How Did Texas Win Over the World’s Motorsport Fans?

Texas is famous for a lot of things. It’s home to a booming oil industry, is the birthplace of barbecue, and it has been responsible for rearing several US presidents.

The state is also home to a lot of sports. Its most famous team is the Dallas Cowboys, an NFL team that dominated the sport for about a decade and that continues to be the most valuable franchise in all of American football.

The Cowboys aren’t the only sporting success from Texas though. There’s also the Texas Rangers MLB team, the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, and the Dallas Stars NHL team.

The state is also where Texas Hold’em, the world’s most popular variant of poker, was first played. Today, you can find the game in most large casinos and just about every card room. You can also find it on the internet, with a similar degree of availability at online poker sites. The reason for the proliferation of the Texan variant is that the rules of Texas Hold’em are easy enough for beginners to understand while providing veteran players with a challenge, no matter how long they play for.

That still wasn’t enough for Texans, however. The Lone Star State recently became a firm favourite among motorsport fans, and not just domestic petrolheads.

Its Circuit of the Americas, which is located in Austin, has been operating for a decade. During that time, it has become a firm favourite among fans of the world’s biggest and most-watched motorsport categories.

In addition to cementing itself as the home of the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix, the track plays host to the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, and a round of NASCAR.

But how did this newly-built track on the outskirts of Texas become an iconic part of the motorsport world?

Track Design

Almost all new Formula 1 tracks are now designed by Herman Tilke, a former engineer and racing driver who turned to designing the biggest circuits. While he has become the go-to guy for designing high-speed raceways, he is criticised by many fans for his “cookie-cutter” layouts that can create precessional racing.

This definitely isn’t a criticism of his work in Austin, though. The German took inspiration from many of the greatest tracks in the world to create different sections.

The most notable of these is the sweeping section that is made up of turns two, three, four, five, and six. They are designed to emulate the challenge posed by Silverstone’s Maggots-Becketts sequence  and the ‘S’ Curves from the first sector of Japan’s Suzuka Circuit.

By using these stand-out parts that have proven to be popular among drivers and fans, Tilke has been able to make a circuit that promotes exciting racing.

Undulation

Before COTA, the United States Grand Prix was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You’d think that such an iconic venue would be a hit among Formula 1 fans.

However, the in-field section, which was created specifically for the first Grand Prix at the circuit in 2001, was mostly flat and had a degree of “point and squirt” to it.

In contrast, COTA has 30.9 metres between its highest and lowest points. Reaching the peak of 157.4 metres involves a steep climb into the first corner, posing a unique challenge for drivers.

So, while some circuits have a greater difference between their peak and low-point, none have such steep inclines and drops as COTA.

Overall Experience

In the first year of the US Grand Prix at COTA, the race organisers went all out to put on an exciting show for fans. They leaned into the Texas brand, awarding Pirelli cowboy hats instead of baseball caps on the podium, as well as offering plenty of local delights to spectators.

They also made a big deal about putting on a show, and not just hosting a race. This meant that fans were treated to concerts and other performances throughout the weekend, as well as beefed-up fan zones that offered all kinds of activities.

This was so successful that it has been continued and expanded throughout the decade that F1 and other championships have been visiting.

And its why COTA became the record holder for the number of spectators at the circuit over a race weekend in 2021.