Grand Prix of Cleveland
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The Grand Prix of Cleveland was an open wheel automobile racing event in the Champ Car World Series, held annually at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2006 race, held on June 25, marked the 25th anniversary of the event. With the absorption of the Champ Car series into the rival Indy Racing League, the 2008 race was cancelled, with no definitive plans for a resumption in the future.
Normally a fully-functioning airport year-round, Burke Lakefront is shut down for the week leading up to the event each year, requiring careful maintenance of the runways in order to keep them safe for cars at high speeds. Even so, drivers regularly note the race is one of the toughest to drive in the Champ Car series as the track, designed for aircraft and not lightweight race cars, makes for a bumpy ride where grip is paramount. When you look at track configuration from a helicopter or in the air, the track is in the shape of a CART racing car. At the first turn, it often the trickiest and most accident prone parts of the race. Many drivers have known this fact and still been eliminated from the race due to this turn.
According to the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Grand Prix of Cleveland grosses $30-50 million dollars to the Northeast Ohio economy. Hotels in Downtown Cleveland and outlying suburbs like Independence, Ohio which is a 8-minute ride to Downtown Cleveland make out. Some 100,000-150,000 people take in the festivities of the race. There are some 1,000 media passes distributed for the race. The race could seen in Canada, Europe, and other countries. There are rock concerts, contests and from 1982-1999 there was a kickoff parade for the race. The parade was postponed in 2000 due to a Cleveland Patrol Officer who was killed in the line of duty. The parade was supposed to be held at same time as the officer's funeral, but out respect the parade was cancelled. The parade would like to return but with construction of the Euclid Avenue Corridor the parade is looking for an alternate way.
No other active airport in the United States hosts such an event, making the Grand Prix of Cleveland unique in all forms of American motorsport.
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[edit] History as a CART/ChampCar race
Originally known as the Budweiser Cleveland 500, it was first held on July 4, 1982 as part of the CART series. Kevin Cogan started from pole position, however to the delight of the Cleveland crowd, local driver Bobby Rahal (from nearby Medina) won the race.
From 1982-1989, the race was held on a 2.48-mile layout. In 1990, the track configuration was abruptly changed. After practice and qualifying, several cars were experiencing problems in a bumpy section after turns one and two. Prior to the start of the race, the track was slightly reconfigured, eliminating the left-right combination of turns one and two. The main straight was extended towards the location of what was turn three, which then became turn one. The new layout measured 2.369 miles, and the segment eliminated became instead an extended exit to the pit road. The new layout was then adopted permanently. The current layout is known for its turn 1 "vortex" at the start of races - as the race began and the drivers tried to gain position they would arrive at the corner and all at once be "sucked" into the best racing line as all of the drivers attempt to dive down into the corner, frequently resulting in crashes at or just past the corner at the very beginning of the race.
The event's name has changed several times over the years to reflect naming rights sponsors of the race, however from 1984 the event has been principally known as the Cleveland Grand Prix. The name was switched around in 1992 to Grand Prix of Cleveland and has remained the same since.
Budweiser retained naming rights through 1994. Cleveland-based pharmacy chain Medic Drug owned the rights from 1995 to 1999, Marconi (now Telent plc) from 2000 to 2002, and US Bank has owned them since 2003. The full name of the 2006 event is Grand Prix of Cleveland presented by US Bank.
In 2007, it was announced the race would continue at Cleveland through to 2012.[1] However, the race will not take place in 2008 with the merger between the Champ Car World Series and the Indy Racing League, though the possibility has been left open for returning in 2009.[2]
In 1990, a round of IROC XIV was held as a support race, won by Martin Brundle. Formula Lightning also participated as a support race in the mid-1990s.
[edit] Indy Racing League Controversy
The race nearly went to the IRL but the plan was scuttled.
On June 29, 1999, it was announced that the race would switch alliances and become an event on the Indy Racing League schedule for 2000. The original course layout would be transformed into an oval configuation approximately 1.2 miles in length. A three-year initial contract was signed. The decision was not well-received by fans. Weeks later, however, it was determined that construction necessary for the oval configuration would require FAA approval, and the improvements the city deemed excessive and not enhancing to the airport. On September 9, 1999, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White announced he was withdrawing his support of the event. In 2000, the race returned as a Champ Car event on the original course.
[edit] Miss Cleveland Grand Prix
2005 marked the first year for The Face of Champ Car competition in which Sarah Marie Blanton of Ashtabula, Ohio was chosen as the inaugural Miss Grand Prix of Cleveland. Sarah traveled to Mexico City to compete against five other finalists from around the globe for the title of The Face of Champ Car 2006. She did not win; the title going to Brandi Latimer of Toronto, Canada. Sarah handed over her crown on June 25, 2006, to Skylar Starks and went on to accept a job with the Grand Prix of Houston and Cleveland within their Marketing Department in 2006 after she graduated from Cleveland State University.
Skylar Starks of Beachwood, Ohio was Miss Cleveland Grand Prix 2006. She was the first African American in the world to win this title. During the 2007 Grand Prix of Cleveland, Skylar passed her crown over to North Royalton native Melanie Soster. Melanie subsequently traveled to Mexico City in November to compete for the title of the 2008 Face of Champ Car.
[edit] Past race winners
[edit] 2006: 25th anniversary
The 25th running of the Grand Prix of Cleveland was held in June, 2006. As well as the Champ Car race, scheduled support events include Champ Car Atlantic, Formula Ford 2000 and Touring Challenge for Corvettes. It was commemorated by a painting of memorable grand prix events, with the background being every winning car entering the first turn.
[edit] References
- ^ Champ Car > News Thursday, November 8, 2007
- ^ ESPN - Let's celebrate the unification, then roll up our sleeves and go to work - Open-Wheel
[edit] External links
- Grand Prix of Cleveland official website
- Champ Car official website information on Grand Prix of Cleveland
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| NHL | Forsythe/Pettit | Minardi | Australia | Rocketsports | Coyne | PKV | PCM | Conquest | |
| 1 Wilson 2 Rahal |
3 Tracy 7 TBA |
4 TBA 14 Doornbos |
5 Power 15 TBA |
8 Bernoldi | 11 TBA 19 TBA |
21 TBA 22 Servià |
28 TBA 29 Figge |
24 Perera 34 TBA |
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| Long Beach - Houston - Laguna Seca - Zolder - Jerez - Cleveland - Mont-Tremblant - Toronto - Edmonton - Portland - Road America - Assen - Surfers Paradise - Mexico City | |||||||||
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