Eddie Gossage, who manned the position of Track President for Texas Motor Speedway from the track’s opening in 1996 until his retirement in 2021 (25 years) has passed away at the age of 65. Gossage leaves behind his wife Melinda, his two children Jessica and Dustin, his daughter-in-law Lauren, and his three grandchildren Lyra, Evelyn, and Oliver.
Speedway Motorsports, which owns the Texas Motor Speedway confirmed Gossage’s passing with a press release on Thursday evening. The cause of Gossage’s death was not revealed in the release.
“Today we have lost one of the world’s biggest race fans,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith in a statement. “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.”
Prior to being named the Track President of Texas Motor Speedway, Gossage was a prolific promoter in the world of NASCAR. The race promotion that put Gossage on the map and essentially kicked off his legendary 32-year career in the sport was the 1992 NASCAR All-Star Race, then known as The Winston. That race was billed as “One Hot Night.”
That race served as the first-ever night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the success of that event is still talked about to this day.
Sadly, Gossage’s passing comes the day before the start of the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race Weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Whether you agreed with his opinions or not, Gossage’s voice was as large as the state that he eventually called home, and the promoter at heart was never afraid to pull out any and all tricks from his promoter’s playbook to drum up excitement for an event at Texas Motor Speedway, or any track he was put in a position to promote for.
Whether it was setting up a boxing ring on site if a feud had heated up heading into his race weekend, giving young race car drivers their own High School graduation ceremony at the track when they had to miss their official ceremony to race at Texas Motor Speedway, gifting retiring drivers outlandish gifts, or even acquiring taxidermied animals with patches of fur that resembled famous car numbers, Gossage truly did it all.
According to Speedway Motorsports, funeral arrangements for Gossage will be shared at a later date.
