1984 DALLAS GRAND PRIX

Race

The event was conceived as a way to demonstrate Dallas's status as a "world-class city" and overcame 100 °F (38 °C) heat, a disintegrating track surface and weekend-long rumors of its cancellation. Famous U.S. racing driver and race car builder Carroll Shelby , who grew up in Dallas, served as race director. Preparations for the race were marred by managerial difficulties and conflicts between F1 personnel and local race organizers, and opinions on the venue were mi... The tight and twisty course was laid out on the Texas State Fair Grounds with help from United States Grand Prix West founder Chris Pook, and featured two hairpin curves. While the layout was seen as interesting and was generally well received by the drivers (though some thought one or two of the chicanes made it tighter than it needed to be), all had issues with the lack of run-off areas and the crumbling surface which during the race itself made the track more like a rallycross track than a Gr... After the first practice on Friday, the Lotus drivers, Nigel Mansell and de Angelis, who both started from the front row with Mansell recording his first career pole position, said the temporary course was the roughest circuit they had ever driven. Nelson Piquet wondered whether the track, the drivers or the cars would break first in the oppressive heat. Afternoon qualifying saw temperatures continue to rise past 100 °F (38 °C), and Goodyear recorded the highest track temperature in their 20 yea... Dallas was the first time since the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort that both Lotus drivers qualified on the front row of the grid. Back then, it was 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti and his teammate Ronnie Peterson who qualified 1–2 in the revolutionary Lotus 79 . I don't know what all the fuss is about. We'll all complain and bind right up until the start time and then we'll go out and race as usual. We've come all this way and the race is all set up. Track surface or no track surface, you know as well as I do, we'll race. Ecclestone did not want to have 90,000 disappointed fans at the circuit, and viewers around the world, so the race went off with Larry Hagman ( J. R. Ewing from the television series Dallas ) waving the green flag to start the parade lap. The first five cars (Mansell, de Angelis, Lauda, Rosberg, Prost) were now running as a group, and on lap 14, Rosberg passed Lauda for third and closed up on the two Lotuses. He passed de Angelis on lap 18, and soon was looking for a way past Mansell. Arnoux, having qualified fourth, had been unable to start his car on the grid, and began the race from the back of the pack. By the end of the first lap, he had already passed seven cars and now he and Piquet were closing on the group of leaders. Rosberg, after briefly trading places with Prost, who had gotten by Lauda and de Angelis, finally forced Mansell into a big enough mistake for him to take the lead. Within three laps, Mansell, whose front tires were quickly fading, had dropped three more places before pitting on lap 38. Piquet became the ninth car to retire because of contact with the wall, and Arnoux moved into the top five. Prost took the lead from Rosberg on lap 49, and quickly opened a 7.5-second lead, but eight laps later struck a wall and damaged a wheel rim. Rosberg inherited a lead of 10 seconds over Arnoux, and, thanks in part to a special skull cap driver cooling system, held on to score his only victory of the year for Williams, as the two-hour limit was reached one lap short of the scheduled 68. De Angelis came home third, comfortably ahead of Laffite in the second Williams. De Angelis's teammate Mansell made contact with the wall. Mansell coasted around the last corner, visor up and seat belts hanging over the side of the car. As his car slowed on the home straight, he leaped from his black Lotus and tried to push it to the end, but collapsed from exhaustion and the oppressive heat before reaching the finish line. He was classified sixth, three laps behind. The oppressive heat was a factor of the Dallas Grand Prix becoming a one-off, and the event was replaced by the following year's Australian Grand Prix . Formula One has since returned to the state of Texas, hosting the United States Grand Prix since 2012 at the newly constructed Circuit of the Americas , located in the state capital of Austin . However, the race in Austin has always been held in October or November, away from the Texas summer. Another major obstacle was pushback from residents of the nearby, populous Fair Park neighborhood, which was majority Black and low-income. Dallas city councilwoman Diane Ragsdale told The New York Times that the failure of organizers to consult with neighbors and take noise concerns seriously were part of a historic pattern of "total disrespect for the neighborhood". Ragsdale and the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against Walker and Dallas Grand Prix of Texas Inc....

Aftermath

In a 2022 statement to D Magazine , co-organizer Larry Waldrop said the July date was chosen to minimize the possibility of rain during the event, and expressed regret that the organizers did not adequately anticipate the effects of Texas summer heat on the event generally and the pavement specifically.