Bruton Smith says he's a man of his word. That's why the millionaire businessman says he intends to hold NASCAR to its word.

What word?

	Bruton Smith thinks Texas Motor Speedway's fast racing and big crowds deserve a second Winston Cup date.

Second. As in a second Winston Cup race date at Smith's Tex's Motor Speedway.

Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports -- which is second to the France/NASCAR-owned International Speedway Corp., in number of Winston Cup facilities -- has long claimed NASCAR promised his facility in Ft. Worth a second date to accompany Sunday's event.

NASCAR, meanwhile, claims it never made the promise.

If you think that is a murky issue, just listen to the drivers talk about whether they want to race at Texas a second time. Those that do say the track is fast. Those that don't say the track is, well, fast.

"Really, I'll just do whatever they tell us," said Matt Kenseth. "I don't mind going to Texas. It's a really nice facility and I really like it, but right now in the condition that it's in -- it's so fast and they keep repaving it -- there are some things I guess I don’t understand about it."

In fact, TMS was repaved for this year's race and has gotten even faster than it was in previous years. Most drivers reported needling their tachometer at about 9,000 rpm (almost 200 mph) at the end of the straightaways during testing leading up to this weekend's Samsung/Radio 'hack 500.

But that's exactly why other drivers would love to go to TMS more often. In fact, the question seems so stupid to Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he has to hesitate to answer. Is it possible to go too fast on a race track?

"No," he finally says. "I'm a race car driver. That's what I do. ... Texas is one of those places where I love going. It's a really, really fast track, which I love, and it'll be even faster with the new surface."

The new surface has already drawn concern from NASCAR about this weekend's race. If the racing indeed manages to be too fast, then surely safety concerns would prevent the track from receiving a second date any time soon.

"Especially in light of all the injuries and bad things that have happened the last few years," Kenseth said. "There is definitely more of a comfort level as far as safety and how the driver feels in the car going 90 or 100 mph at (a short track rather) than going over 200 mph down the straightaways at Texas, for sure."

Of course, the biggest issue Smith faces in landing a second date has nothing to do with his facility. It has to do with other facilities and the length of the season. Already there are 36 races that span 40 weeks. There simply is no room to add dates to an already exhausting slate.

If TMS wants another race, it would need to get one from another track. But a Winston Cup date is the ultimate racing cash cow for a track. Not many folks are willing to give them up.

Meanwhile, not many drivers are happy to give up certain types of tracks in favor of others.

"I think it's important to keep some short tracks on the schedule," Kenseth said. "And I'm definitely not in favor of extending the number of races in the schedule. You might be able to run more races some day, but if they did, I wish they would race maybe twice a week or race on Saturday once in a while."

But Smith isn't concerned with any of this. He knows as NASCAR goes, the drivers go. And he believes NASCAR owes him a second date -- no matter where they pull it from.

"We've built a spectacular facility, in my honest opinion," Smith said at a kickoff event to the 2002 season. "I think we deserve another race."

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.