Detroit Grand Prix reps want to keep race
Officials estimate 100,000 attended three-day event
GEORGE SIPPLE
DETROIT - Graham Rahal, who won both Verizon IndyCar Series races on Belle Isle last weekend, raved about the job Roger Penske has done with the island’s street track during a media session on Monday at the Hudson Cafe in downtown Detroit.
Officials from the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear said an estimated 100,000 people were in attendance over the three-day event, including the IndyCar Dual races on Saturday and Sunday.
Grand Prix chairman Bud Denker on Sunday said talks between Penske and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources already have begun to continue the race on Belle Isle.
The current agreement expires next year, but Denker hopes to have a new deal in place in a couple of months. It’s unclear the term Penske is seeking on the deal, but Denker said they plan to have the event on Belle Isle “for many, many years to come.”
Penske made the Raceway at Belle Isle Park smoother this year by grinding down two straightaways.
Rahal said the smoother back straightaway “made the biggest difference in the entire world.”
“It was so nice,” Rahal said. “And the same with the front straight. If you ask drivers, of course everybody’s going to ask for more. But you know, I fully understand what Roger has done here, and I hope not only us as racers but people in this city understand how much he’s done to improve that facility and the roads around there on his own dime. Nobody else would do that.
“I legitimately feel that way. No matter where we go, no matter where we race, I don’t believe that any other promoter ever (would) spend that kind of (money) “their personal money to go racing. That just doesn’t happen.”
Denker, according to Rahal, said the plan is to pave from Turn 1 to down into Turn 3 next year.
“That’s the next bumpiest section of the track,” Rahal said. “So if they can fix all the roads, the island should be very grateful.”
Rahal said the course is going to be bumpy because of the weather in Michigan.
“Here you experience winters, you experience all this other stuff,” Rahal said. “We can’t expect this place to be silky smooth. It’s just not going to happen.”
Rahal said improvements over the years at the track are “a constant evolution.”
“Like I said, I don’t want to understate the fact that nobody but Roger Penske would do this,” said Rahal, who drives a Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Rahal clearly was comfortable with the track last weekend. He said after a practice session on Friday his car could dominate as long as he could run up front. The confidence annoyed Josef Newgarden, new to the Penske fold.
Rahal wasn’t guaranteeing his fifth or sixth career IndyCar wins. He was just expressing confidence in how well he thought his car was set up.
And as much fun as it was for him to prove he could dominate — and in the process keep Team Penske and other Chevrolet drivers from winning in their own backyard — he made sure to credit Penske for the work he’s done to make the Detroit Grand Prix a success.