Everything you need to know about the 2014 Chasers at Homestead

By Nov 11, 2014, 12:30 PM EST
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The final battle awaits.

Four drivers – Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Ryan Newman – will enter Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with an opportunity to win their inaugural Cup championships.

These four have had their points reset ahead of their final run for glory, and no bonus points for leading a lap or the most laps will be on offer for them. The one that finishes the highest will be crowned champion.

And what a Championship 4 we have. Two of them, Harvick and Logano, were chosen by many to be in this situation when the Chase began in September. Between them, they’ve captured nine wins and have been among the fastest drivers all year long.

The other two, Hamlin and Newman, are underdogs that are still standing. Hamlin has only taken one checkered flag, and Newman hasn’t won at all. But here they are thanks to their own clockwork consistency and setbacks for their Chase rivals.

The quartet has managed to survive all the twists and turns that this post-season has delivered. For them, their hard work has come down to this.

Courtesy of NASCAR’s public relations and statistics teams, here’s everything you need to know going into the 10th and final race of the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup – the Ford Ecoboost 400…

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

1 – Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.7
2014 Rundown
· One win, seven top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 14.5
· Led 17 races for 313 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 11.2 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 14.0, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, eighth-best
· 88 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· Series-high 826 Green Flag Passes
· 1,406 Laps in the Top 15 (58.5%), 11th-most

2 – Joey Logano (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 106.7
2014 Rundown
· Five wins, 16 top fives, 22 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 11.2
· Led 22 races for 993 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top 10; one pole
· Average finish of 20.8 in five races
· Average Running Position of 19.5, 19th-best
· Driver Rating of 71.2, 22nd-best

3 – Ryan Newman (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 86.1
2014 Rundown
· Four top fives, 15 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.0
· Led 7 races for 41 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, four top 10s
· Average finish of 17.0 in 12 races
· Average Running Position of 13.8, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 84.8, 13th-best
· 696 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
· 1,520 Laps in the Top 15 (63.2%), ninth-most
· 426 Quality Passes, third-most

4 – Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 109.9
2014 Rundown
· Four wins, 13 top fives, 19 top 10s; eight poles
· Average finish of 13.3
· Led 26 races for 2,083 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Five top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 8.1 in 13 races
· Average Running Position of 10.9, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 99.1, fourth-best
· 83 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· 681 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.857 mph, fifth-fastest
· 1,805 Laps in the Top 15 (75.1%), fourth-most
· 398 Quality Passes, sixth-most

5 – Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 103.6
2014 Rundown
· Six wins, 16 top fives, 19 top 10s; five poles
· Average finish of 12.9
· Led 27 races for 1,540 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top 10
· Average finish of 17.0 in six races
· Average Running Position of 16.8, 14th-best
· Driver Rating of 80.3, 16th-best

6 – Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 109.4
2014 Rundown
· Four wins, 14 top fives, 22 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 10.4
· Led 25 races for 922 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One win, seven top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 10.6 in 15 races
· Average Running Position of 12.5, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 96.5, sixth-best
· 91 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 678 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.852 mph, sixth-fastest
· 1,734 Laps in the Top 15 (72.1%), sixth-most
· 442 Quality Passes, second-most

7 – Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Dollar General Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.8
2014 Rundown
· 13 top fives, 21 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.4
· Led 20 races for 529 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One win, four top fives, six top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.5 in 14 races
· Average Running Position of 8.6, third-best
· Driver Rating of 109.8, third-best
· 123 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 162.160 mph, third-fastest
· 1,984 Laps in the Top 15 (82.5%), second-most
· 364 Quality Passes, 10th-most

8 – Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 89.7
2014 Rundown
· One win, nine top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 17.0
· Led 15 races for 453 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, three top 10s
· Average finish of 21.3 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 14.8, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, seventh-best
· 122 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 1,579 Laps in the Top 15 (65.7%), seventh-most
· 396 Quality Passes, seventh-most

9 – Carl Edwards (No. 99 Fastenal Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 81.4
2014 Rundown
· Two wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 14.5
· Led 11 races for 135 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Two wins, five top fives, seven top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 6.6 in 10 races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 8.0
· Series-best Driver Rating of 115.5
· Series-high 266 Fastest Laps Run
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 162.432 mph
· Series-high 2,057 Laps in the Top 15 (85.6%)
· 382 Quality Passes, eighth-most

10 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.7
2014 Rundown
· Four wins, 12 top fives, 20 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.1
· Led 17 races for 383 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 20.7 in 14 races
· Average Running Position of 19.1, 18th-best
· Driver Rating of 76.9, 19th-best
· 134 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 815 Green Flag Passes, second-most

11 – AJ Allmendinger (No. 47 Hungry Jack Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 71.1
2014 Rundown
· One win, two top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 19.6
· Led 5 races for 68 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 15.4 in five races
· Average Running Position of 20.0, 21st-best
· Driver Rating of 77.6, 17th-best

12 – Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 78.5
2014 Rundown
· Three top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.7
· Led 7 races for 110 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Three wins, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 15.2 in 12 races
· Average Running Position of 15.6, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 88.7, 12th-best
· 103 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· 798 Green Flag Passes, third-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.629 mph, 11th-fastest
· 1,280 Laps in the Top 15 (53.2%), 12th-most
· 302 Quality Passes, 12th-most

13 – Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.0
2014 Rundown
· Four wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 15.5
· Led 17 races for 1,310 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· Four top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 14.8 in 13 races
· Average Running Position of 13.0, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 96.6, fifth-best
· 84 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.978 mph, fourth-fastest
· 1,775 Laps in the Top 15 (73.8%), fifth-most
· 402 Quality Passes, fifth-most

14 – Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.8
2014 Rundown
· One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 19.2
· Led 14 races for 219 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One win, four top fives, five top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 19.8 in 13 races
· Average Running Position of 22.9, 25th-best
· Driver Rating of 72.0, 21st-best

15 – Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.3
2014 Rundown
· One win, three top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 17.8
· Led 12 races for 218 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, four top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 15.2 in 10 races
· Average Running Position of 12.9, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 90.0, 10th-best
· 106 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· 763 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 161.658 mph, 10th-fastest
· 1,470 Laps in the Top 15 (61.1%), 10th-most
· 370 Quality Passes, ninth-most

16 – Aric Almirola (No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 72.1
2014 Rundown
· One win, two top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 21.5
· Led 5 races for 23 laps
Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 15.5 in four races
· Average Running Position of 18.0, 15th-best
· Driver Rating of 80.5, 15th-best

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Homestead-Miami Speedway Track Data
Race 36 of 36
1.5-mile oval
Banking, turns: 18-20 degrees
Banking, straights: 4 degrees
Frontstretch/backstretch length: 1,760 feet
Race length: 267 laps, 400.5 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Homestead
Carl Edwards, 115.5
Martin Truex Jr., 110.0
Matt Kenseth, 109.8
Kevin Harvick, 99.1
Jimmie Johnson, 96.6
Jeff Gordon, 96.5
Kyle Busch, 93.4
Denny Hamlin, 93.4
Clint Bowyer, 92.7
*Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (9 total) among active drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Qualifying/Race Data
2013 pole winner: Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 177.667 mph (30.394 seconds), 11.15.2013
2013 race winner: Denny Hamlin, TOyota, 130.693 mph (3 hours, 3 minutes, 52 seconds), 11.17.2013
Track qualifying record: Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 181.111 mph, 29.816 seconds, 11.14.2003
Track race record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 142.245 mph (2 hours, 48 minutes, 56 seconds), 11.18.2012

Homestead-Miami Speedway History

· Groundbreaking for Homestead-Miami Dade Motorsports Complex – as the track was originally named – began Aug. 24, 1993.

· The first race held at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Nov. 5, 1995 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett.

· The original configuration was a four-turn, rectangular oval based on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s layout.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead was held on Nov. 14, 1999 – won by Tony Stewart.

· 2002 was the first season of the Championship Weekend at Homestead, with all three of NASCAR’s national series holding their season finale at the same track.

Homestead-Miami Speedway Notebook

· Since the inception of the position-based points system in 1975, only four drivers have made up a points deficit in the season finale: Richard Petty in 1979 (made up two points on Darrell Waltrip), Alan Kulwicki in 1992 (made up 30 points on Davey Allison), Jimmie Johnson in 2010 (made up 15 points on Denny Hamlin) and Tony Stewart in 2012 (made up three points on Carl Edwards).

· There have been 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, one per season since 1999.

· 113 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Homestead; 89 in more than one.

· Two drivers have made all 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Homestead: Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon.

· David Green won the first Coors Light pole at Homestead in 1999 at a speed of 155.759 mph (34.669 sec.).

· There have been 11 different Coors Light pole winners, led by Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne with two each.

· Youngest Homestead-Miami pole winner: Joey Logano (11/18/2012 – 22 years, 5 months, 25 days).

· Oldest Homestead-Miami pole winner: Bill Elliott (11/11/2001 – 46 years, 1 month, 3 days).

· Jamie McMurray (November, 2003) and David Reutimann (November, 2008) won their first career Coors Light poles at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

· There have been nine different NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners at Homestead-Miami; three have won more than once, led by Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart with three each. Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin (two each) are the only other drivers with multiple wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

· Of the three drivers with multiple wins at Homestead, Tony Stewart is the only driver to win in two different manufacturers: Pontiac (1999, 2000) and Chevrolet (2011).

· Two of the 15 (13.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole: Bill Elliott (2001) and Kurt Busch (2002).

· Five of the 15 (33.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Homestead have been won from the front row: two from the pole and three from second-place.

· 10 of the 15 (66.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Homestead have been won from a starting position inside the top 10.

· 5 of the 15 (33.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Homestead have been won from a starting position outside the top 10 – most recently – Jeff Gordon (15th-place starting position; 2012).

· Denny Hamlin won the 2009 race from the 38th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started at HMS.

· Two drivers have won consecutive races at Homestead-Miami: Tony Stewart (1999 – 2000) and Greg Biffle (2004 – 2006, three straight).

· Carl Edwards leads the series in average finish at Homestead with a 6.600; only two other drivers have an average finish inside the top 10: Kevin Harvick (8.078) and Martin Truex Jr. (9.222).

· Roush Fenway Racing leads the series in wins at Homestead with seven, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with five.

· Youngest Homestead winner: Kurt Busch (11/17/2002 – 24 years, 3 months, 13 days).

· Oldest Homestead winner: Bill Elliott (11/11/2001 – 46 years, 1 month, 3 days).

· Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick lead the series in runner-up finishes at Homestead with two each.

· Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Homestead with seven; followed by Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick with five each.

· Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick lead the series in top-10 finishes at Homestead with 11 each; followed by Jimmie Johnson with eight.

· Eight of the nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Homestead-Miami participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Tony Stewart (1999) is the only driver to win at Homestead in his first appearance.

· Dale Earnhardt Jr. lead the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 14.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Homestead was the (4/10/2010) race won by Greg Biffle with a MOV of 0.017 seconds.

· Danica Patrick became the first female driver to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season; starting 24th and finishing 20th.

NASCAR in Florida

· There have been 176 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among eight tracks in Florida. 135 of them have been run at Daytona International Speedway, followed by 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, 10 at the Daytona Beach and Road Course, seven at Palm Beach Speedway (West Palm Beach), six at Speedway Park (Jacksonville), and one apiece at three other facilities.

· 173 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Florida.

· There have been 10 race winners from Florida in NASCAR’s three national series.
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Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup: Homestead-Miami Speedway

· Homestead-Miami Speedway has been a part of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup since the playoff’s inception in 2004. This season the track will host its 11th Chase event.

· The winner of the Homestead-Miami Chase race has gone on to win the championship during the Chase era once: Tony Stewart (2011).

· Greg Biffle leads the series in Chase race wins at Homestead-Miami with three (2004 – 2006); followed by Carl Edwards with two (2008, 2010).

· The worst finish in a Chase race by the eventual series champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway is 15th (three times), Tony Stewart in 2005, Jimmie Johnson in 2008 and Brad Keselowski in 2012.

· Chase Contenders have won seven of the 10 previous Chase races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Two non-Chase contenders have won a Homestead-Miami Chase race: Greg Biffle (2004 and 2006) and Denny Hamlin (2013).

· Four of the 10 previous Chase races at Homestead the eventual series champion has finished in the top five.

· Roush Fenway Racing leads the series in Chase race wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway with six, including five consecutive: Greg Biffle (2004 – 2006), Matt Kenseth (2007) and Carl Edwards (2008).

· Ford leads the series in Chase wins at Homestead with six; followed by Chevrolet with two.

· The most dominant performance by a Chase race winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway is Carl Edwards’ victory in 2010. He posted a Perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 and led 190 of the 267 laps (71.1% of his laps completed) – most by a Chase race winner at Homestead.

With fierce racing, IndyCar found redemption and rebirth on the streets of downtown Detroit

By Jun 9, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
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DETROIT – A lap in the IndyCar Grand Prix had yet to be turned on the streets of Detroit, and race drivers were doing what they sometimes do best – expecting the worst of a new race course.

It was the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, and some of the top drivers in the NTT IndyCar Series, including pole winner Alex Palou, were questioning the nine-turn, 1.645-mile street course in downtown Detroit. Even after he won the pole on Saturday, Palou had said the Indy cars were too big, the race course was too small, too tight and too bumpy for the series to put on a competitive race.

It was Sunday morning, five hours before the race, and the IndyCar morning warmup session just had ended. Penske Corp. president Bud Denker, the Detroit GP chairman, was talking to NBC Sports as the Indy cars were being wheeled back to the paddock following the warmup session.

Instead of his trademark smile and optimism, Denker was determined and stern. As Palou’s No. 10 Honda was being pulled by the team’s tire wagon into the paddock, Denker expressed his feelings.

“I’m really not happy with some of the comments that driver has been making,” Denker said.

Denker’s team had spent the better part of two years envisioning and developing a street course that could create a major racing event without shutting down the Detroit business community.

Jefferson Avenue, the main thoroughfare in the city’s business district, remained open thanks to some creative track design (because the race course crossed Jefferson over a bridge and also couldn’t impede the adjacent tunnel that was an international crossing to Windsor, Canada).

Alex Palou leads into Turn 1 on the start of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (USA TODAY Sports Images Network).

From an event standpoint, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix was already electric with a vibe that brought tens of thousands daily to this revitalized urban center known as “Motor City.”

But would the actual race prove to be worthy?

Fast forward to Sunday late afternoon and – wouldn’t you know it – the winner of the race was its most vocal critic leading up to the green flag.

Alex Palou.

It was a chance for Denker and Palou to speak.

“Alex and I actually had a conversation after the race on the way to pit lane,” Denker told NBC Sports. “I congratulated him because he was a worthy champion, did a great job, great win, great run, pole qualifying also.

“His comment to me was, ‘This track proved very worthy.’

“I’ll take that from him.”

The race itself exceeded expectations. It may have been the best street race of the season on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule.

The racing was fierce, the competition phenomenal, and the restarts brought even the most jaded motorsports observers to their feet.

“Oh yeah, myself included,” Palou admitted to NBC Sports. “The event was amazing. The crowd we had was unbelievable. The energy was great. It was a really great race.”

Palou’s complaints entering the race were from his frustrations in finding a clean lap during qualification sims in practice and the actual qualifications on Saturday.

With 27 cars on a 1.645-mile street circuit, just do the math – it’s hard to get a gap.

But the race course proved to be a much better “race” track than a qualifying layout.

“Yes, 100 percent,” Palou said. “I like to go fast. I like to race. When you have traffic every single lap, you don’t like it that much, but for the race, it was great. It was a great event for the fans, for the teams and for the drivers.

“The energy we had here was amazing.”

The drivers’ worst fears never developed in the race. There were no blocked corners. No red flags. Plenty of passing zones.

Denker and his team could feel vindication and a strong sense of redemption.

“It is ironic,” Denker said of Palou winning the race. “I think a lot of the comments early on was because of the first practice. There was no rubber on the track. A new track for them. A lot of cars going into the runoff and stalling their cars in the runoff, not turning the cars around fast enough. I think a lot of perceptions were created in that first practice.

“Some of our turns look tight. Turn 1 for instance, the apex is 27 feet, much larger than some other tracks where it is tight. The issue going into the race was, are you going to have two cars block the entire track and then you have to go Red Flag.

“We never had that situation today where you had a car block the track, even in the tightest turns. We never had an issue where cars could not get around you.

“The corners were wide enough to support the fact that when you had an issue, cars could get around and continue moving around without having a red flag.”

Will Power enters Turn 3 during the Detroit Grand Prix (USA TODAY Sports Images Network).

It also proved that in an actual competition, the teams and drivers in IndyCar can figure out how to adapt and put on a good race.

“We saw them figure it out in the Indy NXT race on Saturday,” Denker said. “It was a great race. We saw so many IndyCar drivers go off into the runoff on Friday that there were concerns. Many of them were stalling their cars and couldn’t get them spun around.

“That led to, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going to have caution after caution after caution because we aren’t going to be able to get our cars stopped to make a turn, or slowed down to make a turn, and the runoff will happen continuously.’ “Guess what? We had seven cautions for 32 laps and very few of those were for a stalled car in the runoff. It was for a mistake on the race track made by a driver.

“We proved the thoughts that came out on Friday, we proved them very, very wrong in the race on Sunday.”

Fans watch from the Franklin Garage parking deck near the GM Renaissance Center as safety workers attended to David Malukas after he hit the wall out of Turn 9 during the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (USA TODAY Sports Images Network).

As the president of the Penske Corp., Denker is a man who understands business and decorum. He is one of Roger Penske’s most valued executives, practically his right-hand man.

The impeccably dressed Denker is never rattled, and he backs up his style with substance.

IndyCar racing, however, is a highly competitive game and in the heat of battle, the energy level tends to increase.

That is why Denker was more emphatic than usual once the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix had concluded.

“Eighteen months ago, it was an idea that Michael Montri had after the success of the Nashville Grand Prix and what it did for that city,” Denker said. “The businesses coming together, the community coming together and the city just glowing.

“We came back in August of 2021 and asked if that could ever happen in downtown Detroit and off Belle Isle. We found a great circuit that was worthy of that, that wouldn’t compromise business or the international tunnel in the middle of our race track. That was a dream at the time.

“It’s a cliché, but dreams really came true this weekend. We saw the success of great racing, competitive racing, safe racing and very importantly, fans that we haven’t seen came out in a very diverse way and enjoy this sport.”

It was certainly a major weekend for Detroit as the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix was the lead story on seemingly every TV newscast in the city. The business community of the city flourished – something that didn’t happen when the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix was held 4 miles up Jefferson at Belle Isle Park from 1992-2022.

“One hundred percent,” Denker agreed. “The fact of the matter is most of the people that come to our race are within a four-county area. Just like Indianapolis, one state for them.

“I think the fact is Belle Isle you came down, you parked in the same parking deck where the sponsors parked that had been there for 13 years, get in a bus, come back, get in their car, they go home.

“Here you had to park somewhere. You had to come downtown. Took the People Mover, the Q Line, all these different places and you came downtown. That was the difference for us.

“Belle Isle in my mind, it’s 50 miles away from Detroit in some respects because we didn’t see the benefit the city would get. We saw the benefit this time because of how busy it was. You saw it. You were staying here at a hotel somewhere and saw it.

“We know we made a big impact on the city. Why? Because the hotels were all filled up. They weren’t filled up when Belle Isle was there.”

Already on its way to have a dramatic economic impact to Detroit, on Sunday, the competitive level of IndyCar was on full display.

“The facts are there were 189 on-track passes at Detroit, 142 of them were for position,” Denker said proudly. “At St. Pete, great race this year, 170 on-track passes versus Detroit’s 189 and 128 for position versus Detroit’s 142.

“Long Beach, great race this year, had the same for position passes as Detroit had. I think we had a pretty good race.”

Although Palou won the race, it was Team Penske’s Will Power that put on the show. He was a master on the restarts, going full throttle into the end of the long straightaway, pulling out from behind Palou and taking the lead by diving to the inside in the turn.

That move worked throughout the race until the final restart, when Palou was able to protect the inside line and make Power go to the outside.

The Team Penske driver (whose race weekend highlight was hanging out with Flavor Flav) was unable to use the high line and then proceeded to get into a street fight with Scott Dixon and others for second place in the closing laps.

“The restarts were great because we have this long straightaway,” Denker said. “We started the restart between coming out of Turn 1. Those that got a good jump, like Will Power did on Alex Palou on the second-to-last restart, could make a good pass. Those that had push-to-passes left later on could make a good pass.

“The fact we had this seven-eighths of a mile straightaway where the restarts were coming into was a great place to start the race versus an area not as long. We had the benefit of having a straightway as long as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and speeds that were just unbelievable going down through this track.

The view down the nearly 1-mile Jefferson Avenue straightaway that separates Turn 2 and Turn 3 (USA TODAY Sports Images Network).

“I thought the restarts were great because of the positions Kyle Novak (IndyCar Race Director) and his team made for that.

“The other thing was the dual pit lane. This was really interesting because it hasn’t been done before to have 13 cars pitted on one side and 14 cars pitting on the other side and have six lanes merging to one in 315 feet. How is that going to happen?

“This time, because of the yellows, we never had a situation with 27 cars coming in at the same time. It was sporadic. That issue we thought would happen to create a calamity on pit lane never happened.”

Two of the Arrow McLaren drivers got into their own shoving match on the track with Felix Rosenqvist getting the best of Alexander Rossi for third place.

But none of the Chevrolet drivers were able to catch Palou at the end as the No. 10 Honda took the checkered flag.

“When you have Chevrolet as the backdrop, and them being the key partner and sponsor of this thing, you want to keep them happy,” Denker said. “They also know competition drives this sport. We saw some great action. Will Power made a great move late, some great action there. The competition between the Arrow McLaren cars were unbelievable the last 10 laps. Will Power made a great pass of Alexander Rossi to get position to take over second place. I loved the competition.

“We saw some passes late between Turns 8 and 9 and Turns 1 and 2 that I don’t think anybody thought would happen. This turned into a very, very competitive race track.

“Once this track rubbered up, the drivers said this track was very worthy.

Indy 500 winner Joef Newgarden enters the Turn 3 hairpin during the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (USA Today Sports Images Network).

“It’s a new place. They have to learn new things. There are some bumps in certain corners. Guess what? We’ll fix those things.

“No one got to test here because we couldn’t close the roads down a week ahead of time or a month ahead of time or two days ahead of time. I got some feedback from drivers who did simulation. I ground some track areas they wanted fixed. I put new pavement in Turn 3 to drivers right because of feedback.

“I got no feedback to repaving drivers left. If I had, I would have repaved that, also. It shows that I will make those changes because I made those changes to driver right, but I never got that feedback.

“It goes both ways. Provide me the feedback, I’ll make those changes. But now that we’ve had the race, we have a lot more opportunity to make changes based off of what actually happened.”

There were accolades and plaudits from some of IndyCar’s most accomplished drivers afterwards, including six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon.

“It was wild,” Dixon said. “I had a lot of fun. The car was super difficult. The track was difficult. It had a lot of character. It was interesting but very difficult on the restarts.

“These things aren’t meant to be easy. I had a lot of fun, just frustrated with how my day went and not getting the most out of a really good car.”

From both an event and race standpoint, team owner Dale Coyne believed it was a blockbuster.

“This is a really big event,” Coyne said. “We’ve brought Long Beach to a major city like Detroit. This is the type of event that we should be doing in IndyCar.

“I would rather be in Detroit than in Milwaukee. Events like this one in Detroit are IndyCar’s future. Milwaukee is IndyCar’s past.”

While that comment may not resonate with some of IndyCar’s older fan base who long for the days of The Milwaukee Mile as the first race after the Indianapolis 500, that distinction has belonged to Detroit since it returned to the IndyCar schedule in 2012.

Now that it’s back on the streets of downtown Detroit for the first time since 1991, Denker predicts even bigger events to come for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

“Our city was showcased to the world in ways that people had probably never thought,” Denker said proudly. “The riverfront, you couldn’t tell if you were in San Diego, or even Monaco, these boats that were out there harbored. We couldn’t be more proud of our team.

“We are already planning for next year.”

Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500