My tour of the Circuit of the Americas Race track under construction

 
May 26, 2012

Thanks to my friend Mark Gunter of Austin Commercial, the company contracted to build the Circuit of the Americas, I was given a VIP tour of the track over the holiday weekend. Our hosts were two of the works Superintendents, Kevin and Butch White (no relation), who were fantastic guides and drove us around all twenty turns of the track.

Until you actually visit the facility, it is impossible to imagine the sheer scale of this project. It is absolutely gargantuan! Although I was somewhat familiar with many of the design features, including all the elevation changes, seeing it in person gave me an entirely new perspective. I truly believe this is going to be one of the premier race tracks in the world.

I snapped the photos below using my trusty iPhone. You could be forgiven for thinking that the work might not be completed in time for the Formula 1 race in November, although judging by the calm confidence of my guides, I have absolutely no doubt that they will be ready for the fall of the green flag.

Dan Mooney
Classic Jaguar

The view as you enter the construction site	Literally thousands of drawings in the print room
Garages and suites above pit lane	Main grandstand on front straight-away
Artist's rendition of turns 1 and 2 in boardroom	Turns 1 and 2 in real life
Turn 20 looking up the main straight-away	Run off area at turn 20 looking back at turn 19
Artist's rendition of Victory lane balcony	Victory Lane balcony as of today
Construction underway of a 220 ft observation tower with an auditorium and concession area behind	Looking back down the hill to garages and main grandstand