Almost 20 years later, Gossage is still working for Wheeler, but the boss keeps him on the other side of the Mississippi River. Gossage has become the face of the Texas Motor Speedway. Speedway Motorsports Inc. has a reputation for outspoken promoters, and Gossage is no exception.

What makes him special? Gossage is always keeping his track in the news. Attempts to sell tickets for the Samsung 500 were made by using catchy, driver based slogans on billboards around the state of Texas. One featured Dale Earnhardt Jr with the message “reason #88: step mom,” which sparked controversy within the Earnhardt family. The billboard was removed after significant media coverage and replaced with a the slogan “new car smell.”

Gossage also volunteered to pay a sum of $15,000 for a helmet thrown in a race. His off the wall comment wasn’t taken seriously by most competitors, but TMS was in the news again and the prank is mentioned every time a driver loses his cool.

Will he throw the helmet? Eddie Gossage will pay 15 large for it!

TMS is known for speed, but it’s by no means the best racing in NASCAR. The track has character in its unique bumps and the always treacherous turn two wall, but the 1.5 mile cookie cutter is unoriginal and oftentimes boring to watch. Regardless, Gossage continues to fill the stands twice a year for a Cup weekend and the Craftsman Truck/IRL stand alone weekend.

Instead of advertising the racing, campaigns are centered around the Texas culture. Victory lane celebrations are sure to include guns and cowboy hats. TMS gets two 500 mile races a year, with one being in prime time and in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Big time sponsors litter the infield grass and asphalt front stretch. Yes, everything is bigger in Texas if Gossage is involved.

TMS isn’t unique in shape or style of racing, but somehow the fans turn out. They’re loud and happy to be watching racing. NASCAR is lucky to have the venue. It’s a rarity for anyone to care about stock car racing out west (especially when out west is considered anywhere past the Mississippi for NASCAR).