-force problems in the early oughts. Would've been easy to wash his hands of open wheel racing after that.

He was an incredible ally for IndyCar and there aren't nearly enough of 'em anymore.

 

[nickp]

One of the greatest to ever do it in the motorsports game

 

[Twirling Time]

IndyCar lasted a lot longer in Texas than it would have if it hadn't been for Gossage, and at a time when the series needed stability from a second oval track.

I always respected him for making that race work, especially after the extreme g-force problems in the early oughts. Would've been easy to wash his hands of open wheel racing after that.

Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought it was a CART race that got canceled because of g-forces. Doesn't matter much since the reunification.

 

[franticscribe]

Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought it was a CART race that got canceled because of g-forces. Doesn't matter much since the reunification.

It was the CART race that got cancelled, and it was supposed to take place just a few weeks before the scheduled IRL races. My recollection, and I'm going from memory so certainly could be wrong, was that after what happened in the CART practices, there were serious questions about whether the IRL races would be run and whether open-wheel racing should be at Texas Motor Speedway at all due to the high banking.

Then they did run the IRL races and Davey Hamilton ends up having a horrific and life-changing crash and even though it wasn't caused by g force loading, it just furthered the question of whether Texas was safe for open wheel.

Kenny Brack nearly died at Texas a couple of years later and it again raised the question about TMS being unsafe for IndyCars. My recollection is that there were three or four years, at least, after the CART incident where every year there was a faction of drivers/owners wanting Texas off the schedule and it being a yearly question of whether they'd return.

Anyway, I always referred to both series as "IndyCar" during the split and then IRL or CART when specificity was needed.