Monthly Archives: March 2017

Reader applauds space exploration pioneers – Fairfaxtimes.com

Posted: March 4, 2017 at 1:29 am

Dear Editor,

I welcome the news that the Smithsonian Institution will be sending the Apollo 11 command module Columbia on a four-city tour under the title Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission (Fairfax County Times, The history of space travel encapsulated). Our manned and unmanned space exploration programs have set the pace of discovery for decades and achieved remarkable scientific breakthroughs that continue to have countless practical applications in science, engineering, medicine, and follow-on manned space missions.

Nonetheless, without the site survey of NASAs unmanned Lunar Orbiter program (1966-1967) that identified Tranquility Base where Neil Armstrong landed the Apollo 11 lunar lander, there might not have been so many successful manned missions to the Moons surface. Lunar Orbiter reconnaissance missions identified other landing sites as well, making site selection much more accurate and reliable than Earth-based telescopic imaging could. They made possible subsequent landings in more mountainous areas.

I was an active participant in the Lunar Orbiter and Apollo programs (1967-1970) and researched and wrote a history for the NASA Historians Office. In 1977 NASA Headquarters published my book Destination Moon: A History of the Lunar Orbiter Program (NASA TM X-3487) that is available to read on NASAs website at https://history.nasa.gov/TM-3487.

NASAs Langley Research Center in Langley, Virginia managed the program and had five successful orbital missions for five attempts one of the best records of any unmanned program. Following this success Langley managed the 1976 Mars Viking program using much of the technology and experience from Lunar Orbiter.

In preparing for their missions Apollo astronauts studied the detailed photographs that Lunar Orbiters sent back to Earth. Resolution of lunar surface details through the Orbiters 610mm telephoto camera defined details down to one meter in size. Repeated orbital passes over specific target areas made possible stereoscopic pictures of surface features and landing sites that were used in landing simulations by the astronauts.

On August 23, 1966 Lunar Orbiter I took the very first image of the Earth from orbit above the Moon. On August 8, 1967 Lunar Orbiter V photographed the nearly full Earth from polar orbit. These and thousands of other images of the lunar surface, including the dark side of the Moon gave scientists and the public their first true views of the entire surface of Earths natural satellite.

In recent years the original Lunar Orbiter images have been digitized and cleaned up for use in possible future astronaut missions to the Moon. There has been no other orbital survey of the Moon that offers such high quality detail of its surface features.

Bruce K. Byers

Reston

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Teachers attend space exploration conference, bring back lessons out of this world – Arlington Times

Posted: at 1:29 am

ARLINGTON Instructors use some fun ways to teach Earth-based sciences that bring out the natural curiosity in students.

But take those same fields of inquiry into orbit, then let student groups build a tabletop Mars colony project, and their imagination takes flight. After all, the basic science principles are the same whether you apply and test them here on terra firma, or in space. Space is just pun intended cooler.

Two Arlington science teachers are over the moon after attending the Space Exploration Educators Conference at Houston Space Center. They returned with a galaxy of ideas sure to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers among their students.

Rachel Harrington, sixth-grade science and seventh-grade math teacher at Haller Middle School, and Angie Kyle, a seventh- and eighth-grade STEM teacher at Post Middle School, said the resources they gained were amazing.

It ignites the passion you had when you were a first-year teacher, and thats enough to move mountains with these kids, Harrington said. Youre excited and thrilled to bring this back and inspire kids to do something bigger than their wildest dreams.

Moreover, she added, Youre surrounded by other like-minded educators who also want to inspire future leaders.

Educators from around the globe participated in the annual event at NASAs Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston for three days in February. The conference welcomed teachers from 41 states and nine countries, including Canada, India, Japan and the Philippines.

The conference included seminars, hands-on activities, tours and guest speakers. The hosts used space exploration initiatives and the latest information about the International Space Program to boost teachers skills in presenting science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, lessons, in ways that inspire students.

Both Kyle and Harrington have found over time that whenever space science is part of the lesson plan, it gets the students attention.

All the science conducted on the International Space Station connects to all the science we do in middle school, whether growing plants or looking at the impacts of how human systems respond in different environments, Kyle said.

Before Kyle left for the conference to be a pretend astronaut, the class talked about getting a greenhouse. Classroom budgets being tight, she encouraged students to come up with their own proposal. When she returned, the students came up with three inexpensive proposals that used PVC pipe and tarps they just might have a greenhouse before the school-year ends.

For both teachers, this was their first trip the Houston Space Center, but Harrington attended a Honeywell space conference a couple of years ago.

While at the conference, they saw Historic Mission Control Center as well as the space stations flight control room, including stories of what happened during the Apollo days. They also touched moon rocks. Space Center Houston has the worlds largest collection for public view, and more than 400 space artifacts. Their teacher team also successfully designed a Mars rover with mouse traps.

They took their turn in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, an astronaut training facility operated by NASA near the Johnson Space Center. Their team performed simulated tasks in preparation for an upcoming mission, wearing suits designed to provide neutral buoyancy to simulate the microgravity that astronauts feel during space flight.

A highlight of the visit was meeting astronaut Nicole Stott, a keynote speaker who talked about art in space education. Stott said when growing up nobody told her she could be an astronaut. She went ahead and did it anyway, becoming an engineer first.

Matt Green, James Webb Space Telescope senior staff project scientist, gave a mind-bending presentation on the design and construction of the scope scheduled for completion in 2018. The telescope is expected to see galaxies formed 13.5 billion years ago, at the point when stars and galaxies began to form.

While in Houston, they were able to meet with the planning lead on the NASA Orion Mission, the next generation spacecraft that will carry astronauts to an asteroid, Mars and eventually deep space. Harrington had arranged for her students previously to talk with that person via Skype. She had time to meet with Harrington and Kyle at the conference, but was on her way to meet with the European Space Agency about the project.

A challenging workshop that Harrington and Kyle attended was one that involved working to design a heat shield from common materials. This was an activity the teachers were able to bring back as a classroom assignment, using materials to protect an egg from a blow torch.

The teachers have more experiments in store. For example, studying slingshot maneuvers around a planet, using magnets to mimic gravity. Designing a better space toilet, and creating a urine purification system to make the fluid potable.

Kids love gross-out science, Kyle said, jokingly.

Growing tomatoes from seeds and observing their growth to learn more about photosynthesis is a common science project. Add a few seeds in the mix that took a ride in the International Space Station and study the differences now thats a science project.

The students wont know which of their seeds are more earthly and which are from the space station until they start observing them once they are planted, Harrington said.

Thats the fun of inquiry for the students. They need to report back to the program the effects of space on plants.

Harrington likes to remind students that learning never ends.

I tell them that you need to do it for yourself, always personally and professionally, she said. I am constantly searching for ways to grow myself. They should be doing that every day, too, outside the confines of these four walls and fifty-three minutes.

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Teachers attend space exploration conference, bring back lessons out of this world - Arlington Times

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Reviving Frozen Organs: Nanotech May Pave the Way – Live Science

Posted: at 1:29 am

Frozen organs could be brought back to life safely one day with the aid of nanotechnology, a new study finds. The development could help make donated organs available for virtually everyone who needs them in the future, the researchers say.

The number of donated organs that could be transplanted into patients could increase greatly if there were a way to freeze and reheat organs without damaging the cells within them.

In the new work, scientists developed a way to safely thaw frozen tissues with the aid of nanoparticles particles only nanometers or billionths of a meter wide. (In comparison, the average human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide.) [9 Most Interesting Transplants]

The researchers manufactured silica-coated nanoparticles that contained iron oxide. When they applied a magnetic field to frozen tissues suffused with the nanoparticles, the nanoparticles generated heat rapidly and uniformly. The tissue samples warmed up at rates of up to more than 260 degrees Fahrenheit (130 degrees Celsius) per minute, which is 10 to 100 times faster than previous methods.

The scientists tested their method on frozen human skin cells, segments of pig heart valves and sections of pig arteries. None of the rewarmed tissues displayed signs of harm from the heating process, and they preserved key physical properties such as elasticity. Moreover, the researchers were able to wash away the nanoparticles from the sample after thawing.

Previous research successfully thawed tiny biological samples that were only 1 to 3 milliliters in volume. This new technique works for samples that are up to 50 milliliters in size. The researchers said there is a strong possibility they could scale up their technique to even larger systems, such as organs.

"We are at the level of rabbit organs now," said study senior author John Bischof, a mechanical and biomedical engineer at the University of Minnesota. "We have a way to go for human organs, but nothing seems to preclude us from that."

However, this research will likely not make it possible to return frozen heads back to life anytime soon, if ever, the scientists noted.

Since the first successful kidney transplant in 1954, organ transplantation has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients. If it weren't for the large and growing shortage of donor organs, the life-saving procedure might help even more people. According to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, more than 120,000 patients are currently on organ-transplant waitlists in the United States, and at least 1 in 5 patients on these waitlists die waiting for an organ that they never receive.

Right now, the majority of organs that could potentially be used for transplants are discarded, in large part because they can only be safely preserved for 4 to 36 hours. If only half the hearts and lungs that are discarded were successfully transplanted, the waitlists for those organs could be eliminated in two to three years, according to the Organ Preservation Alliance.

One way to save donated organs for transplantation is to freeze them. Ice crystals that can damage cells typically form during freezing, but in prior work, researchers have found a technique known as vitrification which involves flooding biological specimens with antifreeze-like compounds that could help cool down organs to stave off decay, while also preventing the formation of ice crystals.

Unfortunately, ice crystals can also form during the reheating process. Moreover, if thawing is not uniform across samples, fracturing or cracking may occur. Although scientists had developed methods to safely use freezing-cold temperatures to "cryopreserve" tissues and organs, they had not yet developed a way to safely reheat them. [5 Amazing Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Biotech]

In future research, scientists will attempt to transplant thawed tissues into living animals to see how well they do. "From my perspective and my collaborators' perspective, there is no reason why that should not work," Bischof told Live Science.

However, the researchers stressed that it was unlikely these findings would apply to the controversial field of cryonics, which seeks to freeze patients or their brains in the hope that future scientists will find a way to safely revive people. "There are huge scientific hurdles ahead of us, and it's rather premature to get into rewarming a whole person," Bischof said.

"Even if you preserved the whole body, the chances that neural pathways established during life were maintained during and after cryopreservation are probably remote," said study co-author Kelvin Brockbank, chief executive officer of Tissue Testing Technologies in North Charleston, South Carolina. "I don't think we'll see success for rewarming whole bodies within the next hundred years."

The scientists detailed their findings online March 1 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Original article on Live Science.

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Nanotech incubation centre inaugurated – NYOOOZ

Posted: at 1:29 am

Harkesh Mittal (left), advisor and head of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, inaugurates the PSG Nanotech Research, Innovation and Incubation Centre in Coimbatore on Monday. L. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee of PSG Sons and Charities is seen in the picture . | Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan With efforts to encourage commercial production of innovative products in areas such as biotechnology, internet of things, and nano technology, about 30 % companies at the technology business incubators in the country are in such high-end technologies, Harkesh Mittal, advisor and head of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), told presspersons here on Monday. He inaugurated here the PSG Nanotech Research, Innovation, and Incubation Centre, which is a collaboration of the PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, PSG College of Technology, and PSG-STEP and is supported by the NSTEDB. This is the only incubation centre so far for nano technology and it will focus on smart textiles, healthcare, renewable energy, and plastic electronics. The area of nano technology is new and lot of research is happening in this field. There is a need for transfer of technology, taking ideas to the market. The incubator will support such an effort, he said. The NSTEDB aims to start 20 new technology business incubators every year in different verticals. There are 110 technology business incubators in the country and 50 of these give seed support to the incubatees. The NSTEDB gives ?10 crore to each of these incubators and the amount is disbursed as loan or equity in two to three years. The National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations was launched last year. Under this initiative, an incubator gets seed support, has the scope to upscale, and will get support to covert ideas into prototypes. PSG STEP will launch shortly an entrepreneurial residential programme. It is among the 10 incubators in the country that will offer fellowship for a year to students who are entrepreneurs. A student can receive up to ?30,000 a month. E...

News Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/nanotech-incubation-centre-inaugurated/article17381285.ece

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Ti-Nanotech Acquired by Defense Industry Veteran Kevin Ruelas – PR Web (press release)

Posted: at 1:29 am

SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) March 02, 2017

Defense industry veteran Kevin Ruelas and his team announce the acquisition of Ti-Nanotech, formerly known as Crista Chemical Company. Ti-Nanotech will join Syndetix, Inc., under the umbrella of the newly formed Defense and Government Solutions (DGS).

Were thrilled to bring Ti-Nanotechs advanced and patented technology to our customers in the defense and law enforcement sectors, stated DGS and Ti-Nanotech CEO Ruelas. By bringing Ti-Nanotech together with Syndetix under DGS, we see opportunities for growth in sectors where material strength and reliability are paramount, including aerospace and commercial products such as batteries, medical devices and military hardware.

Ti-Nanotech began as Cristal Chemical Company in 1999, focused on finding a non-toxic replacement for cadmium plating. They sought to do this without compromising strength, adding weight or creating corrosion issues. The solution was titanium plating for end products, which has applications in a variety of sectors including defense, commercial, aerospace and automotive.

Since then, the company has earned a reputation as a thought-leader in titanium coating. Titanium can be stronger than steel while being much lighter with the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal. It is also non-toxic and one of the only metals able to be put inside humans. Ti-Nanotechs patented technology makes titanium coating possible for a wide variety of industries including armored shields, reinforced consumer products such as medical devices and the growing field of next-generation batteries.

Ti-Nanotech will join Syndetix Inc., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business and technology developer for the defense and law enforcement industries, under the umbrella of the newly formed DGS. With established contacts and customers in the defense and law enforcement sectors, DGS will introduce Ti-Nanotechs technologies to new audiences. With the formation of DGS both companies will be able to expand by reaching new customers leveraging their technology and service offerings including the aerospace industry and medical device manufacturers.

About DGS Formed in 2016, Defense and Government Solutions (DGS) and its holdings serve clients in the defense, law enforcement and commercial sectors. Its main holdings include Ti-Nanotech, focused on titanium electromagnetic plating for end products, and Syndetix, a technology company focused on designing, engineering and building technologies for international and domestic security forces. DGS is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business based in Las Cruces, N.M.

About Ti-Nanotech Since 1999, Ti-Nanotech has been in industry leader in titanium plating for end products. From the defense sector, to the aerospace industry and even the medical device field, Ti-Nanotechs titanium electromagnetic plating process can be applied to a variety of end products. Ti-Nanotech is a defense and government solutions company based in San Diego.

About Syndetix Since 1985, Syndetix, Inc. has been designing, engineering and building technologies that protect those who protect us. Founded as a technology spinoff from New Mexico State Universitys Physical Science Laboratory, Syndetix, Inc. provides high-caliber design and engineering services for the Department of Defense, Department of Justice and civilian markets to enable mission critical success.

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Tim Ferriss on suffering, psychedelics, and spirituality – Vox

Posted: at 1:28 am

Tim Ferriss is the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, as well as the new book Tools of Titans. Hes also the host of The Tim Ferriss Show, which is one of my favorite podcasts.

Tim is a relentless optimizer, and on his program he interviews fascinating people to discover how they work, think, and get things done. Its a show about the secrets of high performers.

Here, I ask Tim about basically the reverse of that. How does he think about the parts of his life that, though crucial, are harder to optimize and systematize? We discuss friendship, love, psychedelics, spirituality, death, health, and whether its possible to get too addicted to productivity hacks (spoiler: it is). This is a discussion, in other words, about much of what makes life worth living, and it left me with a lot to think about.

You can listen to our conversation by subscribing to my podcast, The Ezra Klein Show, on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your fine audio programming. Or you can stream it off SoundCloud.

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Nootropedia Launches Flagship Brain Conference – Benzinga

Posted: at 1:27 am

Today, Nootropedia, LLC, a web portal for nootropics, cognitive enhancement, and optimizing mental performance, launches their flagship brain conference called the Brain Optimization Summit. After reaching tens of thousands of readers for 6 months, Nootropedia is finally preparing their first live event.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) March 03, 2017

Today, Nootropedia, LLC, a web portal for nootropics, cognitive enhancement, and optimizing mental performance, launches their flagship brain conference called the Brain Optimization Summit. After reaching tens of thousands of readers for 6 months, Nootropedia is finally preparing their first live event.

The conference includes speakers like Daniel Schmachtenberger, the founder of Neurohacker Collective and Qualia ( https://www.nootropedia.com/qualia/ ) in addition to Smart Drug Smarts host, Jesse Lawler, Ben Greenfield, and numerous others. When asked about the speaker lineup, co-founder and director Mansal Denton said "It's the best balance of doctors, scientists, researchers, and self-experimenters. After this conference, attendees will walk away knowing exactly what can improve their memory, focus, concentration, and general mental performance."

Until now, Nootropedia has provided written and video media on specific nootropic profiles, such as aniracetam ( https://www.nootropedia.com/aniracetam/ ) or adrafinil ( https://www.nootropedia.com/adrafinil/ ) in addition to basic nootropic stacks like L-theanine and caffeine ( https://www.nootropedia.com/a-beginners-nootropic-l-theanine-and-caffeine/ ). While their YouTube and website have flourished, specific posts have garnered more attention.

What has really set Nootropedia apart is rectifying misleading information and dispelling myths, such as the case with the famous Limitless pill ( https://www.nootropedia.com/limitless-pill/ ), which has received media attention from various online outlets.

Before Nootropedia's brain conference, there was no community organized around nootropics and cognitive enhancement where enthusiasts could share, learn, and grow. While online communities, such as Reddit or Longecity, have brought fringe biohackers into dialogue, this summit provides thousands with an opportunity to speak to their favorite experts.

About Nootropedia, LLC: Cognitive enhancement is everyone's right. Nootropedia was founded in Austin, TX in 2016 to make nootropics and smart drugs more accessible. They have quickly become one of the leading resources on nootropics in both written and video formats. Their work has been featured in major media outlets such as Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, Psychology Today, Huffington Post, and even as a resource on Wikipedia. They have produced a free tool, NooTracker, which offers smart drug users an opportunity to self-track cognitive enhancement.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/03/prweb14112698.htm

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Trance Arena: A New Beginning For Trance in Chicago (Event Review) – EDM Chicago (blog)

Posted: at 1:26 am

Chicago is the home of house music, but is it the home of trance?

Apparently this may be the case to some extent, as hundreds of trance-lovers reunited at a packed Concord Music Hall on Friday night to experience a night filled with vivid trance sounds from distinct DJs. On the lineup were ATB, Ben Nicky (who was unable to make it due to a cancelled flight), and Orjan Nilsen, with support from local Chicago DJs Mario Florek, Peter Kontor, and Dave Neven. The 7-hour event was sure to be quite the experience and it absolutely was.

Ill be completely honest trance is not necessarily my cup of tea most times. I do like it; I just never find myself actually seeing trance artists. In the spirit of PLUR, I went to Trance Arena with an open mind and ready to enjoy the event with my trance-loving friends. Im not going to say Im all of a sudden converted to the #trancefam, but I can certainly say Ive found a new appreciation for it. Trance Arena brought the most blissful and salient elements of trance into a more intimate Chicago venue, reuniting trance fans around the city and area.

The opening DJ sets were well-crafted, melodic sets with just the right amount of high energy to get things started. We arrived to a quite crowded Concord as Peter Kontor and Mario Florek went b2b in a groovy trance set that definitely had people excited for the event. The stage was massive, resembling festival stages more than clubs or live show venues. Dave Neven swooped in with an incredible amount of energy and bass to take the crowd even further into the night. This is where I noticed the true power of the sound design put on by React Presents. Orjan Nilsen played a classic trance set, layering in the beautiful melodic sounds found in the most sophisticated of Above & Beyond songs.

Then, ATB absolutely confirmed his timelessness as he performed an incredible set. The predominance of classic trance sound brought me back to the early 2000s, when I was still young and listening to ATB passively, as the German superstars tunes played on MTV and the radio. Seeing the legend for the first time live definitely brought a certain emotion not commonly found in just any Chicago Friday night DJ set. His dropping of Ecstasy towards the beginning of the show set the tone for an amazing night, as the entire crowd sang along to the anthem that is that song. ATB even experimented somewhat with more deep house and techno songs, proving that he will forever live in the trance hall of fame.

We are truly lucky to live in Chicago, a city that celebrates its electronic music culture with innovation and excitement. With organizations like React Presents, who put on an incredible amount of thought and energy into their events, Chicagoans should never have a problem finding an electronic music scene that fits with their taste preferences. Friday night it was trance. Heres to hoping Chicago and its electronic music people dont change, so that we can have more events like Trance Arena to celebrate a wide range of EDM.

Photos via: React Presents

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Trance Arena: A New Beginning For Trance in Chicago (Event Review) - EDM Chicago (blog)

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Smith entered ‘trance’ in captain’s ton – The West Australian

Posted: at 1:26 am

Even by his own lofty standards, Steve Smith knows he had raised the bar when he raised the bat in Pune.

Australian captain Smith has given a frank insight into the "trance" he entered while scoring a century during the first Test against India in Pune.

The second-innings knock of 109 featured several chances, as can be expected on a pitch branded "poor" by the match referee. It had been leadership personified and one of many recent examples of why Smith is regarded so highly.

Aiming to make it six tons from six consecutive Tests against India, Smith said everything clicked and he was "in the zone" during the first Test.

"I was doing things that I probably haven't done before. My eyes were sort of spinning and I was in a bit of a trance," Smith recalled on the eve of the second Test, starting on Saturday in Bangalore.

"I've been there a couple of times in that kind of mindset. For me, it was just such an important period of the game and I knew, if we could get (a lead of) 300 or over that .. we'd be a real good chance to win.

"That afternoon, I was very determined and focused on the job at hand, to try and get as many as we could.

"Hopefully, I can bring that next level and next gear out. It was pleasing to know I had that level in me."

Smith could tick off another important milestone during the 2nd Test. The right-hander needs a further 112 runs to celebrate 5000 Test runs.

If the 27-year-old achieves that tally in his next innings, the 95th of his Test career, it will mean only Don Bradman and Jack Hobbs have reached the milestone in fewer knocks.

Smith's Test batting average in Border-Gavaskar contests stands at 88.83. No player from either country has achieved such a high number, with Ravi Shastri (77.75) and David Boon (70.82) next in line.

Coach Darren Lehmann regarded Smith's recent knock as the best of his 18 Test tons, given the captain batted the top-ranked Test side out of the contest on a raging turner, prepared to suit India's two star spinners.

"I haven't seen him so determined," Lehmann said.

If Smith continues to lead from the front during the four-Test series, it will trigger more debate about where he sits on the list of Australia's greatest batsmen.

Last month, Smith joined Bradman as one of four players to average more than 60 with the bat through 50 Tests.

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A Very Dumb Agreement With Texas Motor Speedway Keeps Racing From The Rest Of The State – Jalopnik

Posted: at 1:23 am

Once again, Texas Motor Speedway track president Eddie Gossagein Fort Worthis being weirdly territorial about the rest of Texas after Austins Circuit of the Americas expressed interest in a series that runs at TMS. Um, do you guys own a map? In any other, smaller state, Fort Worth and Austin would probably be in different states.

COTA chairman Bobby Epstein recently expressed interest in hosting NASCAR. COTA, of course, is a road course instead of an oval like TMS, and its a full three and a half to four hours away by car from TMS.

But nope! NASCAR dates elsewhere in Texasthe second largest state in the countryfall under a regional protection clause in Texas Motor Speedways five-year contract with the series, per Autoweek.

Gossage made short work of reminding everyone that TMS called dibs on NASCAR first to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week:

I dont blame [COTA] for wanting NASCAR races, its just that theyre 20 years too late. I dont think they know the business, or they wouldnt be saying such things.

This is asinine, not to mention pretty condescending. These tracks are 221 miles apart by car, according to Googleand most of those miles are on the Godforsaken hellscape of perpetual construction known as I-35.

To put this spat over Texas race dates in perspective, this is like if Homestead-Miami suddenly got up in arms that Daytona was 287 miles away, or if Martinsville decided those dweebs 173 miles away at Bristol shouldnt get to have a race anymore. (Martinsville and Bristol even race in the same month this year!)

Sure, there are situations where nuisance at a nearby race would be understandable. If you know a race is going to draw people in from all over Texas, dont put the same series back-to-back at TMS and COTA in the same month.

But NASCAR only races at TMS twice a year, allowing plenty of time to sneak in a road course date that would be a welcome addition for many NASCAR fans who want to see more right turns on the schedule. Better yet, NASCARs road course dates attract race fans who dont often come to NASCAR races, which might even convince more people to make the drive up to TMS if they liked what they saw at COTA.

To their credit, TMS puts on a pretty good show whenever Ive been up there, right down to the flame-spewing, car-eating Robosaurus. Thats why I think Gossage needs to heed his own words when he said this to the Star-Telegram:

We have 20 years of history with NASCAR, theres a long history there and our company is one of the biggest clients in the world for NASCAR. This story doesnt concern us.

TMS has been working with NASCAR for ages, which is exactly why any race several hours awaybe it at COTA or somewhere else in the statethats spaced out well away from TMS dates on the calendar shouldnt be a concern at all.

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A Very Dumb Agreement With Texas Motor Speedway Keeps Racing From The Rest Of The State - Jalopnik

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