[1] Kenny Bräck was awarded one point for qualifying on pole position at an average speed of 233.344 miles per hour (375.531 km/h).

While the track was under construction, CART had expressed interest in holding a race at the facility, but upon closer examination of the unusual dual-banking system decided it was not feasible.

The dual banking was removed in favor of a larger apron, and after unrelated difficulties during the NASCAR events, the turn transitions were corrected.

IRL cars were slower than their CART counterparts (due to their less powerful naturally aspirated engines) and this, combined with a higher downforce chassis, allowed them to handle the steep banking.

The expectations for dangerously high speeds were an early concern,[6][7] and even led to rumors of cancellation or moving the race to the infield road course.

[6][8] TMS president Eddie Gossage wrote to CART management urging them to mandate certain suspension components, among others, to improve safety for the event.

[10] CART chief steward J. Kirk Russell, track officials, Bräck, and Team Rahal expressed satisfaction with the test and the data collected.

[10] CART set its rules package for the race as utilizing 37 inHG manifold pressure (down from 40[6]) and installing the Hanford device on all rear wings.

[12] The team claimed to have accomplished all of their goals in the abbreviated half-day session, and canceled the remaining two days they had scheduled for the test.

[11] PacWest Racing also tested at the track on February 22 with rookie driver Scott Dixon[14] and Maurício Gugelmin.

[11] The existing track qualifying record at Texas Motor Speedway for the Indy Racing League events was set June 5, 1998, by Tony Stewart (24.059 seconds; 224.448 mph).

[19] Hélio Castroneves called the track "physical,"[15] due to the banking, and Cristiano da Matta echoed the sentiment.

[24][25] The identities of the two drivers were not disclosed, but Tony Kanaan and Alex Zanardi later claimed they experienced the symptoms.

[26] Olvey later recalled that Max Papis was unable to tell the frontstretch from the backstretch when his crew told him to pit.

[24] Later, chief steward Chris Kneifel recalled that he had also heard reports about drivers feeling dizzy, with some saying they had lost their equilibrium after getting out of their cars.

CART competition and PR chief Mike Zizzo said that the cars were going so fast that one could get dizzy just watching them roar around the track.

Paul Tracy ran a lap of 22.542 seconds (236.678 mph) to break the all-time track record from the previous afternoon.

Dan Wheldon and Mario Dominguez had led the speed charts in practice and qualifying, with top laps over 188 mph (303 km/h).

Patrick Carpentier[25] went to the medical facility to have his wrist checked (a previous injury he had suffered in a crash at Long Beach).

[7][15] This was due to sustained g-loads as high as 5.5, almost double what most persons can endure, and closer to what jet pilots usually experience in shorter time intervals.

[1] Olvey contacted Dr. Richard Jennings, a former flight director at NASA and professor of aviation medicine at the University of Texas.

Jennings replied that the human body could not tolerate sustained loads of more than 4-4.5 g.[25] CART determined that the race could not be run at more than 225 mph (362 km/h) without raising safety concerns over g-force induced Loss Of Consciousness (g-LOC).

[32] The night before the race, CART officials attempted to make last-ditch efforts to curtail speeds by having the teams take downforce out of the car, and reduce horsepower.

The move came after Kniefel and CART president Joe Heitzler had a series of meetings with drivers, owners and sponsors.

Olvey added that the drivers were experiencing g forces well beyond the limits of "human tolerance"[1]–a problem that would have likely been exacerbated since the temperature was an unseasonably warm 80 °F (27 °C).

It is also likely that the high g-loads would have been outside the design limits for the HANS device, which was required for all CART races at oval tracks.

[7] ESPN's Robin Miller later said that CART should have known there was a problem the minute the first driver clocked 230 mph (370 km/h) on Friday.

[33] During the suit, it subsequently emerged that CART had ignored repeated requests to conduct testing at TMS before the aborted race.

[7][34][35][36] While the sanctioning body was commended by many for choosing not to put its drivers in danger[7][37] the race was largely viewed as a debacle, a low point for the slumping series,[7][34] and very damaging to the organization in the months and years to come.

CART declared bankruptcy and was sold in 2003, became known as Champ Car, and never attempted to return to Texas Motor Speedway.