TMS bids for Olympic event.

Not content with hosting each major US race series in 2001, Texas Motor Speedway has now put itself forward as the site of the first Olympic auto event.

Officials of the committee seeking to bring the 2012 summer Olympic Games to Dallas have announced that they would like to stage an international race at the circuit as a demonstration sport, should the city be awarded the Games. The group has unveiled 33 potential venues that it plans to submit to the United States Olympic Committee later this year and, during a press conference, Dallas 2012 Chairman Tom Luce announced the desire to host the race should the committee's bid be successful.

''We discussed using Texas Motor Speedway as a venue for several Olympic sports during the summer Games, but we all felt it would be best to use it as a motor racing facility,'' said the circuit's general manager Eddie Gossage, who is also a charter member of the Dallas 2012 board. ''Clearly it made the most sense to stage an auto race as one of Dallas 2012's demonstration sports.

''The notion that an international auto race would likely draw the largest crowd since the Olympic Games were founded in ancient Greece was thrilling for everyone involved with Dallas 2012,'' he continued, ''We draw single-day crowds in excess of 200,000 people for auto races here. To have a venue this large could be a big boost to the potential Olympic Games in Dallas.''

Next season, Texas Motor Speedway will become the only racing facility in the U.S. to host every major form of American motorsports. In the meantime, Dallas 2012 has charged Texas Motor Speedway officials with determining the appropriate formula of racing that would most likely draw the interest of top name drivers from the various motorsports disciplines around the world.

''We have already begun consulting with people in the motorsports industry to determine what kind of car would be most appropriate for an even playing field between the Jeff Gordons, Michael Schumachers, Greg Rays and Juan Montoyas of the world,'' Gossage said, ''We will contact the necessary governing bodies in auto racing, and we would hope to have the biggest names from the four corners of the globe participating in the first ever Olympic demonstration sport of auto racing. This project is huge.''

TMS agreed a deal earlier this month that will see the CART series run a night race at the venue, adding to the NASCAR and IRL events already on the circuit's roster.