Austin, a liberal college town and the state capital, is perhaps best known for its hip counterculture, live music and string of successful high-tech companies.

Fast cars? Not so much.

But in a couple of weeks, Austin will become the epicenter of the auto racing world when its gleaming new $400 million track, the Circuit of the Americas, hosts the first Formula One race in the United States since 2007.

For top drivers like Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Fernando Alonso of Spain, the Nov. 18 race offers the penultimate chance to improve their standing in the coveted F1 championship — arguably the most prestigious prize in motor sports — on a track with one of the most challenging turns in the world.

But for the host city, it will be an opportunity to prove that screaming-fast race cars and the well-heeled clientele that follows them around the globe will be welcome in a town that made a homeless transvestite a local celebrity and whose most famous bumper sticker is “Keep Austin Weird.”