Circuit of the Americas

[Cyclone03]

COTA is the perfect example of selling 1 thing for $100 v 100 things for $1
There is NOTHING for the little guy .
They could form their own track club/school and have cars on track everyday.

[Jesse James 80]

I said I wouldn't, but in the moment, when the hell else am I going to be in TX, at THAT track, with THAT opportunity, IN my 65 Mustang? I ponied up (get it?) and really enjoyed it. The people in front of me were kinda slow, but oh well, I made the most of it.

[corvettedad]

I'll comment after I get home but I will say VERY disappointed.

[200kss]

We were the 2nd to last car to go around the track. Parade speed was correct, eh, underwhelming. The autocross was fun though. My biggest disappointment was not getting to go up to in the observation tower as I was really looking forward to that and the pictures that would come from it.

[cobra]

So that means they have to take advantage of others?? $20 parking for spectators, overpriced concessions that you had to walk by just to get to the vendors. It was the venue I looked the most forward to, and was the biggest disappointment.

we bumped into the PT organizers at our hotel on fri nite and they asked our opinion. being the silent type, i explained that this was my most disappointing stop.

[george1861]

The $25 for laps @ Bristol was worth it, but $50... NOT!. Why didn't the handicap & VIP get to park near the vendors?

[dand38s]

The $25 for laps @ Bristol was worth it, but $50... NOT!. Why didn't the handicap & VIP get to park near the vendors?

I think at $25 for a lap they would have been overrun and would have made much more money.

[corvettedad]

The $25 for laps @ Bristol was worth it, but $50... NOT!. Why didn't the handicap & VIP get to park near the vendors?

Exactly

[htrdharley]

My son was really bugging me to do it, but the $50.00 was just not in the budget this year. At $20 or 25 we would have been there. It looked like a great track if you could get a little speed up.

I did the laps at Bristol, all the money went to the Speedway Children's Charity, and I ran the car as hard as I could. I was on the pole and drove slow for 2 laps until the pace car came up to the back of the pack and then I did 3 fast laps. Great fun and the money went to a good cause.

[BluLightning]

Easily the worst venue this year. It seemed like nothing more then a big money grab.

[70chevyC-10]

The venue where the vendors were at I described as a "cement wok" - hotter than Hades.

[rexdogg]

Easily the worst venue this year. It seemed like nothing more then a big money grab.

agreed 100%....and waiting outside of the venue and parked down the roadway until they opened the gates....disgraceful

[Impala_Guy]

Easily the worst venue this year. It seemed like nothing more then a big money grab.

Truth. The best (worst) example of this was when I was told that no outside drinks could be brought in. I had a fresh, icy cold Gatorade! Really; 100 dang degrees and Gatorade is not allowed inside?! Nope only water. I saw a guy make the argument that if he poured out his iced tea, leaving only the ice to melt, it should be considered water. All of that too keep beverages out, but they would sell you a very high mark-up beer once you were on their holy ground. Nice facility/worst customer experience.

[Jesse James 80]

Truth. The best (worst) example of this was when I was told that no outside drinks could be brought in. I had a fresh, icy cold Gatorade! Really; 100 dang degrees and Gatorade is not allowed inside?! Nope only water. I saw a guy make the argument that if he poured out his iced tea, leaving only the ice to melt, it should be considered water. All of that too keep beverages out, but they would sell you a very high mark-up beer once you were on their holy ground. Nice facility/worst customer experience.

Didn't mention it to anyone, but that pissed me off too. I have one of those $20 drink cup things that i had just poured an iced tea (coincidence, I'm not the guy from your story) into it and I was parked way the hell away from the entrance. They told me I couldn't bring it in, I was like WTF? Really? I'm not tossing my $20 cup and I'm not going back to my car, so they "let me" dump it out. I was told you can bring water in, but it has to be in a "water bottle."

I've heard from a few people "in the know" that this place is permanently scratched off the list of venues.

[Damon23]

I didn't know that about the drinks. We both carried in water bottles. We had a blast on the lap and kind of wanted to do the autocross but hadn't punched in yet and it was getting late. After hearing all the comments about the place I wonder if they really wanted us there. We are not the crowd they usually deal with. The F1 crowd is just a little different.