More than 100,000 fans braved the seemingly endless rain late last month in Austin, Texas, to watch the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, a race that decided the Formula 1 drivers’ championship and was undoubtedly the best of the year.

The track, which opened in 2012, has become a favorite of drivers and fans all over the world — but Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone admitted Tuesday that the annual race may be taken away from COTA after the state of Texas decided to cut the track’s economic support.

Via the Austin American-Statesman:

“Officials with the governor’s office and Circuit of the Americas confirmed that the state’s payment to support the 2015 race would drop by more than 20 percent from previous years. The state had contributed about $25 million in 2012, 2013 and 2014; this year the amount will be closer to $19.5 million. Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive, told the American-Statesman the reduction could mean cancellation of the Austin race. “If it’s changed, it’s going to be difficult to continue the race in Austin,” he said, speaking from Brazil, the location of this weekend’s F1 race.”

The state’s plan came as a major surprise to race organizers. According to the American-Statesman, Texas officials had pledged in 2011 to provide a $250 million subsidy over the course of a decade, in an effort to establish an American home for Formula 1. Under current Texas Governor Greg Abbott, however, the Texas comptroller’s office changed the way it determined the economic impact of the race, which led to the cut in funding.

On its website, Circuit of the Americas claims that it generated $597 million for the Austin metropolitan area during the 2013 United States Grand Prix alone, and that the circuit has had a “cumulative economic impact” of 2.8 billion since it was announced in 2010.

Losing a race over a difference of a few million dollars would be cruel, but unfortunately not unheard of. There was no German Grand Prix in the schedule for the first time in 55 years this season after Nurburgring organizers were unable to meet the financial obligations, and a deal to move the race to Hockenheim could not be settled in time.

To send a message to the governor, fans from all over the world are backing the track.

Abbott, however, appears to find the movement “pathetic.”