A visit today to the F1 Austin site
 

Elroy, Texas, is a handful of miles south of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and a world away from the high-flying culture of Formula One. Yet, if all goes well, next year, tiny Elroy will host the first U.S. Grand Prix since July 2007. In May 2010, a group of investors, led by Texas billionaire Red McCombs, landed a 10-year contract for the race. On December 30, construction began on the $240-million project.

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I visited the 970-acre construction site today, and the joint was jumping with activity. More than a dozen graders and bulldozers were busily sculpting the hard clay soil. Water trucks rushed to keep the dust down. Huge mounds of mesquite and huisache had been pushed into piles to dry in the stiff late-morning breeze that whistled across the East Texas landscape. Most of the underbrush has been clearing, storm retention areas have been dug, and work is already underway on the main entrance off Texas Highway 812...an arrow-straight two-lane road that will deliver race fans from a brand new toll road less than two miles away.

The track site sits in something of a bowl, with a high ridge running along the southern edge of the property. The Hermann Tilke-designed track will follow the rolling ridgeline, then twist 140 feet down into the sloping valley. It will have the third greatest elevation change on the F1 calendar, exceeded only by Spa and Suzuka. There will be 20 turns in the 3.4-mile layout.

This part of Travis County has seen its share of hard times, and the European elite of Formula One...at least those who wander off the beaten path...will be shocked by the Texas that surrounds them. To the north, the fairly featureless landscape is dotted by cellphone towers and strings of high-power lines. To the east, a community of zero-lot-line homes presses in against a ragged collection of small, hard-scrabble ranches. Longhorn cattle pick at the dirt and occasional grass. Wind-blown trash decorates the rusty barb wire fences.

On this blustery day in mid-March, a dead coyote the size of Great Dane lay smack dab in the middle of Highway 812, directly across from the construction entrance. Within minutes, as if on orders from Bernie Ecclestone himself, a well-organized team of buzzards arrived to drag the huge canine to the side of the road.

The nearest store is Wild Bubba's Country Outpost, featuring antelope, yak, and buffalo burgers. The specialty of the house is fried coyote tails. Across the road is the Mexico General Store and Used Tires. A sign out front says, "Welcome F1."

Nearby, a hand-painted sign juts from the landscape. It reads, "God is calling Elroy."

World Audience? I'd like you to meet Texas.

It will be sold out I bet. Do we have the dates yet?? I want to book hotel

Doesn't sound like the most exciting venue (Montreal, for example, is fun during the F1 weekend even if you don't ever step foot on the track), but hopefully will be a good circuit for watching racing. It can't be worse than that South Korea venue, can it?

Damn, are there enough Fried Coyote Tails for a weekend gathering of 100,000? :D

Y'all don't have to come. We Texans will enjoy it anyways!

Got a carload coming down from Iowa!!

Pretty soon we all can sign up for a DE on this track! LOL

If you cannot have fun in Austin, well you have much bigger problems in life...

BOOYAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Fried coyote tails aren't what you think.

"They're wieners rolled up in a flour tortilla and deep fried," said Wyman Gilliam, the owner of Wild Bubbas, which carries a variety of wild game burgers made out of the actual animals (antelope, bear, and yak).

He says he plans to gear up for Formula One. "I've made it known I sure would like to have a connection and become a vendor," he said.

I can hear it now: "Get your yak on a stick."

Gilliam is planning ahead for the sophisticated F1 crowd. "Guess I better clean the bathrooms," he quipped. He's designing a "Euro-Tex Burger," with Gruyere cheese, portobello mushrooms, and romaine lettuce.

"Too fancy for Elroy," he said. "But I know with the international crowd, we'll get a few Europeans in here. Yeah, I think I'll get a beer permit. Even sell Dom Perignon for the victors."

"I would take Formula One over 40-foot lots with boomboxes and pit bulls any day," says Cathy Olive, president of the Elroy Preservation Association. "I would rather have horrible congested traffic for one weekend a year than live with it the rest of my life."

This is going to be so much fun. :D

I am so excited, I will be there for every one of those 10 years in that contract.

This commentary reflects nothing but ignorance of the area. Austin, thirty minutes north of the track site is one of the most urbane medium size cities (1 million plus in the metro area) in the nation. The city has world class restaurants with nationally recognized chefs, arts, music, etc. In fact in full swing now is an annual international music and film festival that attracts thousands of musicians, film stars and related industry from around the globe. The live reports yesterday from the national news media referred to Austin as the L.A. of the South (I guess that's a compliment). Believe me, thousands of people are not moving to the area every year because of the "fried coyote tails". I can assure you race fans will love the venue, have a great time and look forward to returning.

Mike,

Believe it or not, the PCA region is supposed to already be in discussions about events at the track once it's up and running. How cool would it be to maybe even run a Club Race on this track?