Auto racing: Is new Austin F1 race in trouble?

Now, when have we heard this sort of thing before?

Work has stopped – apparently – on the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, Tex., where the U.S. Grand Prix is tentatively scheduled for June, 2012, but will likely be moved to November, once the final schedule is issued.

Organizers had posted a video a few weeks ago showing what seemed to be a flurry of construction activity taking place at the facility — but if you looked really closely there were only a handful of trucks and other earth-moving machines out there.

In any event, when construction stopped, anonymous telephone calls to the Austin newspaper suggested the project was out of money and that the workers hadn’t been paid.

Not true, said a spokesman for the track. It was a “planned stoppage” and that because they were ahead of schedule, everybody would have to wait for their money for a few days because there was a timetable for when payments would be released by the bank.

“We’re matching the (bank) draw schedule to the construction schedule,” the spokesman said.

Now, there are a lot of people in that community who are dead set against this project and they could very well be pranksters spreading these rumours.

On the other hand, I also believe that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Recall the debacle called U.S. F1. That was when a couple of guys decided they were going to start a Formula One team and build their own car and do it in the heart of NASCAR country, in Charlotte, N.C.

They went on TV and gave press conferences and distributed videos (see above) and worked like the devil to show the world they were serious about the project and knew what they were doing. In fact, when suspicions started to be raised and questions asked, they invited the world’s motorsport media to Charlotte to show the reporters that everything was going according to plan.

And then, one day, they walked out of that building and turned out the lights and announced that it was all over.

Could something like that be happening again?

Have we been down this road before?

Comments

[Nick Danger]

Let's run the race at the new speedway complex being built near Niagara Falls, then head over to Cayuga Speedway to catch the Nationwide race.

[Adam]

Peter Windsor is apparently back as freelance reporter for Speed Channel. Could not believe this when I read it!