The Detroit Grand Prix is
an IndyCar Series race weekend held on a temporary circuit in Detroit,
Michigan. The race has been held from 1989 to 2001, 2007 to 2008, and
since 2012. Since 2012, the event has been scheduled for the weekend
immediately following the Indianapolis 500. Including the 7 years the
race was an FIA Formula One event, the Grand Prix has been running
downtown for 32 years in total, 25 years as an IndyCar Series event.
The origins of the event date back to the Formula One Detroit Grand Prix
in 1982, held on the Detroit street circuit. The CART series began
headlining the event in 1989, and in 1992, the race moved from downtown
Detroit to Belle Isle, a park situated on an island in the Detroit
River, which is the longest serving venue of the race. The IndyCar
Series took over the race beginning in 2007. The race has been supported
by Indy Lights and Formula Atlantic and top-level sports car series such
as the Trans-Am Series and the ALMS. For 2023 the race will return to
the downtown streets around the Renaissance Center using a circuit
partially based on the original Detroit street circuit used by Formula
One and CART.
Open wheel racing in Detroit dates back to the 1920s–1950s, when AAA
held the Detroit 100 at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway. AAA
also held one five-mile (8 km), non-championship race at Grosse Pointe
in 1905.
The Raceway on Belle Isle is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit. The
original Detroit Street Circuit was considered at the time an FIA Grade
One circuit, while the upcoming downtown circuit is expected to also be
an FIA Grade Two Circuit.