COTA renamed the final corner in honor of Mario Andretti before the US Formula 1 Grand Prix

Andretti has enjoyed success in many disciplines of racing, including IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula One, and became the last American to win the F1 World Championship in 1978.

Ahead of its 10th Grand Prix this weekend in Austin, COTA announced Monday that its final turn will be renamed “The Andretti” in honor of Mario’s success.

Andretti is a tight left-hand corner to close the circuit that takes riders onto the main straight before heading uphill into Turn 1, which in 2020 was renamed “Big Red” after one of the track’s co-founders.

A naming ceremony will take place this Thursday at COTA with Andretti in attendance to officially rename Turn 20 “The Andretti.”

Andretti was the first driver to complete a lap at COTA ahead of his first Grand Prix in 2012, and the track has since become a staple of the United States motorsports landscape.

In addition to hosting MotoGP since 2013, the circuit began hosting NASCAR races last year, having previously hosted IndyCar and IMSA.

This weekend’s United States Grand Prix will be the most attended race at COTA after grandstands were added to the track to accommodate high demand from the American fan base.

Last year’s race attracted 400,000 fans over three days, setting an F1 record that looks set to be broken again this weekend. And this despite the fact that after the race it was a dead rubber for the championship Max Verstappen won the riders’ title in Japan two weeks ago.

Andretti will head to COTA for the ceremony fresh from completing his final F1 race at the age of 82 at last weekend’s Laguna Seca event.

Andretti took the wheel a McLaren MP4-28 from 2013 at Velocity International after a run arranged for it by McLaren CEO Zac Brown during a private event that featured several classic McLarens.