With speeds of up to 200 mph, Formula One cars are among the fastest circuit-racing cars in the world.
And this year on November eighteenth, Circuit of the Americas hosted Austin’s first “Formula One United States Grand Prix”.
Out of the 120,000 people who went to Formula One, the Akins band had the opportunity to be apart of such a large event, televised worldwide.
“We were able to attend Formula One to raise money for the trip to New Orleans during spring break by working at the concessions,” sophomore Kenny Painter said.
“We volunteered to work at the concessions and ended up selling food to hundreds of people who came to Austin from around the world,” senior Luis Hernandez said.
The event was an instant success with people visiting for this race, which was a headliner in the news worldwide.
“It was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world,” junior Marquis Fisher said. “And it was cool to be apart of a first time thing.”
With the 154 million viewers and around 120,000 attendees, the members of the band couldn’t help but notice the diversity of people who were able to attend.
“Hearing the different types of languages spoken really caught my attention,” Hernandez said. “And it was pretty cool just to know that people are coming to gather to memorialize such an awesome event.”
When the band members arrived at Formula One, two hundred and thirty feet above them towered an observation platform, which was apart of the ‘Observation Tower’.
“The first thing we saw when we arrived at five in the morning was the observation tower,” sophomore Samantha Madison said. “It was pretty hard not to miss it.”
Throughout the entire race, the band members had to deal with lines that seemed to be never-ending.
“Between races so many people were at the concessions,” Hernandez said. “It came to a point where we couldn’t even see the end of the lines.”
For first time attendees, noise was on another level, with the announcer trying to talk over the races, and people yelling just to be heard, the band members found it difficult to communicate with each other behind the concessions.
“Once the races started it was extremely loud,” Madison said. “We had to scream just to be heard and eventually we just got good at reading each others lips.”
While other boosters go out and sell chocolates or popcorn to raise money, band members can say that they had the great opportunity to raise money by experiencing and working an unforgettable day at Formula One.
“It was really fun and it felt great to be apart of something so monumental and worldwide,” Madison said. “I cannot thank Mr. Fincher enough for making this all come together.”
