EVENT INFO
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2019 Marked the 30th Grand Prix Event in Detroit's History
The 2019 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix represented the 30th Grand Prix event hosted in the city of Detroit. The history of this special event was celebrated during the May 31-June 2 race weekend. The Detroit Grand Prix Heritage Exhibit was featured in the Meijer Fan Zone throughout the Grand Prix race weekend and it included historic vehicles and artifacts that commemorated the history of the event in Detroit. The exhibit also hosted fan forums and autograph sessions with previous Detroit race winners and personalities throughout the course of the weekend.
In addition to the exhibit on Belle Isle race weekend, the Detroit Historical Museum - located off of Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit's cultural center - features an extensive 30th Detroit Grand Prix exhibit that debuted in early May and will run through June 30. The exhibit illustrates the story of the Grand Prix's impact in Detroit and also includes unique artifacts, memorabilia and historical photography from the event, provided by Autoweek. For more information on the museum, visit https://detroithistorical.org/.
Grand Prix Historical Overview
The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear started on the Streets of Detroit in 1982 as an event that featured the international Formula One racing series. With Detroit joining the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Las Vegas Grand Prix as events in the United States that year, it marked the first time that one country hosted more than two Formula One races in a season. In the seven years that Formula One raced on the streets of downtown Detroit, the race featured five different winners, as legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna won the final three races from 1986-1988. After the 1988 Detroit race, there were discussions about moving the Grand Prix circuit to Belle Isle with the event continuing as a Formula One race, but an agreement could not be reached with the series. The Detroit Grand Prix continued on the downtown circuit in 1989 as it welcomed Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) - what would eventually become the current IndyCar Series - as its feature racing series. CART hosted three events on the streets of Detroit as Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi won in 1989 and 1991 while Michael Andretti captured the 1990 event.
In 1992, the Detroit Grand Prix transitioned to the temporary street circuit on Belle Isle and, just as it is today, the event became the first race on the CART schedule after the Indianapolis 500. Bobby Rahal won the first race run on Belle Isle on his way to the 1992 series championship. Many legendary IndyCar drivers competed and won the Detroit Grand Prix including Greg Moore, Alex Zanardi, Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves - who climbed the fence to celebrate with the fans in the Motor City after his series win in 2000, as his famous "Spider-Man" victory celebration was born on Belle Isle.
Following the success of Super Bowl XL in Detroit in 2006, Roger Penske - who served as Chairman of the Super Bowl host committee - spearheaded the revival of the Grand Prix in Detroit to build on the positive momentum in the city. Formed as a 501(c)3 organization and a subsidiary of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the current Detroit Grand Prix promoter group brought the event back to the Motor City and Belle Isle in 2007 as the event featured the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. Popular Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan won the first IndyCar race back on Belle Isle while the late British driver Justin Wilson won in 2008. The economic recession forced the postponement of the event from 2009-2011, but the Detroit Grand Prix returned in 2012 thanks to the support of General Motors with Chevrolet coming on board as the title sponsor of the event.
In 2013, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix became one of three IndyCar Series venues to host two races in one weekend, joining the Toronto and Houston street course events. The Chevrolet Dual in Detroit IndyCar Series doubleheader featured two full championship-points paying races in one weekend, one on Saturday and one Sunday. Since 2015, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear has hosted the only doubleheader race weekend on the IndyCar Series schedule. The unique format of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit has created some memorable moments, including Team Penske winning both races in 2014 with Will Power and Castroneves and Graham Rahal sweeping the weekend with back-to- back race wins in 2017 - 25 years after his father won the first race on Belle Isle. In 2014, America's premiere sports car series - the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - joined the on-track competition in Detroit. In 2019, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear featured one of the most exciting lineups in racing with the NTT IndyCar Series, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli competing at one of the most unique venues in motorsports as we celebrated the 30th Grand Prix in the history of Detroit.
Detroit Grand Prix All-Time Racing Series and Winners
1982
Formula One: John Watson
Super Vee: Jerrill Rice
Renault Cup: Jim Cook
Vintage Race Car:
1983
Formula One: Michele Alboreto
IMSA Champion Spark Plug Challenge: Bobby Archer
Renault/Facom Cup Le Car: Ferruccio Zambaiti
IMSA Kelly American Challenge: Robert Overby
Formula Mondial North American Cup (Atlantics): Josele Garza
1984
Formula One: Nelson Piquet
Sports Renault feature: Dave Weitzenhof
IMSA Champion Spark Plug Challenge: Bobby Archer
Trans Am: Tom Gloy
1985
Formula One: Keke Rosberg
Super Vee: Peter Pandur
Trans Am: Elliott Forbes-Robinson
1986
Formula One: Ayrton Senna
Super Vee: Scott Atchison
Lucas Challenge SCCA Sports Renault: Scott Lagasse
Trans Am: Wally Dallenbach Jr.
1987
Formula One: Ayrton Senna
Super Vee: Paul Radisich
Trans Am: Scott Pruett
1988
Formula One: Ayrton Senna
Trans Am: Hurley Haywood
Super Vee: Paul Radisich
1989
CART: Emerson Fittipaldi
Trans Am: Greg Pickett
Corvette Challenge: Bill Cooper
Indy Lights: Ted Prappas
1990
CART: Michael Andretti
Indy Lights: Tommy Byrne
Motor City Truck Showdown: Tommy Archer
Trans Am: Scott Sharp
1991
CART: Emerson Fittipaldi
Indy Lights: Eric Bachelart
Trans Am: Scott Sharp
1992
CART: Bobby Rahal
Indy Lights: Adrian Fernandez
Trans Am: Tommy Archer
1993
CART: Danny Sullivan
Indy Lights: Steve Robertson
Trans Am: Dorsey Schroeder
IMSA Barber Saab Pro: Kenny Bräck
1994
CART: Paul Tracy
Neon Challenge: Sean Patrick Flanery
Trans Am: Bill Saunders
IMSA Barber Saab Pro: Diego Guzman
Indy Lights: Steve Robertson
1995
CART: Robby Gordon
Trans Am: Ron Fellows
Neon Challenge: Sean Patrick Flanery
Indy Lights: Robbie Buhl
1996
CART: Michael Andretti
Trans Am: Dorsey Schroeder
Neon Celebrity Challenge: Desire Wilson
Indy Lights: Tony Kanaan
North American Touring Car Championship: Darren Law
North American Touring Car Championship: Dominic Dobson
1997
CART: Greg Moore
Trans Am: Tommy Kendall
Indy Lights: Tony Kanaan
Neon Charity Challenge: Carl Galeana
North American Touring Car Championship: David Donohue North American Touring Car Championship: Dominic Dobson
1998
CART: Alex Zanardi
Trans Am: Paul Gentilozzi
Barber Dodge Pro: Jeff Simmons
Neon Charity Challenge: Carl Galeana
Neon Charity Challenge: Jeff Stevens
Indy Lights: Airton Dare?
1999
CART: Dario Franchitti
Trans Am: Brian Simo
Indy Lights: Derek Higgins
Neon Charity Challenge: Bob Stander
Neon Charity Challenge: Bob Stander
Barber Dodge Pro: Todd Snyder
2000
CART: Helio Castroneves
Trans Am: Paul Gentilozzi
Indy Lights: Jonny Kane
Neon Charity Challenge: Bob Stander
Neon Charity Challenge: Doug Peterson
IMSA Barber Saab Pro/Barber Dodge Pro Series: Jon Fogarty
2001
CART: Helio Castroneves
Trans Am: Paul Gentilozzi
World Challenge GT (Pirelli World Challenge): Peter Cunningham
IMSA Barber Saab Pro/Barber Dodge Pro Series: Matt Plumb
Celebrity Team Challenge: Sean Patrick Flanery
2007
IndyCar: Tony Kanaan
American Le Mans: Tim Bernhard/Romain Dumas (LMP2), Emanuele Pirro/Marco Werner (LMP1), Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen (GT1), Mika Salo/Jamie Melo (GT2)
2008
IndyCar: Justin Wilson
American Le Mans: James Rossiter/Franck Montagny (LMP2), Oliver Gavin/Olivier Beretta (GT1), Wolf Henzler/Jorg Bergmeister (GT2)
World Challenge GT (Pirelli World Challenge): Randy Probst
2012
IndyCar: Scott Dixon
Grand-Am: Joao Barbosa/J.C. France/Darren Law (P), Paul Edwards/Jordan Taylor (GT) World Challenge: Johnny O’Connell (GT), Andy Lee (GTS)
World Challenge: Johnny O’Connell (GT), Andy Lee (GTS)
Indy Lights: Gustavo Yacama?n
2013
IndyCar: Mike Conway
IndyCar: Simon Pagenaud
Grand-Am: Max Angelelli/Jordan Taylor (DP), John Edwards/Robin Liddell (GT) World Challenge: Johnny O’Connell (GT), Mark Wilkins (GTS)
World Challenge: Randy Pobst (GT), Dean Martin (GTS)
2014
IndyCar: Will Power
IndyCar: Helio Castroneves
IMSA: Ricky Taylor/Jordan Taylor (P), Alessandro Balzan/Jeff Westphal (GTD) World Challenge: Johnny O’Connell (GT), Dean Martin (GTS)
World Challenge: Johnny O’Connell (GT), Dean Martin (GTS)
Stadium SUPER Trucks: E.J. Viso
Stadium SUPER Trucks: E.J. Viso
Stadium SUPER Trucks: E.J. Viso
2015
IndyCar: Carlos Munoz
IndyCar: Sebastien Bourdais
IMSA: Dane Cameron/Eric Curran (P), Renger van der Zande/Mirco Schultis (PC), Mario Farnbacher/Ian James (GTD)
World Challenge: Kevin Estre (GT), Henrique Cisneros (GTA)
Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks: Robby Gordon
Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks: E.J. Viso
Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks: Burt Jenner
2016
IndyCar: Sebastien Bourdais
IndyCar: Will Power
IMSA: Ricky Taylor/Jordan Taylor (P), Renger van der Zande/Alex Popow (PC), Jeroen Bleekemolen/Ben Keating (GTD)
Trans Am: RJ Lopez (TA) Kyle Marcelli (TA2) Dean Martin (TA4)
Trans Am: John Baucom (TA) Adam Andretti (TA2) Ernie Francis Jr. (TA4)
Stadium SUPER Trucks: Matt Brabham
Stadium SUPER Trucks: Matt Brabham
2017
IndyCar: Graham Rahal
IndyCar: Graham Rahal
IMSA: Ricky Taylor/Jordan Taylor (P), James French/Patricio O’Ward (PC), Andy Lally/Katherine Legge (GTD)
Trans Am: Ernie Francis Jr. (TA)
Trans Am: Gar Robinson (TA2)
Stadium SUPER Trucks: Sheldon Creed
Stadium SUPER Trucks: Sheldon Creed
2018
IndyCar: Scott Dixon
IndyCar: Ryan Hunter-Reay
IMSA: Felipe Nasr/Eric Curran (P), Katherine Legge/Mario Farnbacher (GTD) Trans Am: Tony Buffomante (TA2)
Trans Am: Rafa Matos (TA2)
Stadium SUPER Trucks: Gavin Harilen
Stadium SUPER Trucks: Arie Luyendyk Jr.
2019
IndyCar: Josef Newgarden
IndyCar: Scott Dixon
IMSA: Juan Pablo Montoya/Dane Cameron (P), Jack Hawksworth/Richard Heistand (GTD)
Trans Am: Misha Goikhberg (TA)
Trans Am: Tony Ave (TA2)