October 4th 1998 will be the first time that an Indy-car event has been held in Houston and the first time an Indy-car road race has taken place in Texas. The fastest racecars in the world will be roaring around the streets of downtown Houston, reaching speeds in excess of 200 mph along the straightaway from Austin, when the Championship Auto Racing Teams come to town for the inaugural Texaco Grand Prix of Houston. The race will feature a 28-car field with drivers from all over the world.
The course is 1.68 miles in length and will be a 10-turn track with the start-finish line in front of the George R. Brown Convention Centre and the back stretch along a seven-block area of Austin Avenue on the east side of downtown. The drivers will race in a counterclockwise direction. The north corner of the course will be one block from the site of the new baseball stadium. Texaco will be the major sponsor of the event and will help co-ordinate the race with CART racing team owner Carl Haas. Carl Haas will be the race organiser and the principal person responsible for helping Texaco and CART prepare for the event. Cart have signed a six year contract with Houston which means there will be grand prix racing in the city until at least 2003.
It is hoped that Houston will be one of the finest street layouts ever, with the wide streets and park settings inside the track, enough variety to make it very competitive and a long straightaway on Austin for passing. Mario Andretti was a consultant on the course layout. The exact length of the race has not been determined but it is expected to be between 100-105 laps.
Some of the preparation for the race includes major road repairs on some of the downtown streets that will make up the course. The city will spend an estimated $1 million on the street repairs and must also be approved by the City Council. Some places on the course are not good enough for race conditions as the streets are sloped in some areas and need to be smoothed out and changed for safety purposes. There will also be barricades to close off certain areas and protect the public. Temporary grandstands will be constructed in areas surrounding the course and there will also be more expensive seating available in the George R. Brown Convention Centre.
The race Houston wants to pattern itself after is the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the country's oldest and most successful street-course event. The organisers do not foresee a problem running a grand prix race through downtown Houston as traffic will be diverted with the help of the police, fire department and public-works department and the track area will be cordoned off for three days while the race is run.
