Downtown Detroit Grand Prix attracts new and old fans in second year
While some drivers feel the racecourse is still too small for IndyCar, spectator turnout was strong over the three-day weekend.
The field of IndyCar exits the pits at the start of the 2024 Detroit Grand Prix.
The 2024 Detroit Grand Prix is in the books. Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon won the headline IndyCar race, after three days of cars running around the downtown track.
The grand prix returned downtown last year for the first time since the 1990s, essentially making it a new event, with all the buzz a fresh experience brings. Year two was an opportunity to see if racing around the Renaissance Center is the kind of thing that can have staying power in Detroit.
Listen: Drivers and fans discuss the Detroit Grand Prix.
Drivers thoughts
Drivers competing in the event returned to the city with mixed opinions of the track layout. One driver who is a fan of the circuit is Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin.
“I just thought it was different,” said McLaughlin. “It’s tough, it’s unique, you race along the water.”
However, many competitors have been critical of the circuit. That includes two-time and reigning IndyCar Champion Alex Palou, who won last year’s race.
“I thought it was a bit small,” Palou said. “It’s a bit short honestly.”
Palou says the lap time of about one minute is lower than at other places where the series runs, making it hard to find space during practice.
“The track itself, I think it raced really well,” Palou said of the 2023 race. “But I would still like to add a couple more corners…so we would have a little bit more space.”
Similar to the 2023 running, this year’s Detroit IndyCar was marred by cautions. Of the race’s 100 laps, 47 were spent at a reduced speed while safety crews cleaned up accidents on tracks.
Competitors also note the track, like many Michigan roads, is very bumpy. But Team Penske driver Will Power says that isn’t anything new for IndyCar.
“Typical IndyCar street course, sort of rough and rugged,” Power said. “You know, that’s the sort of tracks we race on.”
Power says it’s the type of venue that sets IndyCar apart from racing in other parts of the world, like Europe.
“We’re not like F1 where it’s pristine,” he said, “they wouldn’t know what hit them if they come to some of our tracks.”
Missing Belle Isle
Around the Renaissance Center, long-time race fans are getting use to life at the city’s new home for motorsport. Brent Powell says he’s been a regular attendee at the Grand Prix for more than 30 years.
“It’s fun being downtown,” said Powell. “I always wondered what it was like. I collect a lot of the old posters from the downtown race years ago.”
“If I had my choice, I’d prefer the island.”
— Brent Powell, race fan
However, he says he isn’t totally sold on racing downtown.
“I like what they’ve done with the city circuit,” he continues, “but if I had my choice, I’d prefer the island.”
Powell points out that the open spaces of Belle Isle, where the Grand Prix used to be held, were a bit easier to navigate.
Year two improvements
Detroit Grand Prix President Michael Montri says ease of navigation is an area that organizers worked to improve at the downtown racecourse.
“It’s a tight street circuit,” said Montri, “And we got a lot better I believe this year with the logistics of it.”
One challenge of putting on a car race down Jefferson Avenue is that the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel has to remain open for normal passenger cars connecting with I-375.
“I think we underestimated last year, once we had the track built and [cars were racing] how hard it was going to be to get east-west,” said Montri. “So we have a number of improvements along those lines.”
Montri said that included adding golf carts that rode attendees from one end of the track to the other. He says grandstand tickets for Sunday’s IndyCar were completely sold out.
Organizers also tripled the number of parking decks opened for free, general admission viewing of the racecourse. That option was well received, with some fans remarking it seemed like a better viewing angle than some of the paid seating.
Improving accessibility to the venue was a goal of race officials when moving the event back downtown. Teddi Ragland, who is in her 17th year of volunteering at the Detroit Grand Prix, feels that’s been accomplished.
“People can just take any mode of transportation we have here,” said Ragland. “The Q-Line, the People Mover, the city buses — walk, ride or whatever.”
New fans
Ragland, who drives a hospitality shuttle, says she’s noticed more young fans and families than when the racing was on Belle Isle. Fans like 30-year-old Lawrence Gilchrist, who says the Grand Prix reminds him of the driving video games he played growing up.
“For it to be in the city is amazing because I used to play Midnight Club [a street racing video game],” said Gilchrist. “Seeing them do that actually in person is awesome.”
“I never thought I could see [professional racing] in person.”
— Lawrence Gilchrist, race fan
Gilchrist says he had never been to a race before, but after trying it out on Friday, he came back on Saturday and Sunday.
“And me growing up, watching NASCAR on TV, I never thought I could see [professional racing] in person,” said Gilchrist. “So I’m seeing it in person, which is a good experience.”
One reason cities hold big events is to get people out and about. A motorsport series, like IndyCar, hopes racing in a population center exposes new fans — who will tune into a broadcast even when the competition moves elsewhere.
Two years into the Detroit Grand Prix’s tenure downtown, there are signs that could be happening.
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