It’s 6 hours before the green flag for the Bombardier Learjet 550, and I’m sitting at the… Hotel!
What the?
Yes, the hotel.
From Indycar.com:
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):
Noon Garages open
8 p.m. Bombardier Learjet 550K pre-race
8:40 p.m. Bombardier Learjet 550K (228 laps, 352 miles (Live), VERSUS
Yep, that’s it. Nothing else.
Star Spangled Banner, Start the Cars, off we go.
It’s vastly different to the entertainment package we’d offer in Australia. Compare it to say, the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix event program from March, which despite Formula 1 not really liking anything on the track for about 2 hours before their race in case of a delay of some kind, still features six different categories of cars in six different races.
Having said that, do I feel cheated in terms of value? Not really.
Quite frankly Texas is Albert Park like hot, and you don’t really want to be standing out in the sun all day, especially if you’ve been doing it for the last two. The forecast here for today is 33′C (93′F), but you can add 3 or 4′C onto that, so it feels more like 38′ (100′F). So sitting in the hotel room at 2pm, is quite a good option, frankly.
Additionally, not having so much track activity makes it easier to schedule your day. For example, at Gold Coast Indy last year, one would have to make the decision “Do I miss the V8 Supercars on track activity to go to the Indycar autograph session”, because there’s so much on, everything was conflicting in terms of time.
I’m finding it much easier with the US track day scheduling to find time to check out the garages, have something to eat, and chat with all and sundry who wants a chat (Those that have met me here will testify that I have no problem if you want to listen to me, because I have no problem talking 
), without missing any on track activity.