Austin is off to the races with NASCAR coming to town

For the first time in the track's eight year history, the Circuit of the Americas will host a NASCAR race in 2021.

The premiere American racing league will debut in Austin for the first time May 21-23, 2021 as part of the new racing schedule for NASCAR that will also move the All-Star Race to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

The announcement on Twitter comes after The Athletic first reported last week that NASCAR would make its way to the COTA track.

Austin race car fans know the COTA track as the 3.43 mile, 20-turn road course that hosts Formula One and IndyCar races, but never a NASCAR event. However, NASCAR star Tony Stewart praised the layout of the track last fall in an interview with Autoweek.

"The layout of the track, it's a very technical racetrack," Stewart said in 2019. "Watkins Glen is the road course where I had the most success at, but it's pretty straightforward about where the line is, what you need to do, braking, this and that. The thing about Circuit of The Americas is that it is very, very technical and there are a lot of ways you can attack it."

The addition of a NASCAR race for 2021 is a major victory after the track lost every major event in 2020 due to COVID-19 and the pandemic that has lingered longer than anyone could have predicted.

Since opening in 2012, COTA has hosted many of the largest events in Austin for national and international visitors. According to the Austin-American Statesmen, last year's United States Grand Prix, part of Formula 1's annual international schedule, generated a direct impact of $392 million on the local economy and $880 million in direct, indirect and induced spending.

Fans around Austin have been waiting for NASCAR to come to the COTA track for a while, and the announcement had many going to Twitter to share their excitement.

Fans can already reserve tickets at COTA's website.

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