Tavo Hellmund is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 former racing driver and promoter, who is promoting the United States Grand Prix

United States Grand Prix

The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been run on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The race later became part of the Formula One World Championship. Over 41 editions, the race has been held at nine locations, most recently in 2007 at the...

 in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 with the first race in 2012.

A native of Austin, Texas, Hellmund's father was a racing promoter as well, having promoted the Gran Premio de México

Gran Premio de México

The Gran Premio Tecate was a round of the Champ Car World Series held on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City, Mexico. It was first held in 1980, and in its first two years of competition was the penultimate round of the championship. After its re-inception in 2002, it was the...

 in 1980 and 1981. Tavo competed in the British Formula Three Championship

British Formula Three Championship

The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...

 in 1995 and 1996 and won races in FIA, NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 and SCCA sanctioned events, including the NASCAR race at Laguna Seca in 2001. As a promoter he has been involved with music events, FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 and was responsible for the return of the USAC National Midget Series to Texas after a nearly forty year absence. His Texas Racefest was one of the most successful regional short-track events from 2005-2009.

His relationship with Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...

 (CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration) has spanned nearly 40 years; knowing him as a young boy, followed by a stint on the Ecclestone-owned F1 team, and later working with him to learn more about the business side of the Formula 1 brand. Today Hellmund is considered one of the most knowledgeable people in the United States about Formula One.

In July 2010, Hellmund announced he and his investors, including Red McCombs

Red McCombs

Billy Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...

 and Bobby Epstein of Prophet Capital, signed a deal with Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 in April to return the United States Grand Prix to the F1 schedule in 2012

2012 Formula One season

The 2012 Formula One season will be the 63rd FIA Formula One season. 2012 will be the penultimate year of the current 2.4 litre V8 engine configuration, before being replaced by more environmentally friendly 1.6 litre V6 turbo engines in 2014...

. Hellmund and his investors will build a new track outside of Austin, Texas that will be designed by Hermann Tilke

Hermann Tilke

Hermann Tilke is a German engineer and auto racer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits.-Racing:...

 and Peter Wahl. According to Hellmund the track will have significant elevation changes and be a more traditional grand prix track as opposed to the characteristically wide and flat curves featured on other modern Tilke tracks. Motorcycle champion and Hellmund close friend Kevin Schwantz

Kevin Schwantz

Kevin Schwantz is an American former World Champion motorcycle road racer during the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Early life:...

is also involved in the project.