Preparations for the race were overshadowed by speculation over IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard's job, after he tweeted that some team owners were trying to get him fired.

After 38 laps, James Hinchcliffe hit a dislodged piece of the track and continued straight into the tire wall.

Rain also started to fall lightly, and shortly after the restart a caution was issued when Hélio Castroneves spun.

The IndyCar series had not visited Detroit since 2008,[2] when Justin Wilson won the race after taking the lead in the last 20 laps when Hélio Castroneves was penalized for blocking him.

[3] The following year's scheduled race was cancelled due to lack of funding, and the failure to secure sponsorship for the event.

[6] Roger Penske was one of the main advocates of the series returning to Detroit, and his company provided $6 million to improve the course on Belle Isle Park.

[6] Over 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of concrete was laid down across the paddock and the race course,[7] and the lighting and drainage were both repaired in the lead up to the event.

[8] The race was scheduled for the weekend after the Indianapolis 500, a slot that had previously been held by the Firestone 550 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

[11] The previous weekend's Indianapolis 500 had, according to an agency report, been "a breathtaking event, the kind that’s certain to be talked about through the years",[12] and provided a boost to the series, with the race receiving its highest Nielsen rating since 2008.

[14] The coup was based upon the owners' disgruntlement with the increasing cost of the Dallara DW12 chassis, and fines given out for the use of inapproved parts in races earlier in the season.

Ryan Briscoe, Simon Pagenaud and Tony Kanaan completed the top five, all recording times within half a second of Power.

Justin Wilson made light contact with a wall during the first lap of the race, and pitted shortly after due to a flat right-rear tire.

[37] On the same lap, Takuma Sato clipped the curb going into turn 12 and lost control of his car before hitting the wall, forcing his retirement.

This led to J. R. Hildebrand suffering a one lap penalty as his car required repair work, and a number of drivers being angered at having to stay on the harder tires, which were the slower compound.

[41] Rahal suffered clutch problems on the restart, which placed him two laps down, while the other drivers ran behind the safety car, during which the marshalls showed the areas in which repair work had been conducted.

Franchitti, who was the closest driver to the front to have the softer compound red tires fitted gained two positions on the restart, moving up to fourth.

However, the race was almost immediately under a yellow flag again as E. J. Viso was spun by Marco Andretti, and stalled in the middle of turn four.

From the ensuing restart, Dixon managed to maintain the lead from Franchitti, and the two Chip Ganassi Racing drivers completed a second successive one-two finish.

The race, which was moved from ABC to ESPNEWS because of the red flag delay, averaged 843,189 viewers, earning a 0.6 Nielsen rating.

[44] Bud Denker, the chairman of the Detroit Grand Prix Association announced shortly after the race that the track would be improved and lengthened for 2013.