The 2014 United States Grand Prix was the most controversial race of the 2014 season. Not because of the result, but rather the scheduling. This season, the Circuit of The Americas played host to the Formula One crowd on the same date and at the same time as the Texas Motor Speedway hosted the 2014 AAA Texas 500. This has sparked a clash between the fans of the sport, as well as the event organizers. Some say that Formula One should be the one to move the event, but others say that NASCAR should be forced to change the date.
It has been announced that Formula One has moved the 2015 United States Grand Prix to October 25th, as to prevent this conflict for next year. This was announced far before any attendance or TV ratings were released, therefore, their decision was in no way influenced by these facts. It was released earlier in the week that NASCAR beat Formula One in the American television ratings; NASCAR having a little over 4.7 million viewers, whereas Formula One only had a reported 1.3 million American viewers. However, these numbers only include viewers from inside of the United States. They have failed to include the additional 186 countries in which the race was broadcast. This brings in an estimated 23 million additional viewers, meaning that Formula One has beat NASCAR in the global market.
Rather than embracing the arrival of Formula One, Texas Motor Speedway president and general manager Eddie Goosage decided to attack it:
“I absolutely think it’s foolish. It’s a shot fired by Formula One at NASCAR. I can’t say I was surprised because Bernie Ecclestone does a lot of foolish things. The thing he unfortunately doesn’t recognize is there is an 800-pound gorilla when it comes to major American motor sports. The 800-pound gorilla is NASCAR… It’s just not smart. There’s 52 weeks in the year. But that was the only weekend that Formula One could make it work in Austin, Texas. Give me a break.” – Eddie Goosage (Texas Motor Speedway, track president)
So why must Formula One be forced to change the date of the event? Formula One is the bigger event – being on an international level – and draws in more revenue than their NASCAR competitors. NASCAR was only broadcast in America and nine other countries, whereas Formula One was broadcast in over 180 countries.
It’s clear that Eddie Goosage does not have a realistic reason as to why the AAA Texas 500 is more important the United States Grand Prix. He told reporters that he feels that he may lose attendance, saying: “I do resent the folks in Austin that there’s is an international event, and ours is local.”
I am disappointed in the FIA to give into Goosage’s demands. The FIA has no legal obligation to prevent a scheduling conflict of this nature, nor is it the FIA’s fault that NASCAR may have lost some of their Texas fanbase. There is no reason why NASCAR cannot change the race date, being the smaller event.
