With Penske driving, Grand Prix will be a win

It's only a few days before the revival of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, and Roger Penske is doing two things he does best — attending to details and exhorting the folks doing the work.

He does it on foot, helping a new recruit find his boss. He does it over his BlackBerry, usually with the preface that he's seen something he doesn't like. He does it from behind the wheel of a bright red Hummer H3 because racing is returning to Detroit and Penske, quick to credit others, is driving its revival.

The race is "a byproduct of the Super Bowl and all the things we had done," he tells me of his push to bring open-wheel IndyCar racing back to the Motor City after a six-year hiatus. "It's a place people can come. They can support their city. And it's good for racing. Where else do you get three hours of national TV Saturday and Sunday showcasing the city?"

Fair point, however fleeting the benefits of that Labor Day exposure may be considering the deepening economic struggles of Detroit, of Michigan and of the automakers who make Detroit the Motor City. If I had to bet, it'd be on the fact that this Grand Prix, weather permitting, will be as much a success as Super Bowl XL in '06 or Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in '05 or golf's Ryder Cup in '04. More at Detroit News