A big weekend of racing awaits at Texas Motor Speedway, marked by a heartfelt homecoming for NASCAR‘s own Jacklyn (Harris) Drake.
The Maypearl, Texas native, will take center stage, co-hosting pre-race festivities for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series alongside Jose Castillo, both of whom will set the tone by entertaining loyal racing fans on the Big Hoss TV for each respective event.
TMS has long been a special facility for Drake and her family, which is why she feels both sentimental and excited for the opportunity to host three consecutive NASCAR events there all on the same weekend.
“It‘s a full circle moment,” Drake said. “Anytime you get to go back to your home track, especially somewhere you started building out your motorsports career, feels surreal.
“I‘m so thankful to Texas Motor Speedway and NASCAR for these opportunities. I don‘t take any of them for granted and love being a part of these weekends.”
Although Maypearl is 70 miles away from TMS‘ location in Fort Worth, Drake‘s family rarely missed an opportunity to see a NASCAR race at one of their state‘s most prestigious track.
Those family trips to TMS acted as a gateway into NASCAR for Drake and her brother Blake Harris, the current Cup Series crew chief for Alex Bowman. With only a handful of short tracks to attend in the state, TMS was the perfect facility for Drake to obtain proper exposure to NASCAR and become enamored with the sport‘s culture.
Watching drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards engage in many thrilling battles for the win contributed to Drake‘s admiration for TMS, along with spending time with her loved ones and interacting with other passionate fans.
“Going out [to TMS], I just relive all those memories I had as a kid,” Drake said. “I celebrated my birthdays in the infield camping out, my parents (Dan and Patricia Harris) even worked the wreckers at one point and I was able to walk the garage and see all the drivers we looked up to. Now, my brother and I both work in NASCAR and these moments are really heartwarming.”
Drake‘s connection to TMS also extends to her time behind the wheel.
During her 13-year driving career, she competed on TMS‘ frontstretch oval and at another track situated outside the complex in her time racing Legend cars. It was during these races that Drake unknowingly crossed paths with her future boyfriend, former Xfinity Series competitor Tanner Berryhill.
Though her driver duties are fewer now, Drake has remained deeply involved in the motorsports community for 12 seasons covering 30-40 races annually through her work as a sports reporter, host and marketing professional for NASCAR, FloRacing and many other endeavors including her co-hosting duties at TMS this weekend.
As she gears up for a busy weekend of hosting duties, Drake is determined to provide fans with an unforgettable experience, showcasing everything that made her fall in love with TMS all those years ago.
The tripleheader weekend at Texas Motor Speedway starts on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250. Following the Truck Series will be the Andy‘s Frozen Custard 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is set to get going on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Cup Series wraps up the on-track festivities with the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
— NASCAR —
