R.I.P.
Longtime Texas Motor Speedway President EDDIE GOSSAGE died on Thursday at the age of 65, according to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The cause of his death was not immediately released and funeral arrangements “will be shared at a later date.” Gossage closed out a 32-year career in motorsports in 2021 at TMS, where he was the first GM of the track after it was built in 1996. He added the title of president in 2004. During Gossage’s tenure, TMS has “hosted millions of fans at NASCAR, IndyCar and World of Outlaw races,” and produced car shows and concerts featuring THE ROLLING STONES, ZZ TOP and WILLIE NELSON (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/16). In Fort Worth, Mac Engel wrote friends close to Gossage "said the cancer he originally defeated years ago had come back." Gossage was an “architect of NASCAR’s return to Texas, and responsible for so much of the old-school marketing and promotion of auto racing in the state” for more than 20 years. He was an “old school promoter” who “didn’t necessarily make the sport, but he made it fun and colorful.” Engel: “People all over the nation knew Eddie Gossage. He did it through tirelessly promoting NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway by just about any means necessary.” From the sincere to the silly, he “wanted people to love racing as much as he did” (FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/16).
A SHOWMAN IN EVERY ASPECT: NBCSPORTS.com’s Nate Ryan writes Gossage had a “special knack for spreading the gospel about the sport he loved, wielding the beguiling flair of a showman who often crossed over the line from colorful bombast into controversial bluster.” He had “something to say from the minute he started his motorsports career.” The nearly quarter-century run in charge of TMS “cemented Gossage’s reputation for stopping at nothing to stay in the spotlight.” Nothing “was too outrageous for Gossage to leverage for media attention” (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/17). RACER’s Kelly Crandall wrote Gossage was “about bringing entertainment to the racing world, and he wasn’t afraid to be different.” Crandall: “Showman. Old-school. Big ego. Those are just some of the descriptions that would be thrown Gossage’s way” (RACER, 5/16). The AP noted Gossage was an “old-school promoter mentored by stock car racing pioneers.” He “learned the art of selling tickets, packing grandstands and turning races into spectacles” from company founder BRUTON SMITH and longtime exec HUMPY WHEELER. When he announced his retirement in 2021, Gossage said that his approach “sometimes borrowed from boxing promoters BOB ARUM and DON KING” -- and that his “ideas were sometimes outrageous -- but his intentions were always for the best interest of the fans, the racing and the speedway.” Gossage was also a “fierce supporter” of the IndyCar Series, which until this season was on the Texas schedule every year since the track opened in 1997. Texas hosted the season opener during the pandemic in 2020 and later a doubleheader as IndyCar has “struggled to find ovals for its schedule” (AP, 5/16).
Former TMS President Eddie Gossage passes away at 65
Former TMS President Eddie Gossage passes away at 65
5.17.2024Longtime Texas Motor Speedway President EDDIE GOSSAGE died on Thursday at the age of 65, according to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The cause of his death was not immediately released and funeral arrangements “will be shared at a later date.” Gossage closed out a 32-year career in motorsports in 2021 at TMS, where he was the first GM of the track after it was built in 1996. He added the title of president in 2004. During Gossage’s tenure, TMS has “hosted millions of fans at NASCAR, IndyCar and World of Outlaw races,” and produced car shows and concerts featuring THE ROLLING STONES, ZZ TOP and WILLIE NELSON (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/16). In Fort Worth, Mac Engel wrote friends close to Gossage "said the cancer he originally defeated years ago had come back." Gossage was an “architect of NASCAR’s return to Texas, and responsible for so much of the old-school marketing and promotion of auto racing in the state” for more than 20 years. He was an “old school promoter” who “didn’t necessarily make the sport, but he made it fun and colorful.” Engel: “People all over the nation knew Eddie Gossage. He did it through tirelessly promoting NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway by just about any means necessary.” From the sincere to the silly, he “wanted people to love racing as much as he did” (FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/16).
A SHOWMAN IN EVERY ASPECT: NBCSPORTS.com’s Nate Ryan writes Gossage had a “special knack for spreading the gospel about the sport he loved, wielding the beguiling flair of a showman who often crossed over the line from colorful bombast into controversial bluster.” He had “something to say from the minute he started his motorsports career.” The nearly quarter-century run in charge of TMS “cemented Gossage’s reputation for stopping at nothing to stay in the spotlight.” Nothing “was too outrageous for Gossage to leverage for media attention” (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/17). RACER’s Kelly Crandall wrote Gossage was “about bringing entertainment to the racing world, and he wasn’t afraid to be different.” Crandall: “Showman. Old-school. Big ego. Those are just some of the descriptions that would be thrown Gossage’s way” (RACER, 5/16). The AP noted Gossage was an “old-school promoter mentored by stock car racing pioneers.” He “learned the art of selling tickets, packing grandstands and turning races into spectacles” from company founder BRUTON SMITH and longtime exec HUMPY WHEELER. When he announced his retirement in 2021, Gossage said that his approach “sometimes borrowed from boxing promoters BOB ARUM and DON KING” -- and that his “ideas were sometimes outrageous -- but his intentions were always for the best interest of the fans, the racing and the speedway.” Gossage was also a “fierce supporter” of the IndyCar Series, which until this season was on the Texas schedule every year since the track opened in 1997. Texas hosted the season opener during the pandemic in 2020 and later a doubleheader as IndyCar has “struggled to find ovals for its schedule” (AP, 5/16).
Former TMS President Eddie Gossage passes away at 65
