USGP highest attended ever

Taylor Swift concert

Paul Josephson/AR1.com

Circuit of the Americas in Austin logged its "highest-ever overall attendance" for this weekend's F1 U.S. Grand Prix, bringing in a total of 269,889 people, according to Alanis King of AUTOWEEK.

Compared with the "short history of the event thus far," the high turnout is a "good sign" for both COTA and F1 in the U.S. While "nothing can be given specific credit for such a rise in attendance over last year, weather wasn't an issue this weekend and the circuit booked Taylor Swift, Usher and The Roots to perform after the day's events" on Saturday and yesterday.

Saturday was Swift's only concert of '16, which "drew a crowd of 80,000." That is "nearly a third of the overall weekend attendance numbers." Regardless of "what got spectators out to the racetrack," COTA is "moving in a better direction after this weekend's race." AutoWeek.com