ROAD RACING IN A VACUUM.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. I am trying desperately to emphasize the positives from this past racing weekend at The Circuit of The Americas, because any time you're able to see first-class road racing from the United SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship at one venue we should all be thankful. After all, for road racing enthusiasts it doesn't get any better, right? Well, on paper at least, that certainly should be the case, but, and there always seems to be a giant "but" when it comes to racing here in this country of late, developments in Austin were a bit underwhelming.

First of all, let's get real about the venue. When then Governor Rick Perry approved state funding to help build The Circuit of The Americas - committing $250 million - he appropriated money that was slated to go to the Texas school system saying that it was “an opportunity to change Texas forever” at its kickoff luncheon in 2012. Two prominent businessmen in the state, including San Antonio billionaire B.J “Red” McCombs and Austin investor Bobby Epstein, were the prime movers behind the project, whose total cost has been put at well over $400 million.

For road racing enthusiasts it was like a dream. A brand new natural-terrain, first-class road racing facility built in the U.S. - on the outskirts of booming Austin, Texas, one of the country's dynamic cities - with a ten-year contract with Formula 1? It was almost too good to be true. And the fact that it materialized out of the empty flatland southeast of the city was documented in step-by-step detail, with breathless reports tracking the progress daily, because people just couldn't believe it was actually going to happen.

Well, now that the facility is built, what do we have? Make no mistake, Austin is the hip-and-cool capital of the moment and seemingly more so by the minute too. But Austin the burgeoning hipster metropolis and The Circuit of The Americas are two vastly different entities. The reality for the track is that it occupies a place near the city in a glorified dustbowl, and the facilities - designed to be a showplace for F1 - leave a lot to be desired (except if you're part of the F1 circus, of course) in terms of accommodating the average road racing spectator.

In talking to a few members of the USCC teams and a network of people who were working at the event, the majority opinion I heard was that they couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. Why? The facilities are suited to F1 and little else. And the smattering of spectators who were in attendance were completely lost in the cavernous confines of COTA, which, when you're working your butt off in 98-degree heat, is demoralizing and debilitating. (I won't assign credibility to the track estimates for attendance - pegged at around 55,000 for the weekend - because most track estimates for attendance are complete fiction. And this case was no different, egregiously so, I might add. If there were more than 15-20,000 people there total for the weekend, I would be shocked.)

But enough about that. What about the racing itself? As I said, the Lone Star Le Mans weekend seems like a good idea, at least on paper. But the reality is that the event brings up a lot of questions and concerns about the state of sports car racing, not only here in the U.S., but internationally as well.

As in, what is the point, exactly? So the dichotomy between the two series means that you get real prototypes in the WEC as opposed to the pretend prototypes in the USCC? Is that what we're supposed to take away from this? Because I don't really get it. Is the racing in WEC superior to that in USCC below the prototype level? Not in any way, shape or form. So why are they running separate races? Because the FIA is too arrogant to make some allowance for "the show" over here, when attendance is dismal to begin with? Either the Jim France-owned IMSA has to go its own way by offering a dramatic difference in the racing product it presents here in the U.S. (a little more "outlaw" as I've said repeatedly), or both series should run the six-hour race together and call it good.

And what's with the lack of spectators at COTA, really? Ah yes, the eternal question. Is there a general decline in in-person race attendance in this country? Absolutely. But then again, if COTA is so great, why weren't there more people there? Well, a couple of things. First of all, as I said, for the average road racing spectator COTA just isn't all that. Once you see the facility in person and start drilling down as to what's in it for you - the average spectator - it doesn't work all that well. The facilities are geared for the F1 circus pure and simple, meaning vast suites and amenities galore for the people who have access to them. For the rest? Not so much.

And let's not forget that with the dominance of everything NASCAR when it comes to motorsports in this country, major league sports car racing has gotten lost in the shuffle. How bad is it? Other than the two premier events - the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Daytona 24 Hours - road racing doesn't even merit a blip on the mainstream media landscape. And the ugly reality of that is very hard to swallow, especially given the empty confines of COTA on display for all to see.

One more thing about the racing in Austin. In short, it was superb, albeit a bit processional. As always, I have the utmost respect for the teams, crews and drivers who put tremendous effort into what they do. But let me blunt here, because this is "racing in a vacuum," and it has no long-term appeal whatsoever.

I understand that from the factories' perspective racing is high-level image wrangling on a grand scale, a marketing exercise geared for television coverage. So do they care that there are minimal spectators in attendance? Not really. But should they? Yes, they absolutely should. And so should the rest of the competitors who are burning up company, sponsor or their own money at a prodigious rate.

You can't just gather at race tracks, do press releases aimed at the other competitors or each other, or for sponsors in a glorified b-to-b lovefest, then post content on websites and hope that it's all going to "come good" at some point. Because at the end of the day it's for the edification of a few, and just this side of meaningless. In other words, a giant bowl of Not Good.

I have been in and around the sport for a long time, but I have never seen it in such precarious shape. Racing in a vacuum is not sustainable. Not for IndyCar, not for major league sports car racing, and it's not even sustainable for NASCAR either.

But it is what racing in this country has become, and it stinks.

And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.


Editor's Note: For more racing news and photos, check out "The Line." -WG 

Editor's Note: Many of you have seen Peter's references over the years to the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF), which he launched in 2007. For those of you who weren't following AE at the time, you can read two of HERF's press releases here and here. And for even more details (including a link to Peter's announcement speech), check out the HERF entry on Wikipedia here. -WG

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Watkins Glen, New York, July 20, 1973. Mike Hailwood in the No. 2 Gulf Research Racing Mirage M6 Ford Cosworth that he shared with John Watson, taken during practice for the Watkins Glen 6 Hour race. The duo would finish fifth overall. Gérard Larrousse/Henri Pescarolo (No. 33 Equipe Matra Matra MS670B) won the race overall, followed by Jacky Ickx/Brian Redman (No. 10 Ferrari SEFAC SPA Ferrari 312PB), Arturo Merzario/Carlos Pace (No. 11 Ferrari SEFAC SPA Ferrari 312PB), Derek Bell/Howden Ganley (No. 1 Gulf Research Racing Mirage M6 Ford Cosworth), Hailwood/Watson, Mark Donohue/George Follmer (No. 6 Roger Penske Racing Porsche 911 Carrera RSR), Peter Gregg/Hurley Haywood (No. 59 Brumos Porsche-Audi Porsche 911 Carrera RSR), Michael Keyser/Milt Minter (No. 16 Toad Hall Motor Racing Porsche 911 Carrera RSR), John Greenwood/Johnny Rutherford (No. 48 John Greenwood Racing Chevrolet Corvette) and Tony DeLorenzo/Maurice Carter (No. 88 Carter Racing Services Chevrolet Camaro). Go to racingsportscars.com for all the details on important races from the past.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD