Texas Motor Speedway Fan Guide: Cooler Policy, Bag Policy and What to Bring (2026)
Part of Happy Hour Racing's NASCAR Track Fan Guides - the plain-English rundown of what you can and cannot carry through the gates, so you spend race day watching cars instead of repacking your bag in the parking lot.
The Short Version
Here is what most fans need before they leave the house for Texas Motor Speedway:
- Cooler: one soft-sided cooler per guest, no larger than 14 x 14 x 14 inches. Foam and hard-sided coolers are banned at any size.
- Bags: up to two bags per person, each no larger than 18 x 18 x 14 inches. There is no clear-bag requirement.
- Food and drink: pre-packaged food and beverage items are permitted in the grandstands in a bag or a soft-sided cooler. No glass at any time.
- Leave at home: umbrellas, glass and ceramic, hard coolers, collapsible chairs, wagons, selfie sticks, tripods and drones.
- Bring a card: Texas Motor Speedway is a cashless venue with no ATMs on the property.
Cooler Policy at Texas Motor Speedway
The Texas Motor Speedway cooler policy for NASCAR events is short and specific. Soft-sided coolers that do not exceed 14 x 14 x 14 inches are permitted, and it is one soft-sided cooler per guest. Measure the outside of the cooler before you leave, not the inside, because that is what gets checked at the gate.
The part that catches people out is the material. Foam and hard-sided coolers are on the prohibited list regardless of size, so the big rolling chest that works fine in the campground is not going into the grandstand. Neither is anything glass or ceramic. Glass is banned on the property at all times.
Dry ice is also prohibited. Regular ice is fine, but the speedway's own cooling tip is smarter than hauling a bag of cubes: freeze plastic water bottles before you arrive and store them in your bag or soft-sided cooler. They keep everything cold on the way in, and by mid-race you have cold water instead of a puddle. On a Texas afternoon, that matters more than almost anything else you carry.
Bag Policy at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway does not run a clear-bag policy, which makes the bag policy here easier than at a lot of big venues. You get a maximum of two bags per person through the admission gates, and neither may exceed 18 x 18 x 14 inches.
You can mix and match those two items with one restriction: the soft-sided cooler is limited to one per guest and counts toward your two. A soft cooler plus a backpack is the standard race-day setup and clears the gate without a conversation.
That 18 x 18 x 14 limit is also the ceiling for anything else you carry. The camera policy ties directly to it: cameras with detachable lenses are allowed, and the speedway's fan FAQ lists the lens limit at 5 inches, but every item still has to be inside a bag no larger than 18 x 18 x 14. Selfie sticks, tripods and monopods are prohibited outright, so plan on hand-holding the camera. Every bag and item brought through the gates is subject to search by speedway security.
Prohibited Items at Texas Motor Speedway
This is the full list the speedway publishes for NASCAR race weekends. It is worth reading all the way through, because a few of these are not obvious:
- Golf carts of any kind
- Foam or hard-sided coolers, regardless of size
- Umbrellas
- Glass or ceramic containers of any kind
- Animals, unless it is a service animal
- Any firearm
- Laser pointers, noise makers and air horns
- Knives longer than 3 inches closed or longer than 6 inches open
- Seat cushions with armrests
- Collapsible chairs
- Frisbees, balloons, beach balls or any other projectile
- Displays of the Confederate flag or any other offensive display
- Fireworks
- Dry ice
- Obscene or indecent clothing
- Aerosol cans, except sunscreen, sunblock, hand sanitizer and bug spray
- Selfie sticks
- Tripods and monopods
- Illegal substances of any kind
- Wagons
- Drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles
- Skateboards, hoverboards, roller skates and bicycles
The umbrella ban is the one that surprises first-timers most. Texas gets rain in the spring, and the answer here is a poncho, which also does not block the view of the people behind you. The wagon ban is the second one to plan around, because hauling a cooler, a cushion and a scanner across a 1,500-acre property with no cart is a different walk than you pictured.
Flags and signs have their own rule set. Banners, signs and flags must be small enough for one person to hold and no larger than 36 x 60 inches, cannot be attached to poles or sticks in the spectator grandstands, cannot be affixed to any part of the facility, and cannot block anyone's view.
What You Can Bring Into Texas Motor Speedway
The permitted list is generous once you work inside the size limits:
- Two bags per person up to 18 x 18 x 14 inches
- One soft-sided cooler per guest up to 14 x 14 x 14 inches
- Pre-packaged food and beverage items in a bag or soft-sided cooler, with no glass
- Sunscreen and sunblock, including in aerosol form, plus hand sanitizer and bug spray
- Seat cushions smaller than 18 inches wide with no metal pieces or components
- Cameras with detachable lenses, carried in a bag inside the size limit
- Certified service animals, leashed or harnessed
- Blankets and extra clothing such as jackets, hats and shirts
Two things to note on that list. Emotional support animals are not permitted inside the facility, only certified service animals, and guests with a service animal can request wheelchair seating so the animal has room. And smoking, including e-cigarettes and vaporizers, is not permitted in any grandstand at Texas Motor Speedway. There are specific designated smoking areas instead.
Grandstands, Seating and Track Layout
Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-oval in Fort Worth that opened in 1996. Since the 2017 reconfiguration the banking runs 20 degrees in turns 1 and 2 and 24 degrees in turns 3 and 4, with 5 degrees on both straightaways. That split is the whole personality of the place. One end of the track is flatter and tighter than the other, so a car that is perfect on one set of corners is usually fighting the other set, and the top groove takes a while to come in.
Seating is concentrated in the long frontstretch grandstand, with the nine-story Speedway Club and the 10-story Lone Star Tower rising above the property. Facing the stands is Big Hoss TV, certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest HD television screen, which means you can follow the race off the board even from a seat where the far corners are a long way away.
Seat cushions must be smaller than 18 inches wide and contain no metal pieces or components, and cushions with armrests are prohibited. You also cannot bring your own foldable chair. Handicap parking sits at the front of the VIP lots on the western side of the speedway, and free golf cart shuttles with blue canopies run the property from one hour before gates open until one hour after the checkered flag of the last race. Flag one down or find an information booth in the Fan Zone.
Infield access requires a track pass, and those are sold for Sunday race day only. Once you are in there, dining is limited to 589 BBQ during select hours and a general concessions stand in the South Paddock.
Getting There and Race-Day Tips
Most parking is free at Texas Motor Speedway during major events. Trams drop off at the speedway gates, in the Express parking lot, and at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Lone Star Circle campground. The speedway asks fans to plan on arriving at least two hours before the start of the race, which is about right once you account for the walk and the Fan Zone between Gates 2 and 7.
Tickets are fully digital and there is no Will Call, so download the Texas Motor Speedway app and load your tickets before you leave home instead of relying on cell signal in a crowd. If something is wrong with a ticket on race day, ticket agents work out of Gate 4 on the frontstretch. The ticket office line is 817-215-8500, staffed 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and there is a Fan Text Line at 217-867-3267 for non-emergencies once you are on site.
Plan on plastic. Texas Motor Speedway is a cashless venue with no ATMs, and the merchandise haulers and concession stands are cashless too. Re-entry is allowed, but there is a step to it: scan out your ticket with a ticket staff member at the front gates before you leave, then come back through security and scan in again. Tailgating is not just allowed here, the speedway actively encourages it before and after the races.
Camping and Infield Rules
Camping is permitted in designated areas only, which covers the Geico Infield Campground, Geico VIP camping, and the outside reserved and unreserved campgrounds. Each spot gets two camping permits, and every vehicle entering or exiting must display one.
The rules that matter most: open flame and open pit campfires are prohibited anywhere on speedway property, while charcoal and gas grills are allowed in camping areas except in the infield during practice or a race, and all grills must sit at least 10 feet from cars, campers, tents and awnings. Gasoline is capped at 10 gallons per campsite in approved containers. A 1 a.m. noise curfew is enforced in all campgrounds, though it does not apply to generators, and generators are not allowed at all in tent-only areas. Infield camping carries a 13-foot height limit on everything.
Personal golf carts, ATVs and two-wheeled motorized vehicles including licensed motorcycles are all banned in the campgrounds, along with flatbed trailers over 10 feet and box trucks. No pools, hot tubs, stages, live bands or DJs, and sound systems have to face inward toward your own spot. Pets are welcome on a leash but have to stay in the camping areas. Campground staff work out of the Public Safety Trailer in the Lone Star Circle Campground near Row EE.
Fan Tips
Freeze your water bottles. It is the track's own advice and it solves two problems at once inside a 14-inch cooler that has to hold everything you plan to drink.
Bring a poncho, not an umbrella. Umbrellas are flatly prohibited, and North Texas weather in the spring does what it wants.
Bring the scanner. Texas is a two-groove track with an aero package that puts a premium on track position, and the spotter channels tell you who is about to make a move before the broadcast does.
Sunscreen is on the permitted list, including aerosol, and there is very little shade in the grandstand. Put it on before you go through the gate and bring the can.
Common questions about Texas Motor Speedway
What size cooler can you bring to Texas Motor Speedway?
One soft-sided cooler per guest, no larger than 14 x 14 x 14 inches. Foam and hard-sided coolers are prohibited regardless of size, and no glass is permitted at any time.
What is the bag policy at Texas Motor Speedway?
A maximum of two bags per person are permitted through the admission gates, and neither may exceed 18 x 18 x 14 inches. There is no clear-bag requirement, and your one soft-sided cooler counts toward the two.
Can you bring food and drinks into Texas Motor Speedway?
Yes. Pre-packaged food and beverage items are permitted in the grandstands in a bag or a soft-sided cooler. Glass containers are prohibited.
Are umbrellas allowed at Texas Motor Speedway?
No. Umbrellas appear on the speedway's prohibited items list for race day. Bring a poncho instead.
Are chairs or seat cushions allowed at Texas Motor Speedway?
Seat cushions are allowed if they are smaller than 18 inches wide and contain no metal pieces or components. Cushions with armrests and collapsible chairs are both prohibited, and you may not bring your own foldable chair.
What items are prohibited at Texas Motor Speedway?
Foam and hard-sided coolers, umbrellas, glass and ceramic containers, firearms, knives longer than 3 inches closed or 6 inches open, laser pointers and air horns, collapsible chairs, seat cushions with armrests, wagons, golf carts, selfie sticks, tripods, drones, fireworks, dry ice, and skateboards, hoverboards, roller skates and bicycles.
Does Texas Motor Speedway take cash?
No. Texas Motor Speedway is a cashless venue and there are no ATMs available on the property, so bring a card.
Can you leave and re-enter Texas Motor Speedway?
Yes. Scan out your ticket with a ticket staff member at the front gates before you exit, then re-enter by going back through security and scanning your ticket again.
The Bottom Line
Texas is an easy gate if you pack to the numbers: one soft cooler at 14 x 14 x 14, two bags at 18 x 18 x 14, nothing glass, no umbrella, no chair, and a card instead of cash. Do that and you walk straight in with everything you need for 267 laps around the quad-oval.
Chase Elliott won the most recent Cup race here, taking the Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY on May 3, 2026 by 0.407 seconds for the 23rd victory of his Cup career. It was a busy one, with 23 lead changes among 11 drivers and seven cautions across 400.5 miles. The NASCAR triple-header returns in 2027 with the Würth 400, the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 and the SpeedyCash.com 250, dates to be announced.
Policies change season to season, and they change by event. The rules above apply to NASCAR race weekends, and the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track runs a different set entirely, including a full ban on coolers. Confirm every detail before you travel against the speedway's own pages: the official Texas Motor Speedway Track Policies page and the Texas Motor Speedway Fan FAQ. If you are unsure whether one specific item will make it through, call the ticket office at 817-215-8500 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Camping questions go to the Corporate Sales department at 817-215-8510.
Gear Up for Texas
Texas gear from the Happy Hour Racing store, all in stock right now:
- Classic Ink Chase Elliott 2026 Texas Race Win T-Shirt
- Chase Elliott #9 2024 Autotrader 400 Texas Win T-Shirt
- Kyle Larson #88 2025 Xfinity Texas Win T-Shirt
- Sam Mayer #1 2024 Andy's Frozen Custard 300 Texas Win T-Shirt
- Chase Elliott #9 Performance Breathable Visor Hat
That last one is not a throwaway pick. There is no shade in the Texas grandstands and a visor is the one piece of gear nobody regrets. Want the winner's shirt from every race without hunting for it? The Happy Hour Racing win-shirt subscription sends one out after each Cup race. Or browse everything new in the store.
