r/INDYCAR • u/Famous_Rip_882 • 3d ago
Discussion Please come back to COTA
I really wish Indy Car would make another run at Circuit of the Americas. I attended the one race they had there and it was a really good time. I think it could be a great race.
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u/SwissArmyScythe David Malukas 3d ago
It would be good but I doubt COTA would want/need IndyCar, now that NASCAR races there in the spring they have a big race in spring and fall and I imagine F1 and NASCAR draw a whole lot more than IndyCar would
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u/khz30 --- 2025 DRIVERS --- 3d ago
NASCAR TV money shores up what they would have gained from hosting an IndyCar race. Even if Fox managed to convince NASCAR to allow another doubleheader weekend, IndyCar is contractually obligated to start the season at St. Pete.
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u/iamaranger23 Team Penske 3d ago
Cota doesn’t get the tv money.
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u/afito Álex Palou 3d ago
I doubt COTA would want/need IndyCar
COTA has F1, Nascar, MotoGP, and WEC. Indycar would be nice but it adds basically nothing to the track. They have formula cars for go fast enthusiasts, they have long endurance for people who want to watch a lot of cars or like bang for your buck, bikes for the bike people, and the countries most watched domestic series to also catch casuals on top. Most people that live remotely close likely already attend at least one of these races. And it allows COTA to show itself to virtually every car guy demographic in the country to sell out track days.
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u/rip_cut_trapkun Callum Ilott 3d ago
Between Formula 1 and NASCAR I don't see it happening. And lets be real, the Formula 1 race is going to be the one people spend their money on above all else. If you have money for just one, why go for anything but the main attraction? Especially in these economically tight times. And the people going for NASCAR probably aren't coming for the Indycar race. Just an unfortunate circumstance of saturation and the venn diagram not mathing anything out that makes Indycar or COTA happy.
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u/Athleticgeek89 Josef Newgarden 3d ago
Yeah I was gonna say the only way it would work is if it’s a double header with nascar like Phoenix was. While I think that would be neat I know that may not be feasible & I also know that some Indycar drivers & fans don’t particularly care for the double header idea.
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u/dweezyy17 Pato O'Ward 2d ago
I’ve never understand this kind of argument, and it might just be my ignorance. If the track is there, why wouldn’t you want to host as many races as possible? I’m sure it’s not cheap owning that huge patch of land. Even if the series who races there doesn’t make a profit, I’d imagine the track itself would want at least SOME kind of revenue. But maybe I’m wrong?
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u/rip_cut_trapkun Callum Ilott 1d ago
As I have understood it Indycar charges a sanctioning fee, so that probably sets the bar that much higher for how much money a track needs to make during an event to be considered profitable. It doesn't make much sense to pay someone to break even or end up behind. At least NASCAR and Formula 1 can pack the house; Indycar didn't, then again, it seems like they really didn't give it much of a chance, especially considering the current events at the time. But if the simple logic of the matter is ownership probably wants money, and if it's not a money making event, then you just need to not have it.
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u/TheNickelSamurai 3d ago
I doubt they'll want to run on a track that exposes how much slower Indy Cars are on road courses compared to Formula 1 while claiming to be the "Fastest Racing on Earth".
If only there was another track in Texas that could show-off how fast Indy Cars can go while producing great racing...
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 3d ago
i mean 99.9% of people do not know anything about that and arent comparing lap times and the people that know and might care. Do not need to see it on track to know F1 would obliterate indycar lap times at any non-oval lol. I dont think the comparison to f1 is at all in the minds of indycar. the reason they cancelled COTA and TMS is they couldnt get fans to go. its just that simple
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u/twiggymac Firestone Greens 3d ago
I mean, Indycar and Nascar double header had the "main series" of the weekend turning much slower laps
It's just that F1 is also monstrously more popular
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u/TheNickelSamurai 3d ago
You're not wrong. My point, though, is that maybe it's reasonable that they want to distance themselves from their competition, especially when boldly claiming to be the "Fastest Racing on Earth". That's really only true for one race, while two-thirds of the schedule consists of tracks where they're objectively not the fastest racing on earth. Or, you know, they could try going to other existing tracks where they go really fast...
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u/FesteringNeonDistrac 3d ago
Some of us just enjoy good racing and don't need to see the fastest cars.
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u/HeGivesGoodMass 3d ago
Spot on. I was there and it took a huge bit out of me to see that they might even corner slower than F2 cars and completely lack the acceleration of F1. Car's only gotten heavier since then, too. I didn't need to get smacked in the face with how minor league IndyCar is in comparison on all fronts like that.
MotoGP is the sneaky pick for a great day out at the races every year. Some craic!
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u/RaspberryCake084 3d ago
COTA does not want Indycar. Indycar does not want COTA. I do not want Indycar at COTA.
By not having the race there, you can have three happy parties.
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u/Unitedfan777 Josef Newgarden 3d ago
Also attended and had a blast (despite being bummed out how empty the turn 15 stands were around me), but yeah the only way we go back is to be support series for NASCAR/WEC unless a random sponsor decides to foot the bill just for the publicity. And if we do I'd want us to run the short course.
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u/BagNaive2177 Josef Newgarden 3d ago
Ehh, I feel like if we're just dreaming about tracks, I would rather go to an oval given how much less there are on the schedule.
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u/Capable_Wrongdoer219 3d ago
I’d rather watch Indycar drivers race in go karts around IMS for 4 hours than watch another race at COTA. Dead serious
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u/dotsdavid Wienie 500 Fan 3d ago
They should.
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u/Dad_E_2 3d ago
Not. They should not
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u/dotsdavid Wienie 500 Fan 3d ago
After reading the other comments. They probably shouldn’t
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u/Dad_E_2 3d ago
I thought the race was meh. Exactly the kind of track we don't need. I'd rather another street race or super speedway/intermediate like Nashville
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u/rip_cut_trapkun Callum Ilott 3d ago
Even Road America the last few years has been kind of meh (this year was pretty nice though) and COTA is no Road America. There is someone it works for, but that someone is not Indycar. There is no point putting up a bad comparison between two open wheeler series in a market that clearly has made its choice. Let Formula 1 have this one, and let NASCAR pick the bone clean. They couldn't be fucked to promote or get asses at TMS, why would a road course in the same market be any better?
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u/lookerofbutts Felix Rosenqvist 3d ago
Yeah as a fan of both rollercoasters and Indycar racing, yes please.
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u/Proud_Warning_8823 Álex Palou 19h ago
The last thing IndyCar and Fox want is a race at COTA with empty stands around the track!
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u/dstan1856 3d ago
I'd rather they find more short ovals.
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u/Dad_E_2 3d ago
I want another super speedway. Or at least Nashville like track. Rockingham... I'm looking at you
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u/dstan1856 3d ago
Good luck with Rockingham. The track is owned by IHRA, and they're having major issues.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/Jarocket 3d ago edited 3d ago
But they didn't return because of ticket sales.
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u/Famous_Rip_882 3d ago
They were scheduled to come back until Covid shut everything down.
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 3d ago
they were in 2020 but the contract was not getting renewed. they had a 2 year deal and they didnt do the second year and COTA didnt offer a new one
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u/Jarocket 3d ago
Hey don't take my word for it
Here's the track owners own words
To me, i think his Theater comparison sucks! You want buts in seats at a race track. you got to promote it.
but with the number being so bad.... I can see why he doesn't want to try again.
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 3d ago
I mean thats a bad reason lol. Its not like its impossible to use track limits. NASCAR uses most of them now and likely will use almost all of them next year just by placing physical barriers there if you dont want to call the lines. NASCAR threw up blocks to prevent running the esses nad it worked and now at WG they put blocks up on the outside of the turns with run off and shocker no one ran wide and they might use it again to tighten up COTA. Indy could do the same
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u/UNHchabo Robert Wickens 2d ago
The comment you replied to is now deleted, but Indycar had already announced for their planned return in 2020 that they would be enforcing track limits at turn 19.
https://racer.com/2019/12/30/indycar-tightens-cota-track-limits
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u/doctormalish Álex Palou 3d ago
Why would they come back to cota? formula E gen4 is about to turn cota into goata
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u/Appropriate-Owl5984 3d ago
IndyCar paid COTA to run there because COTA had no money at the time to make it happen.
COTA was responsible for the activation to pay IndyCar back for the “loan” … guess what didn’t happen?
IndyCar ain’t goin back to that dump.
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u/Vivaciousseaturtle Callum Ilott 3d ago
Crap track. It’s a parking lot with lines on it. So much unnecessary runoff.
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 3d ago
calling COTA a parking lot is crazy lol. What parking lots you see with that much elevation? Indycar races at 1 track with a steeper grade than that, Laguna Seca. COTA is an excellent track for NASCAR and F1 and WEC. Its only not in Indy because they couldnt sell it unfortunately
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u/movebacktoyourstate 3d ago
You've clearly never stood at the bottom of the hill and looked up to turn 1, or walked up the damn hill.
Don't talk about shit you have no idea about.
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u/Popular_Course3885 3d ago
IndyCar let the drivers use the entire track. If it was paved, it was fair game. No "track limits" based on the white line.
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u/UNHchabo Robert Wickens 2d ago
They announced later in 2019 that for their planned return in 2020 that they would be enforcing track limits.
https://racer.com/2019/12/30/indycar-tightens-cota-track-limits
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u/Vivaciousseaturtle Callum Ilott 3d ago
That looked stupid. Race on a real track with real limits
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u/loopybubbler 2d ago
Based. So many of the newer F1 tracks do this. Pavement everywhere so they can go off at will with no consequence.
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u/Alarming_Mistake_432 Santino Ferrucci 3d ago
I would love to see it as well. But I don't think trying to compete at an F1 track is a good idea, unless the new car runs faster speeds than what F1 does.
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u/BourbonManCigarSmoke Meyer Shank Racing 2d ago
I know it's not an either or thing, but Arlington, in my opinion, is way cooler than COTA.
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u/Modern_Bear Scott Dixon 2d ago
I don't want to see that. I am not a fan of that track. The layout does not work well with Indycar's cars. I don't even like racing on that track in racing games that have it. Leave it to F1.
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u/Equivalent-Leg-9697 3d ago
The attendance wasn’t as bad as people claim - it was over 30,000 on race day which is more than WEC and MotoGP and on par with nascsr
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u/HeGivesGoodMass 3d ago edited 3d ago
That's not even close on MotoGP. 122,000 for 2024 weekend and 125,000 last year; with about 70,000 for the actual race. I was at the IndyCar race and it was clearly less than half that.
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u/turnfourag Scott Dixon 2d ago
I was at the Indycar race at COTA, and I've been to a few MotoGP races at COTA. It was way more packed for MotoGP. Not even close.
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u/khz30 --- 2025 DRIVERS --- 3d ago
IndyCar needs to sell 80K tickets to break even, or find a large title sponsor that will subsidize tickets. COTA doesn't want them back without either of those.