Grand Prix of Cleveland
IndyCar/CART/Champ Car
LocationBurke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
41°31′2″N 81°40′59″W / 41.51722°N 81.68306°W / 41.51722; -81.68306
First race1982
Last race2007
Previous namesBudweiser Cleveland 500 (1982–1983)
Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix (1984–1991)
Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland (1992)
Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Dairy Mart (1993–1994)
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Dairy Mart (1995)
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland (1996–1997)
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Star Bank (1998)
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Firstar (1999)
Firstar Presents the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland (2000)
Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Firstar (2001)
Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank (2002)
U.S. Bank Presents the Grand Prix of Cleveland (2003)
U.S. Bank Presents the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland (2004)
Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank (2005–2006)
Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by LaSalle Bank (2007)
Most wins (driver)Danny Sullivan (3)
Emerson Fittipaldi (3)
Paul Tracy (3)
Most wins (team)Penske Racing (6)
Most wins (manufacturer)Lola (8)
Reynard (8)
Circuit information
SurfaceConcrete
Length2.106 mi (3.389 km)
Turns10

The Grand Prix of Cleveland was an Indy car event in the CART series, held annually at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The race was most recently held in 2007. After the 2008 open wheel unification, the 2008 race was cancelled. Attempts to revive the race have not yet come to fruition.[1][2][3]

Normally a fully functioning airport year-round, Burke Lakefront Airport was shut down for the week leading up to the event each year, requiring careful maintenance of the runways in order to keep them safe for cars at high speeds. The race was very popular amongst fans, as the long, wide, runways (much wider and longer than typical courses) allowed for side-by-side racing, fast speeds, and superb passing zones around the entire track. The layout and overall flatness of the circuit also allowed a view of nearly the entire course from the grandstands. The track was less popular with drivers, as the runways were much bumpier than normal asphalt courses. The first turn, in which the runway narrowed and the cars turned at an almost 45 degree angle at the end of the front straight, was seen as one of the toughest in the circuit.

History as a CART/ChampCar race

Originally known as the Budweiser Cleveland 500, it was first held on July 4, 1982 as part of the CART series. Kevin Cogan started from pole position; however, to the delight of the Cleveland crowd, local rookie driver Bobby Rahal (from nearby Medina) won the race.

From 1982 to 1989, the race was held on a 2.48-mile layout.[4] In 1990, the track configuration was abruptly changed. After practice, several cars were experiencing problems in a bumpy section in turns one and two. Prior to the start of the race, the track was slightly reconfigured, eliminating the left-right combination of turns one and two. The main straight was extended towards the location of what was turn three, which then became turn one. The new layout measured 2.369 miles, and the segment eliminated became instead an extended exit to the pit road. The new layout was then adopted permanently. In 1997 the track length was remeasured to 2.106 miles without visible changes on the layout. The current layout is known for its turn 1 "vortex" at the start of races - after the green flag dropped, drivers would fan out on the wide concrete to gain position and then arrive at the corner sometimes five or six cars abreast, and all at once be "sucked" into the apex of the corner, frequently resulting in multi-car crashes at or just past the corner and leading to cars retiring before completing a single lap of the race.

Twice, in 1984 and 1990, a round of IROC was held as a support race. Formula Lightning also participated as a support race in the mid-1990s.

In 2007, it was announced the race would continue at Cleveland through to 2012.[5] However, the race did not return in 2008 with the merger between the Champ Car and IndyCar.

Naming rights

The event's name has changed several times over the years to reflect naming rights sponsors of the race. However, from 1984, the event's generic name was the Cleveland Grand Prix. The name was switched around in 1992 to the Grand Prix of Cleveland, and the race retained this name until its cancellation.

Budweiser held naming rights through 1994. Cleveland-based pharmacy chain Medic Drug owned the rights from 1995 to 1999, and Marconi (now Telent plc) from 2000 to 2002. Presenting sponsors included Cleveland-based convenience store chain Dairy Mart from 1993 to 1995, Cincinnati-based Star Bank in 1998, and Star Bank's successor Firstar from 1999 to 2001. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, the successor of Firstar, held the presenting sponsorship from 2002 to 2006, with LaSalle Bank being the final presenting sponsor in 2007.

2006: 25th anniversary

The 25th running of the Grand Prix of Cleveland was held in June 2006. As well as the Champ Car race, scheduled support events included Champ Car Atlantic, Formula Ford 2000 and Touring Challenge for Corvettes. It was commemorated by a painting of memorable grand prix events, with the background being every winning car entering the first turn.

Indy Racing League controversy

The Cleveland Grand Prix nearly went to the IRL in 2000, but the plan was eventually scuttled. CART officials elected to drop the race from the schedule after a dispute with the promoter over the sanctioning fee.[6]

On June 29, 1999, it was announced that the race would switch alliances and become an event on the Indy Racing League schedule for 2000. The original course layout would be transformed into an oval configuration approximately 1.2 miles in length. A three-year initial contract was signed. The decision was not well received by fans. Weeks later, however, it was determined that construction necessary for the oval configuration would require FAA approval, and the city deemed the improvements excessive and not enhancing to the airport. On September 9, 1999, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White announced he was withdrawing his support of the project, and the IRL dropped the event. In 2000, the race returned as a Champ Car event on the original course.

Lap Records

The all-time outright unofficial track record on the original circuit layout is 1:04.636 seconds, set by Mario Andretti in a Lola T89/00, during qualifying for the 1989 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland. The outright track record on the later modified Grand Prix Circuit layout is 56.417 seconds, set by Jimmy Vasser in a Reynard 98I, during qualifying for the 1998 Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland.[7] The official race lap records at the Grand Prix of Cleveland are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleDate
Modified Grand Prix Circuit: 3.389 km (1990–2007)
Champ Car57.508Nelson PhilippeLola B02/002006 Grand Prix of Cleveland
CART58.473[8]Paul TracyLola B02/002002 Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland
Formula Atlantic1:04.255[9]Andreas WirthSwift 016.a2006 Cleveland Formula Atlantic round
Indy Lights1:05.720[10]Sergio PaeseLola T97/201998 Cleveland Indy Lights round
Trans-Am1:13.475[11]Scott PruettJaguar XKR2003 Cleveland Trans-Am round
Original Grand Prix Circuit: 3.999 km (1982–1989)[12]
CART1:09.670[13]Emerson FittipaldiMarch 87C1987 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland
Indy Lights1:13.902[14]Didier TheysWildcat-Buick1987 Cleveland Indy Lights round
Trans-Am1:20.217[15]Scott PruettMerkur XR4Ti1988 Cleveland Trans-Am round

Past race winners

Season Race Winner Winning Car Winning Team Report
1982 United States Bobby Rahal March-Ford-Cosworth TrueSports Report
1983 United States Al Unser Penske-Cosworth Penske Racing Report
1984 United States Danny Sullivan Lola-Cosworth Doug Shierson Racing Report
1985 United States Al Unser Jr. Lola-Cosworth Doug Shierson Racing Report
1986 United States Danny Sullivan March-Cosworth Penske Racing Report
1987 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi March-Chevrolet-Ilmor Patrick Racing Report
1988 United States Mario Andretti Lola-Chevrolet-Ilmor Newman/Haas Racing Report
1989 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Penske-Chevrolet-Ilmor Patrick Racing Report
1990 United States Danny Sullivan Penske-Chevrolet-Ilmor Penske Racing Report
1991 United States Michael Andretti Lola-Chevrolet-Ilmor Newman/Haas Racing Report
1992 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Penske-Chevrolet-Ilmor Penske Racing Report
1993 Canada Paul Tracy Penske-Chevrolet-Ilmor Penske Racing Report
1994 United States Al Unser Jr. Penske-Ilmor Penske Racing Report
1995 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Reynard-Ford-Cosworth Team Green Report
1996 Brazil Gil de Ferran Reynard-Honda Jim Hall Racing Report
1997 Italy Alex Zanardi Reynard-Honda Chip Ganassi Racing Report
1998 Italy Alex Zanardi Reynard-Honda Chip Ganassi Racing Report
1999 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Reynard-Honda Chip Ganassi Racing Report
2000 Brazil Roberto Moreno Reynard-Ford-Cosworth Patrick Racing Report
2001 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Reynard-Honda Team KOOL Green Report
2002 Canada Patrick Carpentier Reynard-Ford-Cosworth Team Player's Report
2003 France Sébastien Bourdais Lola-Ford-Cosworth Newman/Haas Racing Report
2004 France Sébastien Bourdais Lola-Ford-Cosworth Newman/Haas Racing Report
2005 Canada Paul Tracy Lola-Ford-Cosworth Forsythe Championship Racing Report
2006 United States A. J. Allmendinger Lola-Ford-Cosworth Forsythe Racing Report
2007 Canada Paul Tracy Panoz-Cosworth Forsythe Racing Report

Lights/Atlantics winners

Season Series Race Winner
1987 American Racing Series Belgium Didier Theys
1988 American Racing Series Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio II
1990 American Racing Series Canada Paul Tracy
1991 Indy Lights United States Mark Smith
1992 Indy Lights France Franck Fréon
1993 Indy Lights United States Bryan Herta
1994 Indy Lights United States Eddie Lawson
1995 Indy Lights Canada Greg Moore
1996 Indy Lights Brazil Gualter Salles
1997 Atlantic Championship Canada Bertrand Godin
1998 Atlantic Championship Canada Kenny Wilden
1998 Indy Lights Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr.
1999 Indy Lights Republic of Ireland Derek Higgins
2000 Atlantic Championship United States Buddy Rice
2001 Atlantic Championship Brazil Hoover Orsi
2002 Atlantic Championship United States Ryan Hunter-Reay
2003 Atlantic Championship United States A. J. Allmendinger
2004 Atlantic Championship United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
2005 Atlantic Championship Netherlands Charles Zwolsman
Netherlands Charles Zwolsman
2006 Atlantic Championship United States Graham Rahal
United States Graham Rahal
2007 Atlantic Championship Brazil Raphael Matos

References

  1. "IndyCar Series - Indianapolis Star - indystar.com". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19.
  2. "2008 Grand Prix of Cleveland". grandprixofcleveland.com.
  3. Is time running out on reviving Cleveland's tradition of open-wheel racing? - Cleveland.com, July 11, 2010
  4. "1988 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland". racing-reference.info.
  5. Champ Car > News Thursday, November 8, 2007
  6. "IRL takes over at Cleveland". The Indianapolis Star. June 30, 1999. p. 33. Retrieved March 24, 2016 via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. "Cleveland". Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  8. "2002 Cleveland Champ Cars". Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  9. "2006 Formula Atlantic Cleveland (Race 2)". Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  10. "1998 Cleveland Indy Lights". Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. "Cleveland: Race report". Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. "Cleveland". Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  13. "1987 BUDWEISER GRAND PRIX OF CLEVELAND". Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  14. "1987 Cleveland Indy Lights". Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  15. "1988 TRANS-AM BOX SCORES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
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