Future of USGP Tied to Economics and History
Written by Allan Brewer · June 19, 2006
Crowds atttending the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis have exceeded 200,000; and the economic impact of the high-stakes Formula 1 series race has contributed to nearly a billion dollars in local revenue.
In the early days of Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 was considered an F1 championship event. With rare exception, however, no regular Formula One teams or drivers appeared at these races. The results of other efforts to attract the world’s best drivers and cars to these shores have historically been mixed, with the present iteration of the United States Grand Prix witnessing both the best and the worst intentions of the largely European series.
Russian-born Alec Ulmann organized the first F1 American Grand Prix on the road course at Sebring, Florida in December, 1959 as the last race on the F1 schedule. The starting grid included seven American drivers, but New Zealand’s Bruce McLaren, in a Cooper, took his first win in F1 and became the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix, up to that time. McLaren took the lead on the last lap of the race when his teammate, Jack Brabham, ran out of fuel. Brabham had to push his car over the line to finish fourth and clinch his and the team’s first World Championships. Despite providing an exciting climax to the season, the race wasn’t successful from the hosts’ standpoint, and the promoters just about broke even.
Ulmann moved the race to the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California in 1960 where Stirling Moss put on quite a show in his privately-entered Lotus by winning from the pole. Yet, while the driver’s purse was enormous (as at Sebring), the event was received no better than the previous year’s and became another one-time spectacle.
In 1961, however, when Cameron Argetsinger was asked to host the race in Watkins Glen, New York, where international road racing was well established, the third time was indeed the charm, as F1 found the United States Grand Prix’s home at The Glen.
Over the next 20 years, the event became a cherished tradition among the fans as loyal crowds gathered each year on the wooded hills of upstate New York. It was one of the season’s most popular events with the teams and drivers as well, receiving the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association award for the best organized and best staged GP of the season in 1965, 1970, and 1972.
From 1976 to 1980 the race was called the United States Grand Prix East to differentiate from the United States Grand Prix West held in Long Beach the same years. In 1980, financial difficulties and the inability of the circuit to safely handle the increasingly faster and stiffer ground effect cars of the era led to the Glen’s exit from the Formula One calendar after Alan Jones won the 1980 race for Williams. Since then, no United States Grand Prix has been held on a natural road course.
With the demise of the Watkins Glen venue, several new suitors arose to host the event including Las Vegas, Dallas, and Detroit, all of whose experience with the event was short-lived. The Vegas course left the schedule after just two seasons, and there were plans for a New York Grand Prix in 1983 to replace it, but this was cancelled unexpectedly in mid-year.
In 1984, the United States Grand Prix moved to Dallas. The race track was laid out on surface streets surrounding Texas State Fair Park. However the Fair Park circuit sustained damage during a support race and required repairs to be made to it the morning of the Formula One race. The F1 race, combined with the oppressive heat caused the track further damage. The race was largely considered a disaster and Formula One did not return.
Plans to continue Formula One races in the Detroit area, at the nearby Belle Isle did not materialize, and in 1989, Formula One moved to Phoenix. The track was laid out in downtown Phoenix and was unpopular with drivers and the local crowd. After the race in 1991 attracted little more than 18,000 spectators, Formula One left and did not return to the United States until 2000.
In September, 2000 the United States Grand Prix once again took place, this time at legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) where it continues to be held to this day. The 2.606-mile infield road course uses approximately one mile of the storied oval, but in a clockwise direction. This is distinctly different from most United States motor racing, which is run counter-clockwise. However, it follows the general procedure of F1, in which the vast majority of races are run clockwise.
The crowd at the 2000 race was estimated at over 225,000, perhaps the largest ever in F1. Michael Schumacher’s win was his second of four straight to end the season as he overtook Mika H
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4 Responses to “Future of USGP Tied to Economics and History”
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I’m convinced that for F1 to succeed in the States it has to be at Indy.
The often proposed Las Vegas venue seems counter productive.I imagine it would be overrun with ex pats if it were to race there, which is hardly bringing F1 to the U.S population.
According to Bernie Eccelstone:
“Last year was a bit of a setback for the sport,” he said, referring to the withdrawal of Michelin teams that turned the race into six-car farce. “Keeping the race on the calendar will depend on the fans’ enthusiasm. I wouldn’t be surprised if this year’s audience is quite good. I still think a race at Indy next year is a possibility.”
The future of F1 at Indy is far from a certainty, although I agree it is best suited at that location.
As for the possibilities of moving the franchise to Vegas, it would be a difficult track and paddock to set up to the current F1 requirements, but is there any doubt where the international crowd would prefer to be?
I’m from Indianapolis and have attended all the USGPs here. What hurt the USGP most was the cold and rainy weather of the first event in late September. This and the fact that F1 lacks a lot of passing turned off local fans who filled Tony’s grandstands for the inaugural event. The biggest crash in ticket sales occurred the following year in 2001. Since then, the Barrichello victory and last year’s fiasco have contributed to race weariness, but that could be all in the past. Let’s hope 2006 is a banner year for IMS and the USGP. I’ll be there cheering on Juan Pablo.
Good for you Kurt, I hope there are another 150,000 or so like minded F1 fans! TG’s willingness to wait untill after the race to negotiate an F1 extension is either a brilliant piece of strategy or the most foolhardy tactic I’ve seen.
The die is cast, we can only await the outcome.