Bad news everyone! It looks as if the Australian V8 Supercars race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, is being dropped from the series' 2014 calendar. It's supposedly only temporary, but even still, it's very sad to hear.
Big V8s and Texas go together like cowboy hats and Texas, so a stop from the Australian V8 series was a no-brainer. We were totally excited when we heard the Austin 400 was stopping in town, but now James Warburton, the new CEO of Australian Rules NASCAR, has put the race on the chopping block, according to the Daily Telegraph:
The sport’s international ambition has also been put on hold with the Austin 400 round in the U.S.A to be dumped from the 2014 calendar as the sport looks consolidate the domestic rounds before revisiting America in 2015.
In just the first year of a five-year contract, the lucrative deal with the Circuit of the America’s (C.O.A) has been but on hold with both the promoters and V8 Supercars keen to lock in at least another event in the Northern America before returning.
It looks like this is a money-saving move, but the article goes on to say that V8 Supercars is looking to do a whole month abroad of racing in 2015. By doing all your travel in one go, you can save a bunch of money while at the same time you broaden the reach of the sport. As there's no circuit lined up right now in North America to be paired up with COTA, the Texas race gets the axe. That being said, there are plenty of courses in the US and Canada that could conceivably qualify for the race. These are some of them, that I just came up with off the top of my head:
- Mid-Ohio
- Road America
- Road Atlanta
- Lime Rock
- Sonoma
- Laguna Seca
- Bowmanville
- Watkins Glen
- Long Beach Street Circuit
- Indianapolis
- Really Anywhere, Just Please Please Bring It Back
Know of any other courses that Australian V8 Supercars could potentially use in North America? List them below in the comments!
Photo credit Steve
H/t to Grant!