Auto racing has been a major industry in North Carolina for decades, but now the state Legislature has allocated money to determine if a Formula 1 race could potentially be in the Tar Heel state’s future.
Florida, Texas, and Nevada already host F1 races, and state Rep. Jay Adams believes a 1,200-acre site acquired by a friend in Catawba County, north of Charlotte, North Carolina, “would make a beautiful, natural terrain road course.”
In the $34 billion budget North Carolina lawmakers passed last month, they included $400,000 for a “new study of the motorsports industry’s economic impact,” the Charlotte Business Journal reported.
Raleigh, North Carolina-based Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting is cataloging the “spending, employment, and spin-off effects of race teams, tracks, suppliers, vendors and related businesses.” Sanford Holshouser founding partner Ernie Pearson told the Charlotte Business Journal he planned to complete the report by the end of this year. He said the updated study resulted from conversations he had with Adams, who believes the state “could be a potential future home for a Formula 1 race.”
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Miami already holds an F1 race, as do Las Vegas and Austin, Texas.
Pearson said the Sanford Holshouser study will assess “not just the size and impact of all forms of racing in North Carolina, but also possible expansion.”
“This is not just about Formula 1. We need an update on NASCAR,” Pearson said.
The Charlotte region is already home to:
Numerous NASCAR teams, including all of the Cup Series organizations
Penske’s NTT IndyCar Series teams
Haas F1 headquarters
General Motorsports engine facility and technical operations for its Cadillac Formula 1 team
Technical centers for Ford, GM, and Toyota
IMSA teams
NHRA organizations
Late Model, dirt, and Modified series competitors
The NASCAR Research and Development Center
NASCAR’s multi-million-dollar production facility
MRN and PRN radio networks
The NASCAR Hall of Fame
The North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame
The World Racing Group that owns and operates the World of Outlaws
Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, and Rockingham speedways
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.