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107-734: The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools , or TAPPS , is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth , Texas . It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Salado, Texas . Founded in 1978, TAPPS governs athletic, fine arts, and academic contests for the majority of non-public high schools in Texas . As of 2021, TAPPS organizes competitions for over 230 private schools in Texas. TAPPS

214-534: A Muslim school in Houston, submitted an application to join TAPPS. Khaled Katbi, who represented the school, had a meeting with TAPPS on November 4, 2004, and did not report any unusual questions. However the school subsequently received a letter which included a questionnaire with "Why do you wish to join an organization whose membership is basically in total disagreement with your religious beliefs?" and "Why do you think that

321-419: A certain distance of their geographic area when attending competitions, and to adjust for the changing enrollments of schools (moving schools with increased attendance up in conference and those with decreased attendance down) and new schools opening. The main redrawing of regions and districts takes place on February 1 of even-numbered years (and the final allocation, especially relating to high school football ,

428-611: A charter school within Dallas ISD must participate in at least Class AAAA, as DISD has high schools which participate at this level. Schools are arranged by conference to ensure that schools compete on a regular basis with other schools in the geographic area of a similar size. The conferences are A (the smallest), AA , AAA , AAAA , AAAAA and AAAAAA (the largest). The corresponding alphanumeric designations ( 1A , 2A , 3A , 4A , 5A , and 6A ) are used in everyday conversation (as well as in this article), but officially UIL only uses

535-618: A classification, although in practice this is not always the case – for example, in the 2006 playoffs, Southlake Carroll (the Conference 5A Division I champion; at that time 5A was the largest conference) had a lower student enrollment than Cedar Hill (the Conference 5A Division II champion). For all other 11-man conferences and for six-man football, the UIL divides schools into separate Division I (large) and Division II (small) districts at its biennial redistricting session (in these cases, there are

642-533: A crash on the track's pit road when Niclas Jönsson lost control of his car while trying to exit pit road, crashing into the parked car of Tyce Carlson while Carlson's crew was working with his car. The next year, during a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, the track oversaw its first fatality when driver Tony Roper crashed on the track's frontstretch, suffering a fatal basilar skull fracture that caused renewed controversy within NASCAR over driver safety. In 2001,

749-627: A fall semester activity. There are no area contests for Conference 1A or military class bands, only for 2A and up. Prior to the region competition, marching bands choose to enter one of two classes: open class or military class. Since bands do not compete against each other directly at the region contest, military class and open class bands perform at the same region contest. After the region contest, open class and military class bands compete separately. In order for bands to advance from region to area (or state for Conference 1A or military bands), they must receive an overall Division I rating. The format of

856-526: A higher level of competition. The "play up" rule was later eliminated for competition reasons, but has been retained for geographic reasons (where playing at the current level would create a travel hardship for the school), and where school districts with eight or more high schools could keep all or most of them in the same conference. However, the school must then participate at the higher conference in all UIL events in which it does participate. Each type of contest has different regions and competitors, as there

963-418: A lower bank of 8 degrees to accommodate open-wheel cars. In addition, for open-wheel races, a temporary wall was planned to be implemented each time an open-wheel series raced in order to reduce speeds. The plan met skepticism from open-wheel personalities such as Cary Agajanian and Jimmy Vasser over the feasibility of such a system. By June 1996, Agajanian reported that the speedway had ditched plans to make

1070-630: A major racetrack west of the Mississippi River with the rise of popularity in stock car racing. Smith employed the help of then Vice President of Public Relations at the Charlotte Motor Speedway , Eddie Gossage , to find a suitable location for the track. Three primary markets were decided on by Bruton: Las Vegas , the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex , and St. Louis . In Las Vegas, the duo found out that local businessman Ralph Engelstad

1177-468: A major racetrack west of the Mississippi River , deciding on the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in 1994 with eventual longtime track general manager Eddie Gossage . Construction began in 1995 and was completed in 1996, with TMS holding its first races in 1997. Upon the track's christening, TMS became one of the biggest sports facilities in the United States. In recent years, TMS has come under criticism for

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1284-586: A maximum of 16 districts statewide, as opposed to the 32 in the larger conferences); separate playoffs are held for each division with the top four teams (top two in six-man) from each district eligible. In Conferences 6A and 5A, the top four teams from each district are eligible. However, the UIL does not use a Division I/Division II alignment as in football; only one champion and runner-up is crowned in each conference. A similar arrangement exists in Conferences 2A-4A, and for Conference 1A in all other team sports, only

1391-424: A new bump, along with water leakage issues. Further criticism was placed against the speedway and Gossage after a t-shirt was printed that stated "Shut Up and Race"; Gossage claims that NASCAR came up with the idea. Gossage announced a complete repave of the track, this time completely removing the dual-banking system. In 1999, during the final practice session of the 1999 Mall.com 500 , 11 people were injured in

1498-617: A new date at the Circuit of the Americas , with the track instead running the NASCAR All-Star Race as an attempt by SMI CEO Marcus Smith to increase declining attendance. After two spring races that were met with relative scorn, the spring date was removed for 2023, with the All-Star Race moving to North Wilkesboro, the track TMS removed back in 1997. The spring date returned in 2024 as

1605-513: A poor racing product, leading calls from drivers to completely renovate the track. In August, Ramage was removed as general manager after only one year, having been promoted to becoming SMI's vice president of government relations and deputy counsel. SMI replaced Ramage with Mark Faber, who previously worked in Las Vegas as the T-Mobile Arena 's senior vice president of global partnerships. Under

1712-442: A poor racing product, particularly for its NASCAR races. Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in its current form is measured at 1.500 mi (2.414 km), with 20 degrees of banking in the speedway's first two turns, 24 degrees of banking in the speedway's last two turns, five degrees of banking on the track's frontstretch and backstretch, and a racing surface width of 80 feet. From 1998 to 2017, the turns were all banked at 24 degrees and

1819-503: A press conference on May 13, 2021, with his retirement effective after the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race that was set to take place on June 13. After Gossage's retirement, TMS leaders announced that they would reduce capacity down to 75,000 and renovate the suites at the track. On August 4, 2021, Marcus Smith announced that Rob Ramage, a Texas Motor Speedway executive and counselor, had been promoted to replace Gossage as general manager. In an interview with D Magazine , Ramage pledged that

1926-456: A questionnaire with questions like "Historically, there is nothing in the Koran that fully embraces Christianity or Judaism in the way a Christian and/or a Jew understands his religion. Why, then, are you interested in joining an association whose basic beliefs your religion condemns?" Iman Academy SW did not fill out the questionnaire and the attached application, and TAPPS denied Iman SW admission into

2033-590: A rational basis for eligibility restrictions. The Texas Legislature rewrote titles 1 and 2 of the Texas Education Code and greatly restricted the functions to be performed by the Texas Education Agency and the UIL. The changes made Texas an equal access state. The law now requires the public schools to allow all students that reside within the school's boundary equal access to all activities. The Senate also made amendments that expressly regulate

2140-566: A result of the track's only Cup Series date, which was in the fall, shifting back to the spring. A second weekend to TMS was awarded in the aftermath of the Ferko lawsuit in 2005. The date remained on the schedule annually until 2023, when it was moved to the spring. Along with its Cup Series dates, the track also hosts lower-series NASCAR races, including second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and third-tier NASCAR Truck Series races. TMS used to hold IndyCar Series races from 1997 to 2023. In 2024,

2247-442: A second place ranking from the fourth judge, and a fourth place ranking from the fifth judge. The ordinal total for School 1 is 9 (1+1+1+2+4). School 2 receives two first place rankings and three second place rankings. The ordinal total for School 2 is 8 (2+2+2+1+1). Therefore, School 2 would be the champion despite receiving fewer first place rankings because School 2's ordinal score is lower than School 1's. Concert and sight-reading

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2354-465: A segment for the show. In 2010, Gossage directed the "No Limits" campaign, which was self-described as a "hot cars and hot chicks" that intended to target a younger and edgy audience. By mid-2016, numerous complaints against the track's surface taking too long to dry were made. By November, during a rain delay at the 2016 AAA Texas 500 which took seven hours to restart, complaints rose again. Despite this, Gossage stated that he had no plans to repave

2461-404: A separate parallel organization for African-American public high schools in Texas. In 1965, the UIL agreed to admit PVIL member schools for competition. Black schools began UIL competitions beginning in the 1967–68 school year. After the 1969–70 school year, the UIL fully absorbed all PVIL member schools, the majority of which would later be merged with their white counterparts. Beginning with

2568-450: A slightly different alignment based on the participating schools, but most follow the same basic framework. The districts are mostly decided behind closed doors by TAPPS every even year (in February, around the same time as the UIL's biannual redistricting), and are an attempt to keep schools within a certain distance of their hometown when attending competitions. Like the UIL, the districts are

2675-752: A starting point for a cross-country route. In even-numbered years, the track is used as a showcase location. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , the facility held 23 high school graduation ceremonies for schools within Denton County, Texas . In September 2022, the track became a shelter for victims of Hurricane Ida . As of November 2018, the fastest official race lap records at Texas Motor Speedway are listed as: University Interscholastic League Texas Music Educators Association Association of Texas Small School Bands The University Interscholastic League ( UIL )

2782-631: A temporary wall, instead deciding to paint a line where the change in banking was. On August 3, the track officially opened to the public for the first time, holding a charity "open-house" event. Eventual NASCAR races were announced in July 1996, and IndyCar races were announced the next month on August 7, with the IndyCar race to be run at night; an IndyCar first. In August 1996, a quarter-mile dirt track based in Alvin, Texas , sued Smith's speedway over naming rights for

2889-446: Is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas . It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Activities range from American football and cross-examination debate to mathematics and marching band competitions; however, the UIL does not administer Academic Decathlon competitions. The UIL

2996-429: Is comparable to conformation dog shows where dogs compete against the written standard for their breed, not against other dogs of differing breeds), and are given a rating of Division I (Superior), Division II (Excellent), Division III (Average), Division IV (Below Average), or Division V (Poor). All individuals or ensembles who are given an overall Division I (based on the consensus of each judge's rating) may advance to

3103-463: Is divided into 3 divisions: band, orchestra, and vocal, and is held in the spring semester. Concert ensembles prepare a program from the UIL's Prescribed Music List and perform for a panel of 3 judges, who each rate the ensemble on the Division I-Division V scale. Immediately after performing their concert program, ensembles move to a separate sight-reading room, where they sight-read a piece that

3210-1046: Is held at Jimmy Clay Golf Course, a municipal course in Austin. From 2000–2011 the girls' volleyball tournament was held in Strahan Coliseum on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos . Since 2012, the tournament has been held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. Though UIL is best known as the governing body for public school athletic competition, it also hosts numerous academic competitions as well, such as Math, Science, Ready Writing, Social Studies, and many others. Between athletics, music, theatre, spirit (cheer) and academics, UIL estimates that half of all public high school graduates have competed in at least one UIL-sanctioned event during their high school tenure. The state level academic and speech competitions are held on

3317-403: Is likewise determined by contest size. State competition uses a similar format to area, with a preliminary and final round always being held. Area and state contests use an ordinal system, in which each judge assigns each band an ordinal. These ordinals are then added together, with the lowest total determining the champion. For example, School 1 receives a first place ranking from three judges,

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3424-485: Is limited not only to Division 1 winners, but the winners must have performed "Class 1" (difficult level) performances at region, and the performance must have been from a selection on the UIL's Prescribed Music List and also performed from memory (except for certain instrumental pieces which are designated as exempt from such on the List). Music theory is held at state only and is open to any and all students in grades 9–12 having

3531-711: Is made out of black gumbo soil , and held its first races in March 2000. The first track to hold major series such as NASCAR and United States Auto Club (USAC)-sanctioned races in the state of Texas was the Texas International Speedway (later named Texas World Speedway), which opened in 1969, holding its first NASCAR race in December. The track was built like the Michigan International Speedway , but with higher banking for faster speeds. However, in

3638-458: Is no requirement that a school participate in all UIL events – some small rural schools do not participate in football or choose six-man over 11-man, while some magnet schools do not field athletic teams but participate in academic events only. Unlike the college ranks or other states, the regions and districts are not permanently set, but are redrawn biennially by the UIL behind closed doors in an attempt to keep schools of similar sizes within

3745-454: Is specially prepared for that school year and used statewide. Sight-reading is also adjudicated with the Division I-Division V system. In sight-reading, schools in different conferences read different pieces, and second or third groups (officially called "non-varsity" groups) read different pieces from other conferences than the varsity group. Sight-reading is held at the region level only. Wind ensembles can advance from region to state; however,

3852-497: Is the subject of much pre-announcement anticipation and speculation as to which schools move up or down and the final composition of the districts), but as new schools open or smaller schools close or disband programs, interim adjustments can be made. The changing districts and regions have produced unusual results – for example, the 2008-09 Conference 5A boys' basketball championship featured champion DeSoto from Region II defeating Cedar Hill from Region I, notwithstanding that

3959-640: Is under the governance of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas . Although the Texas Education Agency governs the activities of schools and school districts in Texas, the UIL does not report to TEA, but is instead a separate entity. The UIL was originally created by the University of Texas at Austin in 1910 as two different entities,

4066-876: The Astrodome in Houston , Texas Stadium in Irving , Alamo Stadium in San Antonio and Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin . In 2010, the UIL designated sites for all championship games: the 5A, 4A, and 3A championships were held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington , while the 2A and 1A championships were held at Newsom Stadium in Mansfield and the six-man championships at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene . In 2011, Conferences 1A-5A played their state championships at AT&T Stadium, while

4173-545: The American Le Mans Series expanded their schedule to include TMS to run the Grand Prix of Texas , deciding to run a "roval" version of the track that utilized parts of the newly-constructed infield road course and the oval. The series ran the event again in 2001. In 2015, TMS held the seventh round of the 2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship through the weekend of September 26–27. The track once again hosted

4280-428: The Charlotte Motor Speedway . Under Gossage's tenure, TMS sparked numerous campaigns to promote the track, including training monkeys to sell souvenir programs , starting a victory lane tradition of each victor firing blank six-shooters in post-race celebrations, hiring an all-female pit crew to service a car, and allowing British motoring television show Top Gear and one of its hosts, Richard Hammond , to film

4387-782: The Frank Erwin Center on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin . In 2015 it was decided to move the boys & girls state tournaments to the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX, due to ongoing price and venue disputes in Austin. The state track and field meet and swimming championships are also held on the UT Austin campus, the former at Mike A. Myers Stadium and the latter at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center . The soccer semifinals and finals for 4A and 5A are held at Birkelbach Field in

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4494-550: The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) or Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC), they decided to further pursue their decade-long battle of gaining membership into the UIL. They are so far the only private schools to be granted UIL membership, as the new UIL rules established after the Jesuit schools' entry prohibited those schools who were eligible for memberships in other similar associations (such as TAPPS or

4601-510: The 1980s, although this was due to, according to track president R. C. Connole, USAC splitting with Championship Auto Racing Teams in 1979, leading to major turmoil within USAC. Although the track was swapped around numerous owners, the track never held a major series again, leaving Texas without a track that held a major series for over a decade. With the rising success of Speedway Motorsports , owned by businessman Bruton Smith , intended to build

4708-430: The 2003–2004 academic year, two large all-male private schools, Dallas Jesuit and Houston Strake Jesuit , were granted UIL membership. This came after extensive court battles and negotiations from both the UIL's lawyers and the schools' joint lawyers. Previously, both schools were members of the now-defunct Texas Christian Interscholastic League (TCIL); after that league's demise and their inability to gain admittance into

4815-439: The 2014 alignment, is Conference 1A) or 11-man football (at Conference 2A). Schools with enrollments over 104.5 are only eligible for 11-man football; however, some schools organize a six-man team and play an "outlaw" schedule (i.e., the school is not eligible for the postseason). Moreover, for some events (such as team tennis, swimming, or diving), the UIL organizes all participating schools into Conference 6A and Conference 5A, with

4922-526: The Austin suburb of Georgetown , and the state baseball tournament is held at Dell Diamond in another Austin suburb, Round Rock . The state softball tournament is held at Red and Charline McCombs Field on the UT Austin campus. The state cross-country meet is held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The state wrestling tournament is held at the Berry Center in Houston. The Conference 5A state golf tournament

5029-649: The Debating League of Texas High Schools (to govern debating contests) and the Interscholastic Athletic Association (to govern athletic contests). The two entities merged in 1913 and adopted the UIL name. At the time, UIL governed only white schools in Texas. From 1940 to 1970, an era of racial segregation in Texas, the Prairie View Interscholastic League (PVIL), headquartered at Prairie View A&M University , served as

5136-482: The IndyCar Series did not return to TMS due to an NBC conflict with the 2024 Summer Olympics . In 2000, a CART race was planned for 2001 but was canceled after it was found that drivers could suffer extreme vertical g-loads that could have led to death. The speedway later sued CART for breach of contract and settled for approximately $ 5–7 million, and races scheduled for 2002 and 2003 were canceled. In 2000,

5243-524: The JPII bench together and the TAPPS Executive Director issued an Administrative Red card to the player, overruling the referee in charge of the game. This violated TAPPS section 134 "NO PROTESTS. A protest base on a game or contest official's decision will not be considered" and TAPPS section 27 "...may not protest a contest judge's / referee's or other official's decision". The cause of the controversy

5350-400: The Lone Star Tower overlooks the second turn and is used for condominiums and office space. The Lone Star Tower broke ground in 1996 and completed in early 1998, with the building costing Texas Motor Speedway around $ 25 million in taxes. The first four floors are dedicated for office space, with the rest of the floors being dedicated for condos. Initially, 58 condos were planned to be sold;

5457-534: The SPC) to apply. On October 10, 2010, the Third District Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the UIL operates as a public organization and not a private organization. The ruling clarified that the UIL is legally considered a state agency and must comply with the prerequisites and duties that all other state agencies have. As a state agent, the UIL must treat individuals equally and show the purpose/need as well as

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5564-489: The Southwest Preparatory Conference). Furthermore, private schools must compete at one classification higher than their enrollment would otherwise dictate. UIL schools are permitted to schedule contests with private schools and/or home school groups. Charter schools must participate at no lower than the classification of the smallest high school in the district where the charter school resides; for example,

5671-442: The UIL and invalidated certain UIL rules limiting student eligibility for competitions by providing that UIL rules would only apply to a student enrolled in the public school. The UIL no longer has the authority to determine the eligibility of charter/home/private school students. All students must abide by the state No Pass No Play law. Only students that are enrolled in a public school must abide by UIL eligibility rules, even if

5778-556: The UIL has not adopted an "amateur rule.” Thus, students who have acted or performed professionally or who have written for a local newspaper may still compete in UIL-sanctioned contests provided they are otherwise eligible. In addition to academic and athletic competitions, UIL also organizes various public speaking and debate events such as cross-examination debate , congressional debate , prose , poetry , extemporaneous speaking , and Lincoln-Douglas debate . Speech & Debate

5885-503: The activity is not a UIL event. Activities for most Texas private schools are governed by separate bodies, the largest of which is TAPPS. However, private schools are allowed to join the UIL only if 1) they meet UIL's definition of a high school, 2) they are accredited by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, and 3) they are ineligible for membership in any league similar to UIL (such as TAPPS or

5992-591: The alphabetic designations. The general guideline is that the UIL desires between 220 and 245 schools in Conference AAAAAA, at least 200 schools in Conferences AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA with the grades 9–12 enrollment ratio for those classes no greater than 2.0 between the largest and smallest school in each class. In addition, for football participation, a school whose enrollment is at or below 104.5 students may choose to play either six-man football (which, as of

6099-499: The area contest is dependent on the number of bands receiving the required ratings at the region contest. If less than 9 bands advance to area, one round of competition is held, with either the top 2 bands (in 5A and 6A) or the top 3 bands (in 4A and lower) advancing to state. If more than 9 bands are to participate at area, a preliminary and final round are conducted, with the number of bands advancing to finals determined by contest size. The number of bands that advance to state from finals

6206-485: The campus of The University of Texas at Austin, with the exception of Spirit/Cheer State Championship (Arlington, Texas), One-Act Play + Theatrical Design State Championships (Round Rock ISD Performing Arts Center) and UIL Young Filmmakers State Contest ( Majestic Theatre - San Antonio, TX). The Student Congress state contest is typically held in the State Capitol Building. For fine arts and journalism contests,

6313-499: The capacity quickly grew in the initial planning stages; when Bruton requested that 5,000 seats be added, Gossage obliged. According to Gossage, "the next day he’d put in a change order for 5,000 more seats. And then a few days or a week later, he’d say, ‘Do you think you could sell 80 (thousand)?’ I’d say, ‘Oh, piece of cake.' And then one day I looked and we were at 155,000 seats and I told Bruton we’ve got to stop doing this." Groundbreaking on TMS took place on April 11, 1995. Gossage

6420-411: The coming years, the track faced a slew of issues; the 1973 oil crisis halted any major racing for nearly three years. Although NASCAR eventually returned in 1979, heading into the 1980s, the track faced a lack of stable and modern infrastructure along with attendance issues. NASCAR left in 1981, with its president Bill France Jr. citing a poor track surface and amenities. USAC also left the track in

6527-409: The construction of Big Hoss TV , which when constructed, was set to become the biggest HD screen in the world. As a result of its construction, backstretch grandstands that numbered to around 10,000 seats were demolished. The video screen was completed in March 2014 and was officially certified by Guinness World Records as the largest HD television LED screen in the world. In 2023, TMS announced that

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6634-528: The current member schools of TAPPS will not be biased against your school, based on the fundamental difference in your religion and Christianity, since about 90% of TAPPS schools embrace Christianity?" In response the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas stated that TAPPS should be investigated. In 2010, Iman Academy Southwest , another Muslim school in Houston, submitted an application to join TAPPS. TAPPS responded by asking Iman to complete

6741-517: The duo met businessman Ross Perot Jr. and flew in Perot's helicopter to scout a piece of land that was owned by Perot. The land impressed the duo, and by November 30, the Star-Telegram reported that the two were planning to build a 150,000-capacity speedway at a cost of around $ 75,000,000 (adjusted for inflation, $ 154,176,022). Originally, the speedway was set to have a capacity of 70,000 seats. However,

6848-562: The first progression to the state championship. Schools are further broken down with a letter classification to separate them from other schools of varying sizes based on average high school enrollment (single-sex schools have their student population average doubled). The purpose is ensured that schools compete only with others with similar size talent pools and resources. Due to the wide variety of sports that some schools do and do not offer, and because some schools are single-sex, TAPPS uses several different classifications for sports (generally

6955-475: The following: The UIL One-Act Play contest is a competition where similarly sized Texas schools present an 18-40 minute play and may be adjudicated by a panel of three judges or a single judge. The contest is held on a single day and open to the public. There are five possible levels of competition: District, Bi-District, Area, Region, and State. At each level of competition a judge awards individual acting awards as well as selecting three productions to advance to

7062-415: The larger the number the larger the school): Source: Texas Motor Speedway As of 2021, the track has a capacity of 75,000. Alongside the main track, Texas Motor Speedway features an infield road course with four layouts alongside two adjacent tracks, including a 0.200 mi (0.322 km) paved short track and a 0.400 mi (0.644 km) dirt track. TMS features numerous amenities, including

7169-442: The latter encompassing all schools not meeting the Conference 6A enrollment requirements. Within each conference, the UIL separates the schools into regions, and then further separates the regions into districts for various contests. The districts are numbered from 1 (in far west Texas) to 32 (in south Texas). There are always 32 districts in Conference 6A and Conference 5A, but the smaller conferences may have numbers skipped based on

7276-502: The leadership of Faber, Faber promised for better relations with the city of Fort Worth, with Faber claiming that a "pain point" was Gossage putting "No Limits, Texas" on the outside wall instead of the actual city's name. Faber also announced the creation of the "No Limits Next" project, aimed at renovating the track and expanding Big Hoss TV. The speedway also ended the tradition of victors firing six-shooters in victory lane under Faber's leadership. By July 2023, Faber also confirmed that

7383-508: The league. Iman SW did not appeal the decision. As of 2024, the Islamic private school Brighter Horizons Academy is a full member of TAPPS, competing in TAPPS 5A. In 2012, TAPPS came under harsh criticism after it refused to reschedule a semifinals basketball game scheduled for 9 p.m. on Friday March 2 despite the fact that Robert M. Beren Academy , an Orthodox Jewish school, asked that its players not play on Jewish Sabbath . The school had won

7490-437: The name "Texas Motor Speedway". Gossage and Bruton countersued on September 9, claiming that majority owner Jack Holland was trying to "squeeze and extort money" from them. As a result, the speedway changed its name to "Texas International Raceway" on September 11. Although litigation was expected to take years, on December 2, the dispute was settled out of court. With the settlement, the dirt track agreed to change its name, with

7597-609: The next level of competition up to the Regional Level where only two will advance to the State Level. After the awards are announced a Judge gives an oral critique to each of the schools. Because of the wide participation and diversity of plays produced certain rules and guidelines have been adopted by the State One-Act Play Office. These rules are in place to ensure safety, allow for equity, satisfy legal standards, and make

7704-412: The next level, except for area & state marching band competition (which use an alternative system). For marching band, schools compete against other schools in the same UIL conference. The 33 regions are grouped into nine areas (named A-I) for Conferences 5A and 6A, and five areas (A-E) for Conference 4A and down. All schools of all conferences compete in region, area, and state competition annually as

7811-467: The number later increased to 76. By the next year, the speedway made efforts to fill up the tower's office space of a combined 100,000 square feet. TMS also announced in 1997 that they were building a members-only Speedway Club overlooking the first turn that was inspired by the club at the Charlotte Motor Speedway . The nine-story club was completed in March 1999 at a cost of $ 35 million, featuring 26,000 square feet of space. In 2013, Gossage announced

7918-429: The number of schools in the conference. No more than 10 schools are permitted in a single district unless all schools and the UIL consent otherwise; the preference is for an even number of schools in each district (6, 8, 10), though in some cases travel issues may prevent such. Previously, schools were permitted to request to be placed in a higher conference than their enrollment would otherwise dictate, usually to play at

8025-459: The oval and the infield road course. The infield road course was completed in August 2000, and has four variations that are mainly used for sports car racing . TMS is served by numerous major roads. It is located at the intersection of Interstate 35W and Texas State Highway 114 to the track's southeast, and Farm to Market Road 156 to the track's west. The intersection has seen criticism since

8132-458: The permission of the school principal and school music director; the student is not required to have advanced from region in another musical contest (or even participated, for that matter). Historically, football championship games have been held at neutral sites mutually agreed upon by both teams, but in 2006, 2007 and 2009, both Conference 5A championship games were played at the Alamodome in San Antonio . Frequent sites for those games included

8239-547: The point where the Texas Catholic Conference called for a review of the association. In 2015, the TAPPS Winter Division 1 Soccer State Championship Game was stopped by Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) coaches and Athletic Director to protest a yellow card that was issued by the referee to a John Paul II player. The TCA AD left the field of play and met with the TAPPS Executive Director. They walked back to

8346-638: The racing surface width was 58 feet. When the track was initially constructed, it had a dual-banking system, with a high bank of 24 degrees and a low bank of eight degrees in the turns. Disputes over the track's length exist; the IndyCar Series have at times utilized two lengths: one at 1.455 mi (2.342 km) and one at 1.44 mi (2.32 km). However, these measurements have been disputed as an "error" by former longtime track general manager Eddie Gossage . In 1999, track developers announced plans to build an infield road course that would utilize both

8453-488: The regional championship to advance for their first trip to the semi-finals. An appeal was made by Beren Academy but denied by TAPPS under its bylaws set in the 1970s. TAPPS received legal pressure and pressure from Mayor Annise Parker of Houston as well as hundreds of letters. TAPPS eventually relented and allowed the game to be rescheduled under this pressure. The controversies with the Muslim schools and Beren drew attention to

8560-471: The repave was viewed neutrally by IndyCar drivers, and NASCAR drivers were recorded to be more optimistic about the repave. Throughout the late 2010s, TMS oversaw continuous decline. In November 2019, Gossage made calls to "modernize" the speedway, including decreasing capacity from 135,000 to a range from 80,000 to 90,000, along with better internet services, a wider concession variety, and more suites. In 2020, as an attempt by Marcus to increase attendance at

8667-503: The running of the contest practical. In musical competitions, schools are aligned into 33 regions (the regions themselves are set not by the UIL, but by the Texas Music Educators Association ). Schools of all sizes are grouped into a region. in general, advancement within musical competition is not based on direct competition against other schools. Instead, musicians are compared against an established rubric (this

8774-544: The schools were in neighboring districts. In Conference 6A, the top four teams from each district are eligible for the playoffs. The two eligible teams with the highest student enrollment for its district are seeded in the Division I playoff bracket, and the remaining two teams (with the lower enrollment) are seeded in the Division II playoff bracket. This method is supposed to prevent matchups between large and small schools within

8881-466: The screen was to be expanded by 10%. TMS' complex has two adjacent tracks. In May 1998, the speedway opened Lil' Texas Motor Speedway, a 1 ⁄ 5 mile (0.32 km) paved short track that hosts various divisions of local short track racing, primarily legends cars and bandoleros . In August 1999, Gossage announced plans of a new 2 ⁄ 5 mile (0.64 km) dirt track to the main track's east that could seat 13,007. The $ 8 million track

8988-497: The series in 2018, this time as the season finale of that year. In 2017, TMS hosted a Stadium Super Trucks event as a support event for the June weekend's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and IndyCar Series doubleheader. The series raced at the speedway annually until 2019. The speedway has held numerous festivals throughout its history, with some festivals having a recorded attendance of 250,000 people or more. In 1997, days after

9095-472: The six-man games were played at Abilene. In 2013, the six-man games moved to AT&T Stadium as well. In 2015 the 11-man championships were played at NRG Stadium in Houston due to a conflict with a Dallas Cowboys - New York Jets game, while the six-man title games returned to Shotwell. All championship games returned to AT&T Stadium in 2016. The state semifinal and championship games for all five classes in boys and girls basketball were previously held at

9202-489: The speedway able to retain the "Texas Motor Speedway" name. TMS oversaw a turbulent period in its early years; particularly 1997, the track's first year of racing. In its first major race, the 1997 Interstate Batteries 500 , heavy rain plagued the race's weekend, causing qualifying to be cancelled and the grass parking lots of the speedway to be heavily soaked. While the parking issue was resolved by using busses, further issues were raised when drivers started to complain about

9309-475: The speedway and Marcus Smith were looking at repaving the track by using iRacing simulations. As of 2024, TMS holds one annual NASCAR Cup Series event: the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 . From 2005 to 2022, TMS held two Cup Series races: one in the fall and one in the spring. Until 2023, the spring race had run annually in at least some form; in 2021, its points race was transferred to

9416-485: The speedway would place a bigger emphasis on technology, including releasing NFTs and experimenting with augmented reality . He also expressed a desire to increase fan diversity, specifically with Hispanics. In September, NASCAR announced that the NASCAR All-Star Race was set to return to the speedway in 2022. In 2022, the track oversaw controversies in both of its NASCAR races along with general criticism for

9523-537: The speedway, he moved the NASCAR All-Star Race from its traditional home at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to Texas, a move that saw criticism in the coming years. By 2020, Gossage was in talks with Marcus on retiring from his position, stating that he had grown upset at the IndyCar racing product on the newly-reconfigured track and consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic. By December, he confirmed his decision to retire to Marcus, officially announcing his retirement in

9630-409: The state event is not a competition but an educational event. In solo & small ensemble competition, held in the spring semester, conference alignments are disregarded. Advancement in solo and small ensemble competition is from region to state, and at state the top two soloists and top ensemble are awarded medals. Individual performers may be given Outstanding Performer awards. However, advancement

9737-422: The surface of the race track, leading to a major first lap pileup. Two months later, the speedway held its first IndyCar Series race; a scoring dispute between Billy Boat and Arie Luyendyk occurred when Luyendyk disputed the victory that was initially given to Boat. As Boat and his team owner, A. J. Foyt were celebrating, Luyendyk went to victory lane to dispute the victory, demanding officials explain why he

9844-572: The top three District medalists plus the first place District team advance to Region. Likewise, the top three Region medalists plus the first place Region team advance to State competition. Furthermore, the highest-scoring second place team in each Region at District competition advances to Region as a Wild Card, and the highest scoring second place Region team advances to State as a Wild Card. In Computer Applications, all Journalism events, all Speech & Debate events, and Ready Writing, no team component, and therefore no wild cards, exist. Exceptions include

9951-435: The top three teams are eligible. For baseball and softball, at all levels except the state tournament, playoff rounds are best 2-of-3 only if both coaches agree; if they do not then the coaches flip a coin to decide the format of the playoff (single game or two out of three series). At the state tournament both the semifinals and finals are single-game format. Advancement varies significantly by event. In most Academic events,

10058-464: The track featured a capacity of 155,061 with a frontstretch grandstand capacity of 120,000, an infield capacity of 53,000, the world record for the amount of toilets at a facility with 2,450 toilets, 67,000 parking spaces for cars and RVs, 194 suites, and a 23-acre lake, with the entire complex of approximately 1,000 acres itself having more than 60 buildings. Numerous buildings on the site's property serve for business purposes. A 10-story building named

10165-522: The track hosted FortyFest , a Christian rock music festival. In 2023, the track hosted a second location of the HWY30 Music Fest , a country music festival that originated from Filer, Idaho . The track is scheduled to host the event again in 2024. Since 1998, TMS has held the Solar Car Challenge , a solar-powered car race for high school students. In odd-numbered years, the track is used as

10272-428: The track in the short-term, sharing the opinions of drivers Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards . However, under the direction of SMI CEO Marcus Smith , the track announced the commencement of a repave in response to the drying issues. With the repave, the banking in the first two turns were decreased from 24 to 20 degrees, and the racing surface was expanded from 60 to 80 feet. In a 2017 Dallas Morning News article,

10379-422: The track sought to hold its first CART race; however, after a culmination of events that occurred over the course of several months, the race was cancelled after it was found that drivers could suffer extreme vertical g -loads in the track's turns that could have led to death. The track was later repaved that same year to remove any bumps from the racing surface, with Gossage stating in an interview that to maintain

10486-433: The track's IRL race, the speedway held a two-day country music festival titled Country Fest , attracting 260,000 people. A week later, the speedway held RockFest '97, a rock music festival that attracted around 400,000 people. The latter was described by then-general manager Eddie Gossage as "the worst day of my life", who stated that the festival was extremely chaotic. After 1997, TMS has held fewer festivals. In 2010,

10593-467: The track's construction; in 2010, Denton County officials announced the widening of Highway 114 in response to traffic within the area. As of 2021, TMS has a reported capacity of 75,000 according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram . TMS' track complex covers 1,500 acres according to the Star-Telegram . At the time of TMS' opening, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in March 1997 that

10700-647: The track, they needed to repave it every couple of years. By the early 2000s, problems with the track declined. TMS oversaw some of the biggest attended NASCAR races in history; races in 1999 and 2000 saw major success, with attendances of 221,861 and 223,000 people, respectively. In 2002, Francis Ferko, a minority shareholder in SMI, filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and the International Speedway Corporation for violating antitrust laws, feeling as if SMI did not do enough to protect his investment. A settlement

10807-510: The world's largest HD video screen, a Speedway Club overlooking the first turn, and a 10-story building dedicated for office space and condominiums . Following the decline of the Texas World Speedway that began in the 1980s, the state of Texas found itself without a major racetrack and races for more than a decade. In the early 1990s, the newly incorporated and rising Speedway Motorsports and its founder, Bruton Smith , sought to build

10914-481: Was chartered in 1978 with a membership of 20 schools. As of 2022, TAPPS lists their school membership at 230 with a combined enrollment of over 40,000 students. As early as 2013, TAPPS was using a proprietary software called TAPPSter to provide schools with online management tools for athletics and fine arts departments. In 2019, TAPPS signed a State Management contract with Rank One to serve schedules and game results to schools in their membership. In 2004, Darul Arqam ,

11021-453: Was eventually reached in 2004, which guaranteed a second NASCAR race weekend for Texas at the cost of one of Rockingham Speedway 's weekends. The settlement was enforced in 2005. TMS became known for its promotions and stunts directed by Gossage. Gossage, who self-remarked himself as the last "old-school" promoters, conducted numerous promotions that were inspired by promoters such as Humpy Wheeler , who Gossage had formerly worked under at

11128-434: Was later asked to run the facility in late May, which he accepted. According to the duo, the track was inspired by previous tracks Smith owned, with Smith wanting to incorporate the best ideas from those tracks and combine them into the construction of TMS. The speedway initially implemented a dual-banked surface to accompany both NASCAR and open-wheel racing ; a higher bank of 24 degrees meant to accommodate stock cars, and

11235-436: Was scored as one lap short and demanding that he be given the victory. Foyt proceeded to slap Luyendyk on the back of the head and pushed him to the ground before being separated by security. Luyendyk was given the victory the next day after a scoring recheck. After both races in 1997, Gossage announced that the speedway would reprofile the fourth turn. Complaints about the turn lasted into 1998, with drivers complaining about

11342-525: Was scouting the same land as the duo; under the orders of Smith, the two stopped scouting Las Vegas to let Engelstad scout the land that later became the Las Vegas Motor Speedway . By November 18, 1994, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Smith and Gossage had made their final choices in either of the two remaining places. In St. Louis, the duo saw numerous pieces of land that were flooded, and scratched off St. Louis. In Dallas–Fort Worth,

11449-447: Was that after scoring a goal to go up 1-0 with 32 minutes left in the game the player removed his jersey on the way to the bench and was issued a yellow card for this unsportsmanlike behavior. JPII was forced to play 10 v 11 for the remainder of the game and lost 1-2. Like the UIL , TAPPS aligns member schools into districts by geography and enrollment size for various contests. Each contest has

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