The race dates back to 1982 when it was a Formula One World Championship event held on the Detroit street circuit encompassing the Renaissance Center.

By the time of the 1988 race, the FIA, the governing body of Formula One, had declared the street circuit's temporary pits and garages were not up to the required standard.

[2][3] Along with the criticism of the downtown circuit, local developers were also planning to begin construction along portions of that course, making it difficult to set up in the coming years.

Even though the circuit would be temporary, permanent garages and pit facilities would have needed to be constructed, at significant expense, and at the odds of conservation groups.

That track was courting Formula One, having recently completed capital improvements, and having just hosted a highly successful United States motorcycle Grand Prix.

[7][8] Formula One left Detroit permanently, and a short time later, it was officially announced that the U.S. Grand Prix was moving to Phoenix.

It was in Detroit in 1983 that Italian driver Michele Alboreto drove his Tyrrell 011 to victory in the US Grand Prix East in what would prove to be the 155th and last ever F1 win by the Cosworth DFV V8 engine.

[9] Instead of moving to Belle Isle, CART utilized a slightly modified version of the existing downtown Renaissance Center street circuit.

In addition to a disintegrating track made worse by suffocating heat and humidity, it saw Mario Andretti crash his Lola head-on into a tow truck.

The safety crew was attempting to remove Dennis Vitolo's stalled car from a blind corner at St. Antoine and East Jefferson Streets.

Ultimately, promoters considered the downtown circuit a money-loser, and claimed it was suffering from poor television ratings with its Father's Day date (up against the U.S.

One major difference that made Belle Isle viable for CART - and acceptable to locals - was that permanent Formula One style garages and pits were not required by the sanctioning body.

[14] The 2000 event saw young Brazilian Hélio Castroneves score his first Champ Car victory for Marlboro Team Penske.

After his victory lap, he stopped on the front stretch and climbed the catch fencing in an apparent effort to share his joy with the spectators.

[16] In 1997, it was noted that race winner Greg Moore started seventh and did not pass a single car competitively out on the track for position all day.

Penske had recently experienced tremendous success as head of the Super Bowl XL Detroit Metro Host Committee.

Some of the barriers were moved back, particularly inside the apexes of some of the turns, to effectively widen some curves and improve sight lines.

[30] Mere weeks after the 2022 IndyCar schedule was announced Penske Entertainment Group revealed that moving the Detroit Grand Prix to a single race weekend was done as part of a proposal discussed with the city of Detroit to return the race back to the Renaissance Center utilizing a new downtown circuit beginning in 2023.

It is designed to be less disruptive to city traffic while also being more accessible to spectators and having more points of visibility to the racing than the old Detroit Street Circuit.

From Rivard Street drivers will make a sharp left turn onto the circuit's most prominent feature, a 0.7 mile straightaway down East Jefferson Avenue.

Construction and tear down of the circuit will take place 8:00PM and 5:00AM over the course of twenty days respectively, minimizing disruptions to city traffic around the Renaissance Center.

[41] The unofficial track record is 1:13.056, set by Juan Pablo Montoya in a Lola B2K/00, during qualifying for the 2000 Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit.