Detroit GP happy with IndyCar doubleheader exposure

Following three days of great racing and excitement on Belle Isle that helped wave the green flag on summer in the Motor City, the results reveal a very positive weekend – June 11-13 – at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.

With back-to-back days of network television coverage on NBC through the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, both Chevrolet Dual in Detroit race broadcasts attracted a larger viewing audience than the 2019 INDYCAR races, also aired on NBC (the 2020 races were cancelled due to the pandemic). According to NBC’s overnight ratings, the Saturday, June 12 race broadcast drew a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 845,000 viewers, which reflects a 10% increase over the broadcast of the 2019 Saturday race. The Sunday, June 13 Dual in Detroit NBC broadcast registered an average TAD of 1.383 million viewers, which represents a 26% increase over the 2019 Sunday race.

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear also experienced consistent growth across all of its social media channels during an exciting race weekend. The event surpassed its totals in key social metrics including reach, impressions and mentions from the 2019 race weekend. Total impressions generated during the weekend produced an increase of more 18% from the Grand Prix’s 2019 race results. The social media metrics represented an increase of more than 21% in total reach and nearly 5% in total mentions over the course of the weekend from 2019.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES reported that weekend results on its social media channels were the highest of the season outside of the Indianapolis 500. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship enjoyed a nearly 60% increase in social media video views and engagements from the 2019 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.

For traditional media coverage, the Grand Prix generated $140.6 million in advertising value equivalency for earned media, according to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, which marks as the top event total in 2021 behind only the Indy 500.

Adding to the impressive totals for the weekend was the money raised for improvements to Belle Isle. Last Thursday’s PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet generated more than $620,000 for the Belle Isle Conservancy and its continued work to preserve, restore and enhance Belle Isle Park.

“We are very happy with the results from race weekend and we are proud that the numbers demonstrate a great return for our more than 60 partners and tremendous engagement with our fans,” said Bud Denker, Chairman of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. “When you combine the results with the smiles we saw on everyone’s faces over the course of the weekend as we helped open up Michigan and bring a signature event back to Detroit, it was just an incredible weekend. We crowned some amazing champions, but the real winner, once again, is Belle Isle Park. We helped shine an international spotlight on the jewel of Detroit and continued to give back to the island, including getting the historic Scott Fountain running again for the summer.”

On the track, Marcus Ericsson of Ganassi Racing earned his first career NTT INDYCAR Series win in Saturday’s Chevy Dual in Detroit I while Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP drove his Chevrolet to victory in Sunday’s INDYCAR Dual II. In Saturday’s Chevy Sports Car Classic, the Ganassi Racing duo of Renger van der Zande and Kevin Magnussen scored their first win of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in their Cadillac DPi. Ross Gunn and Windsor’s own Roman DeAngelis won captured and IMSA GTD class victory while Corvette Racing celebrated its first race on its “home track” since 2008 as Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner scored a GTLM win. Kyle Kirkwood enjoyed a special weekend as he swept both Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires races on Saturday and Sunday.