Is Moving Away From The Island Good For The Race?
It was unveiled back in November 2021, that beginning in 2023, the NTT IndyCar Series race weekend in the Motor City would be moving away from Belle Isle Park and back into the streets of downtown Detroit. This weekend, we finally met that move.
Is this a wise move though?
I mean the first time there ever was a race in the Motor City was in 1982 and it was on these streets of downtown. That was for a F1 race. That lasted until 1988. In 1989, CART came to town to replace F1 and they raced on the street course in downtown for three years.
A year later, CART moved from downtown to Belle Isle and would remain there through 2001. They didn’t go back in 2002 and wouldn’t again until Roger Penske got involved. Thank the Super Bowl at Ford Field for that.
Penske, was on the Super Bowl XL committee and strived to bring an INDYCAR race back to his hometown in 2007. That worked. Then came the economy drop out which greatly affected the Detroit area.
INDYCAR stopped going again in 2009 but returned in 2012. With the current contract ending at the end of 2022, Penske Corp, who not only run the series but also promotes the race, is wanting a fresh start and that’s to move the race back downtown.
Is this the best move for this race moving forward?
They see how well the street course races are going in St. Pete and Long Beach as well as how well Nashville went and thought that moving the race to downtown Detroit could spark more fans instead of racing on the island.
This year’s race should provide a much larger attended event, but it makes you wonder, why does a move a few miles inland make more fans want to come as opposed to a scenic island?
Belle Isle put on a hell of a show in its last two years for hte downtown streets have a lot to live up to.
Is Detroit The Best Spot For Race After Indy?
This is one that’s been debated for a while. Does going to Belle Isle and now inland to the streets of downtown Detroit in the race after Indy hurt all the momentum gained from the Month of May. I mean, it’s no secret, the biggest peak of the annual INDYCAR season is the Month of May. You get the biggest attended race with the most viewership all month.
The big key is, how can you minimize the drop off going into June? You’re not going to keep all the casual fans. That’s not expected. But, how do you keep some of them around and what’s the percentage that you’d like to retain as new fans moving forward.
That’s why the spot after Indy is so key which is why the question being asked is, is Detroit the best place to go to?
The race after Indy for years has been on network ABC or NBC. Last year, it was on USA. Ratings too a nose dive because of that. Now, it’s back on network NBC.
This year will also mark the 11th time in the last 12 years that Belle Isle and/or Detroit has served as the race after Indy. The only exception was 2020 when Indy was moved to August, Belle Isle left off the schedule and World Wide Technology Raceway as the new venue post Indy.
But, since Belle Isle was brought back in 2012, Detroit has annually served as the race at the Indy 500. Prior to that, it was Texas doing so in a two-year reign with the final year (2011) being two weeks after Indy, before Milwaukee was long as the race in that spot.
Most want Milwaukee back, and there’s rumors of that occurring. So, as the race moves to the downtown streets this year, is this race the best one served after Indy or is it somewhere else?
Penske selfishly would love to keep Detroit in this place on the schedule. It’s a marquee position. Plus, he gets three straight races under his umbrella since he controls the Indianapolis Motor Speedway now too.
But, if he takes the promoter hat off and the series leadership hat on, does he still feel this way or does he visit a new race after Indy?
If you go down the road of a change of venue for the week after Indy, you have to have a better option. What’s the better option to keep the momentum going and force the casual fans to want to tune in or even head to the gates to go to the race?
Is Having A Race 1 Week After Indy Wise?
In 2021, the Belle Isle doubleheader weekend was moved back a week to help the teams and drivers have a break from a daunting Indy schedule. The last two years now however, the race weekend in Detroit moves back up to a week after Indy, albeit just one, not two races. The thing is, with Road America being pushed back a week now, it gives a break, but still this weekend marks a grueling stretch that included Indy 500 open testing, changing the cars over to Barber, a week off, then to Indy for the road course weekend, a change over to oval cars for a full week of practice at IMS, Indy 500 qualifying, Indy 500 week, Indy 500 and now a street course in Detroit.
So, is it wise to race a week later or should you take a break?
The attention train is on you, so I see the point of keep moving. Why break the momentum? But, with how much work does into this in May, wouldn’t a week off to recharge the batteries be wise too?
What’s the balance here?
Can Teams Improve On Street Courses Between Long Beach And Detroit?
2 of the first 3 races to the 2023 season were on street courses. At that point, you kind of had what you had on them. However, there’s now been nearly a two-month gap between Long Beach and Detroit. Is that enough time to make improvements on your street course package or is what you had earlier this season what you have all season?
The thing is, from Long Beach to Detroit has been a busy one. A week after Long Beach was the Indy 500 open test. After that was to Barber in Alabama for a natural road course. Then, there was a week off before another natural road course at Indy. After that was full focus for the next two weeks on the IMS oval before showing up to Detroit this weekend.
Was it worth to focus on your street course package in this busy time?
Penske won 3 of the 5 last year with Ganassi and Scott Dixon taking the other two. Ganassi (Marcus Ericsson) is 1-for-2 this year with being winners in 3 of the last 4 while Andretti won the last time out in Long Beach.
Honda is 2-for-2 on street courses this season with taking 5 of the 6 podiums too. It went Ganassi-McLaren-Ganassi in St. Pete and Andretti-Andretti-Ganassi in Long Beach.
Right now, this is an Andretti vs. Ganassi battle on street courses.
In Long Beach, the two organizations swept the entire top five of the finishing order and had 6 of the top 8 finishers in general.
Did anyone do enough to close that gap?
Will Race Be Won On Saturday?
Starting position is everything in an NTT INDYCAR Series race. More importantly, on street courses. The tight confines of a downtown circuit makes passing as difficult as anywhere on the annual schedule.
3 of the 5 street course races a year ago were won from a front row starting spot. St. Pete this past year, was won from the second row (4th place). Long Beach was won from the pole.
Which leads me to wonder if Sunday’s race will be won in qualifying on Saturday. Don’t make the Fast Six, you don’t really have much of a shot at victory. However, oddly enough, the last three winners on the island came from Row 8 (15th, 16th, 16th) so maybe there is a chance Detroit gets wild too.
Race Review Online 