IndyCar to return to Detroit Grand Prix for at least 3 more years
DETROIT — The Detroit Grand Prix is coming back for 2026 and beyond.
As confirmed by Penske Corp. vice president of community and government affairs Letty Azar, the Grand Prix has signed a three-year contract with the Detroit City Council, with an option for a fourth year. That should keep IndyCar's grand prix on the streets of Downtown Detroit through 2028 (and possibly 2029) on the current deal.
In 2021, Detroit Grand Prix officials agreed to a contract with the Detroit City Council to hold the grand prix in downtown Detroit for three years starting in 2023.
It marked a return to a downtown street course that the grand prix started with in 1982 before moving to Belle Isle for stops and starts between 1989 and 2022.
One potential issue surrounding the future of the race is the uncertain fate of the Renaissance Center, which currently has plans to have two of its buildings demolished. Grand Prix president Bud Denker said the RenCen's potential deconstruction creates a situation that is still "TBD" for the Grand Prix.
"That's still a little ways off, because a couple of things have to happen in 2027," Denker said, referring to Ford Field hosting the 2027 Final Four. According to Denker, that event will require hotel rooms provided by the Marriott hotel inside of the Renaissance Center to take place.
"Nothing is going to be going away here from what we understand until past 2027," he said.
Denker also poured cold water on the possibility of extending the track, currently the shortest street course on the IndyCar circuit at under 1.7 miles. To extend it to the east would bring it to a residential neighborhood, while extending it to the west would bring it closer to the Huntington Center, which would leave little to no room for safe turnout areas on the fastest stretch of the course.
When asked if it was possible to make the course wider, Denker said no, saying the blocks that hold the base of the walls are already on top of the street curbs.
Denker highlighted the growth of the 2025 race, saying that the Grand Prix outsold its total 2024 ticket volume by Friday, May 30 — two days before the race.
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