The upcoming US Grand Prix 2019 is facing a some heat, in the build-up to race weekend. As it turns out, Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage is furious about the fact that Formula 1 and this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race will clash.
According to Gossage, Formula 1 officials are disrespecting racing fans by staging the US Grand Prix 2019 on the same day as the NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 in Fort Worth.
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“Here’s how I look at it,” Gossage told the Autoweek Podcast. “There’s very little competition between NASCAR and Formula 1, but there is some, and I think it’s an absolute insult, lack of respect, lack of professionalism on the part of Formula 1 to schedule a race on the very same day, three hours away from a NASCAR Cup race.
“There are 52 weekends in the year. They’re going to run NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway two weekends a year. There’s 50 other weekends that Formula 1 could schedule a race. People say, ‘Well, (F1) travels all over the globe, you’ve got to run here in Texas, you’ve got to run in Mexico and have to run those two races close together because of travel. OK, then run Mexico on Nov. 3. Run the U.S. Grand Prix a couple weeks later or flip-flop them.”
The US Grand Prix 2019 will be the second time that it will clash with the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway. Last time, both races were contested on the same date in 2014.
“To me, it’s an assault by Formula 1 on NASCAR,” Gossage said. “It’s not about Texas Motor Speedway. It’s about something bigger than that. It’s about the sport.
“It’s not good for either. The loser is the race fan, and they’re who I work for. I know that while there might not be a great deal of crossover, there is some. Some people are going to be forced to choose one over the other. Whether is 50-50 or 99-1, that’s not good for the sport.”
Fortunately for TV viewing fans, the F1 race will begin at 1:30 pm and should wrap up in time for the start of the NASCAR Cup race at 3 pm.
