NASCAR speedway president "fully supportive" of F1's presence in Las Vegas with "coattail" benefits for stock car racing

One month after NASCAR's visit to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the city in Nevada is ramping up to host one of the most anticipated motorsport events of the year, F1's inaugural Las Vegas GP.

Formula 1 is regarded as the pinnacle of motorsports, and it has taken over four decades for the series to return to Las Vegas, following two unpopular events held in the early 1980s.

Unlike its previous attempt at racing in the Ceasars Palace parking lot, F1 cars will race down the Strip on the streets of the city this time around. The event scheduled on November 16-18, has generated plenty of hype and buzz for the sporting event in the Sin City.

F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas

While the F1 race has put the other nearby racing events in the shadow, Chris Powell, president of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, believes the Grand Prix will indirectly benefit NASCAR.

“I think to any community, F1 brings a worldwide following and passion about motorsports and here at our Speedway, we want to believe that anything that is good for motorsports in the Las Vegas community is good for our Speedway and it's good for the city,” Powell told Autoweek. “So in that regard, we're fully supportive of Formula 1's presence here in Las Vegas.

Powell believes the event will have a positive impact on the city of Las Vegas as well.

“We'll have some coattail benefit from it,” he said to Autoweek. “Primarily my joy in seeing this event come to town is just for the city itself, because we work throughout the year so closely with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and we like to see this city succeed...”

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been hosting major racing events in the city since its inauguration in 1996, with Powell at the helm for the last 25 years. While NASCAR continues to race the 1.5-mile speedway, IndyCar also visited the intermediate speedway until 2011.

Chris Powell takes pride in NASCAR being one of the first major sporting events to visit Las Vegas and how the city has transformed over the years with Formula 1 now attracting a global audience.

---

NASCAR ace Ross Chastain reveals how he became an F1 fan

NASCAR Cup Series ace Ross Chastain compared the Las Vegas GP to a "rising tide", as he reckoned it would benefit the other racing series as well.

“I love it. I think a rising tide raises all ship. I've become a fan.” he told Autoweek

Chastain explained that he wasn't a fan of the open-wheeler series 15 years ago, but it has slowly grown on him over the past decade.

“I wasn't a fan 15 years ago, but I was 10 years ago, and I've just slowly kind of just watched from afar. I've never been to anything, been to any events or anything. I'm glad that we've got more events on this side of the pond and love that more people are watching.”

Chastain's teammate Daniel Suarez attended a part of the event, while Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were also spotted in the F1 paddock.