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NASCAR is reportedly making its way to Austin's Circuit of The Americas
A crowd cheers at the 2012 U.S. Grand Prix hosted at the Circuit of The Americas.
After losing out on Formula One and IndyCar races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Circuit of the Americas track could be hosting NASCAR races as soon as 2021, according to The Athletic.
While NASCAR has not yet confirmed the report, The Athletic wrote that the NASCAR Cup Series would be competing at the COTA in Southeast Austin next year. The hosted race will likely come from one of two Cup weekends Texas Motor Speedway hosts in Fort Worth, sources report, and would make Motor Speedway the home for the All-Star Race which has yet to be scheduled for next season.
The COTA track is known as the 3.43 mile, 20-turn road that hosts F1 and IndyCar races—but never a NASCAR event. However, NASCAR star Tony Stewart praised the layout of the track last fall in a report by Autoweek.
"I've heard rumors that NASCAR is looking at potentially more road courses," Stewart said in an interview with Autoweek."I think it would be an injustice if they overlooked at least looking at COTA. Then the question is, obviously, you've got COTA here in Texas and you've got two races here at Texas Motor Speedway. The worst thing they could ever do is take one of the races from Texas Motor Speedway, in my opinion.
With the reported addition of the Circuit of The Americas to the Cup Series, the track would mark the fifth race on a road course next year joining Watkins Glen, Sonoma Raceway, Charlotte Roval and the Dayton road course.
A race in Austin would also be a continuation of NASCAR shaking up the schedule, already confirming a new event at Nashville Superspeedway for June of next year.
Fans and analyst alike are excited for racing and the potential of NASCAR in Austin.
Circuit of America’s potentially added to the Cup circuit in 2021?! Next season is gonna be 🔥.— Kaitlyn Vincie (@Kaitlyn Vincie) 1600718124.0
All Star Race at Texas while NASCAR is going to Circuit of the Americas? I REALLY like that. Let's go boys. #SillySZN— Erik Johnsen (@Erik Johnsen) 1600718288.0
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- Formula 1 announces Miami Grand Prix, COTA no longer only U.S. track - austonia ›
- McConaughey to start the engines at Sundays NASCAR race in Austin - austonia ›
- NASCAR comes to austin, here's how it went - austonia ›
- NASCAR returning to Austin's COTA for second year - austonia ›
- Circuit of the Americas getting a new amusement park - austonia ›
- Don't expect traffic problems around Circuit of the Americas to be fixed anytime soon - austonia ›
- How to: Get your go-kart on at Austin's Circuit of the Americas - austonia ›
- COTA adds infield viewing seats to sold-out Grand Prix in October - austonia ›
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(AUS airport/Instagram)
With major entertainment events slated for October, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is gearing up for a busy month.
Artists and music lovers are set to pack into Zilker Park for The Austin City Limits Music Festival in the coming two weekends. Following that, Formula One will bring racing fans to the Circuit of the Americas.
For those two events, the airport is anticipating high passenger days with 30,000 or more people departing flights.
ABIA recommends arriving at least two and a half hours in advance for domestic flights on those days. For ACL, it's expected on both Sundays of the festival along with the Monday and Tuesday after. The F1-driven high passenger days are expected on Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 23-26.
\u201c#AustinCityLimits visitors, you\u2019re in for a weird and wild ride \ud83e\udd18\u262e\ufe0f \n\nFlying in or out of our airport? We got firm and fun tips for you: https://t.co/RawVRalOXN\u201d— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)) 1664894083
F1, especially, could draw in loads of travelers as the three-day event saw 400,000 attendees last year. ABIA warns that highways leading to the airport may see even higher traffic than usual around the event and that travelers should plan their route accordingly.
Bailey Grimmett, a spokesperson for ABIA, said travel numbers come in 24 hours in advance. So, it's hard to predict if the airport will see travel volumes at the same levels that have happened around previous F1 races or if it'll top ACL's flight traffic.
Still, she says historical knowledge points to a chance for it.
“We've had that Monday after F1 break the record for single busiest in airport history," Grimmett said. "So context clues I would say yes, but I can't confirm that. But the historical background points to that."
In anticipation of the high volume of flyers, the airport received additional TSA officers for security screening through the end of October. To prepare even further, the Department of Aviation and partners hosted a job showcase and hiring fair to address the continued labor shortage the airport has experienced.
Relief from hectic travel days is on the horizon with November likely to see a slowdown.
"I don't anticipate it will be as busy as October just because we don't have as many events going on," Grimmett said. "Thanksgiving is kind of our primary holiday that we see a lot of passengers coming in and out of the airport."
