April Fool’s is Overrated

Sorry, it just has to be said.

We know it’s April Fools day, and we were ready to be really well pranked today. In fact, the only thing that came close to the quality of pranks in the past here in DFW was Texas Motor Speedway’s excellent press release. (read more after the jump)

Here’s what it said:

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ANNOUNCES PLANS TO BECOME
FIRST SPEEDWAY WITH A RETRACTABLE ROOF
• Alluring Project Requires Incredible Logistics For Oval Of Landmark Significance
• Expansive Project To Dome TMS Expected To Cost $900 Million
• Timetable For Completion Is 2011 Samsung 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race
• AFD Construction Of Fort Worth To Handle Roof Design
FORT WORTH, Texas (April 1, 2008) – Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie
Gossage announced plans today for construction of a massive retractable roof that is scheduled for
completion by the 2011 Samsung 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race traditionally held in April.
The expansive project is expected to cost $900 million to transform the 1.5-mile Texas
Motor Speedway oval into the first major domed speedway in the history of motorsports.
“The Houston Astrodome was known as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World,’ so it is only
fitting that Texas – and Texas Motor Speedway – will be the future home of the ‘Ninth Wonder of
the World,’ ” Gossage said. “This will be a massive undertaking, but it will be a landmark project in
the world of motorsports.”
The project is expected to take 24 months with daily construction crews in excess of 1,000
workers. It is scheduled to begin immediately following this season’s Dickies 500 Sprint Cup race
on Nov. 2. Construction will be halted for Texas Motor Speedway’s 2009 and 2010 race weeks and
resume following the completion of each of the three current major event weeks: The Samsung
500 in April, Bombardier Learjet 550k in June and Dickies 500 in November.
AFD Construction, of Fort Worth, will handle the design and construction of the
retractable roof, additional exterior walls, air conditioning and heating systems as well as an
elaborate exhaust system to remove fumes and smoke generated by the cars. The entire roof
structure will be a staggering 3.7 million square feet, with the retractable portion being 1.3 million
square feet. In comparison, the square footage for the roof – which also will be retractable – for
the new state-of-the-art Cowboys stadium will be 745,800 square feet.
“We are extremely excited to undertake this project and make history with Texas Motor
Speedway,” said Sidd Finch, who will serve as AFD’s project manager. “It will be truly remarkable
to see a retractable dome roof on a speedway of this magnitude.”
Gossage is expected to unveil the specific details of the project later this week at a press
conference during the Samsung 500 race weekend.
“It’s only appropriate that we announced such an outlandish project like this on the first
day of April,” Gossage said. “We’d be foolish to think it would be possible.”

It’s a pretty clever little release, but we weren’t fooled. In fact, on April Fool’s Day, in a newsroom, we’re extra skeptical of everything. Plus, around the office, pranks are such a well timed occurrence with such accurate and hilarious results that having a “day of pranks” like April Fool’s Day really waters down the fun.

Did you see something that REALLY, TRULY knocked your socks off today in terms of pranks today? Tell us about it in the comments.