The June race weekend kicked off Thursday, June 9, 2011 with the Samsung Galaxy Tab Qualifying Day. Plano native James Buescher, whose racing career began at Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway, captured the pole for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 400k. However, Buescher could not pull off the victory Friday evening.
Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Kroger/AMS Chevrolet) picked up his third career victory at Texas Motor Speedway in dramatic fashion during the WinStar World Casino 400k. Hornaday Jr.’s victory was the result of a miscue by Johnny Sauter during the final restart. Sauter violated the NASCAR rule of moving out of your respective lane before reaching the start/finish line on the restart resulting in a black flag.
Hornaday Jr. held off Parker Kligerman in the seventh NASCAR Camping World Truck Series green/white-checkered finish at Texas Motor Speedway. The race also established new track records for the truck series for most leaders (19), lead changes (11) and cautions (10), while also tying the mark for caution laps (46).
Ultimate Drifting presented by Scion and Motegi Racing headlined the Firestone Twin 275s Pre-Race Show Saturday evening, June 11, 2011. Texas Motor Speedway’s pit lane and frontstretch was transformed into a winding course for eight Formula DRIFT drivers as they raced in a non-points competition spectacle free prior to the Firestone Twin 275s IndyCar Series race Saturday evening. Fredric Aasbo, the 2010 Pro Championship Rookie of the Year and winner of the Ultimate Drifting competition, was joined by Michael Essa, Kyle Mohan, Joon Maeng, Tony Brakohiapa, Ken Gushi and Chris Forsberg for a competition in the traditional bracket elimination format.
Ultimate Drifting presented by Scion and Motegi Racing set the ultimate stage for the IndyCar Series race that followed. For the first time in IndyCar Series history and 18th time in American open-wheel history, drivers competed in two individual races in the same evening during the Firestone Twin 275s. Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Huggies Honda) finally secured his first victory at “The Great American Speedway!”™ in dominating fashion. In the opening race, he started on the pole and led 110 of 114 laps for the win to become the seventh IndyCar Series driver to win from the pole at TMS. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon closed in on Frachitti during the final laps, but it wasn’t enough as Franchitti won by 0.0527 of a second – the fourth-closest IndyCar Series finish at Texas Motor Speedway.
The second of the two races of the Firestone Twin 275s provided intrigue as drivers randomly selected their starting position. KV Racing Technology’s Tony Kanaan drew the pole position, but it was Team Penske’s Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Honda) that proved victorious. Power scored his first career oval victory, defeating Scott Dixon by 0.9466 of a second. Power used his third-place starting position to his advantage as he took his first lead on Lap 39 and went on to lead 68 of 114 laps for the win. Power’s win highlighted a dominating race for Team Penske which saw all three drivers finish in the top five with Ryan Briscoe finishing third and Helio Castroneves fourth. It was the seventh victory at Texas Motor Speedway for legendary team owner Roger Penske.
