Q and A with Roger Penske on his Detroit GP
Q In three years, the Detroit GP has evolved to include four different racing entities involving everything from open wheel racers to sports cars to pickup trucks. Has this event grown in ways even you wouldn’t have anticipated?
A The racing, starting at 8 a.m. Friday morning and going for three days, it’s terrific. I love the (IndyCar) duals. With the (major) sponsorship from Chevrolet and Quicken Loans, you’ve got local people trying to support it. The interest level in the race is at an all-time high. We had more interest in sponsorship this year than we’ve ever had. The change in the suites (to double decker suites) is going to be interesting. We’re sold out on chalets and suites. We’ve got the best sponsorship we’ve had since we reinaugurated the race back here three years ago. Quite honestly from our perspective, all we need is Mother Nature to give us an umbrella of sun.
Q You had a blip on the radar earlier this week when a broken water main caused flooding on the track. Will that present any problems to the racing this weekend?
A A water main broke between (Turns) 13 and 14. We woke up the other morning and it actually buckled the track. We had to take about 80 feet out between (Turns) 13 and 14. Dig it all out and pave it again with asphalt. It’s been down for a few days now, so it will have had time to cure. We thought we were all done with the track and then Mother Nature jumps in and gives us a whole load of water. Luckily, when it comes to repairing the track, we’re getting pretty good at that.
Q Chevrolet has re-upped as major sponsor of the Detroit GP for the next two years. What is the future of the race beyond that time frame?
A We need date equity. We need an event that comes back every year, that brings economic development into the city and that’s one of the things this race does. We get a tremendous amount of national TV coverage and you just can’t buy that. One of the key things that we do is we talk to the sanctioning bodies and they want to come back to Detroit. The league wants to come back. We want a long-term contract because we’re going to invest $4 million into the track next year in the paving. We’re going to repave everything that isn’t cement. It’s not a slam dunk from the economics standpoint, but the good news is that we own almost all of our assets, all of the things we need, so now we can reinvest in the island.
Q Considering that commitment to investing in Belle Isle, is there a chance of a second racing event coming there in the future?
A I think that we have to wait and see how the city comes through the bankruptcy and just what kind of investment can be made on a more permanent basis. To put the infrastructure up and down is costly. What we need to do is coordinate with the mayor’s office and the city council and see what’s best for the community. We’re doing this to support downtown and the region and if another racing event or some other event could be done there properly – what I call a professional event – that gives us national prominence, that’s key. We need more people to know that Detroit is a great place to live.
Q You’ve got three of your own drivers in this weekend’s IndyCar dual. How do you like your chances of winning in your hometown event?
A I feel good about it. Juan (Pablo Montoya) is making good progress. He’s more of a threat than he was in the first races and I think he’s more comfortable in the car. I know Helio (Castroneves) is hungry and Will (Power) was leading the championship up until this last week. I think it’s a very competitive race. I think we’ve had a second (in qualifying) between the top 23 cars. There’s a couple of places where you can pass and that’s a key, because it makes this track more of a road-racing course rather than to say we just have a street course. Windsor Star