Grand Prix of Cleveland

The Cleveland Grand Prix is a Champ Car auto racing event, held annually at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. The race celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006. The race was most recently held in 2007. After the 2008 open wheel unification, the 2008 race had to be canceled. Attempts to revive the race have yet to pay off

Normally a fully functional airport all year round, Burke Lake Airport is closed for the week leading up to this event each year, requiring careful runway maintenance to keep their cars safe for high-speed cars. Even so, drivers regularly note the race is one of the toughest to drive in the Champ Car series as a track, designed for airplanes and not light racing cars, making for a bumpy ride where grip is essential. The first turn is often the most difficult and accident-prone part of racing. Many drivers have been eliminated from the race because of this turn.

Throughout its history, the races were very popular with fans, as long and wide runways (much wider and longer than typical natural trails and other temporary circuits) allowed for side-by-side racing, fast speed, and an extraordinary zone of passing. . The layout and flatness of the entire circuit also allows an almost complete view of the course from the stands.

No other active airport in the United States hosted such an event at the time, which made the Cleveland Grand Prix unique in all forms of American auto sport.

The circuit
Unlike Sebring International Raceway, the site operates year-round as an airstrip. The track surface is rough and uneven, which complicates the movement of vehicles and requires correct tuning of the suspension.

Originally, the runway was 3990 meters long. During the practice and qualifying sessions of the 1990 edition, the chicane that preceded Turn Three had dangerous potholes. For the race, it was decided to skip the chicane and make turn three first. This new combination, 3810 meters long, was preserved for subsequent races.

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 rookie driver Bobby Rahal (from nearby Medina) won the race.

From 1982 to 1989, the race was held on a 2.48-mile layout. In 1990, the track configuration was abruptly changed. After practice, several cars were experiencing problems in a bumpy section in 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. In 1997 the track length was remeasured to 2.106 miles without visible changes on the layout. The current layout is known for its turn 1 "vortex" at the start of races - after the green flag dropped, drivers would fan out on the wide concrete to gain position and then arrive at the corner sometimes five or six cars abreast, and all at once be "sucked" into the apex of the corner, frequently resulting in multi-car crashes at or just past the corner and leading to cars retiring before completing a single lap 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.

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.

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 owned them from 2003 to 2007. The full name of the 2006 event was Grand Prix of Cleveland presented by US Bank.

In 2007, it was announced the race would continue at Cleveland through to 2012. However, the race did not return in 2008 with the merger between the Champ Car and IndyCar.

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 included 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.

Indy Racing League controversy
The Cleveland Grand Prix nearly went to the IRL in 2000, but the plan was eventually scuttled. CART officials elected to drop the race from the schedule after a dispute with the promoter over the sanctioning fee.

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 configuration 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 city deemed the improvements excessive and not enhancing to the airport. On September 9, 1999, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White announced he was withdrawing his support of the project, and the IRL dropped the event. In 2000, the race returned as a Champ Car event on the original course.