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Bud Denker is bringing the Detroit Grand Prix back downtown
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 2, 2023
As president of Bloomfield Hills-based Penske Corp., Bud Denker runs a $39 billion global transportation services company employing more than 70,000 people worldwide in 3,200 locations.
But of particular interest to Detroit, Denker also chairs the Detroit Grand Prix, and he and his boss, Roger Penske, have a soft spot for motor racing.
This weekend, they are bringing open-wheel racing back to the downtown streets of Motown after a 32-year hiatus.
“This will be the most inclusive event our city has seen — maybe any sports event has seen anywhere — because of how we’re bringing the fans in for free,” said Denker, 64, of the 1.7-mile street circuit that will encircle General Motors Co.’s Renaissance Center. “Fans will have access to Hart Plaza for free. And the riverfront for free. And entertainment for free. I don’t know if we’re going to have 50,000 people a day or 75,000 or 100,000. We’re making the site fully inclusive.”
Denker has run the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Belle Isle since 2007, two years after he came on board at Penske Corp. after leaving Kodak. The return of the GP to downtown streets has created a post-COVID buzz in the city and won praise from sponsors and community leaders alike.
“Bud’s vision and leadership have been a catalyst in bringing this iconic race back to the streets of Detroit,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of GM Performance and Motorsports. “A constant advocate for the city and race fans alike, the Detroit Grand Prix exists in large part because of the efforts of Bud and his team.”
A native of Hastings, Michigan, Denker got hooked on racing in elementary school when he and his father watched the Indy 500 on TV and cheered local Hastings hero Gordon Johncock, a two-time winner.“From there, I just became a gearhead,” Denker said with a smile. “To make some money in college at Lake Superior State up in Sault Ste. Marie, I worked in a garage and fixed mufflers, shocks, brakes, wheels. Who would know — so many years later — I’d be with Roger Penske and live my dream of racing and running a very, very large business.”
He and “The Captain” hit it off, and Penske gave him the assignment of bringing Indy racing back to the Motor City in 2007. Recalled Denker: “The question was asked to Roger: what legacy would you like to leave behind after the (2006) Super Bowl so the city isn’t forgotten about? He said: ‘We’re going to bring racing back to Belle Isle.’”From 1982-91, the original Detroit GP hosted Formula One and IndyCar (then called CART) races before moving from downtown to Belle Isle in 1992. The island was unpopular with drivers due to unsatisfactory facilities and an uninspired track layout, and the race was ultimately shelved in 2001. But Penske wouldn’t let go.
From 2007-22, Denker and his team put Belle Isle back on the IndyCar map (with sabbaticals during the Great Recession and the 2020 COVID year). Drivers enjoyed the remade, challenging 2.4-mile circuit, and the event poured millions into Belle Isle’s infrastructure.
But Team Penske got the itch to bring the race back downtown.“The importance of racing on Belle Isle was fantastic,” said Denker. “But as I look back now, it may as well have been 50 miles from Detroit: get in the bus, go to Belle Isle, take the bus back, get in the car, leave. The impact … wasn’t enough. Now we’re downtown, and we’re impacting everything.”
The importance of racing on Belle Isle was fantastic. But as I look back now, it may as well have been 50 miles from Detroit: Get in the bus, go to Belle Isle, take the bus back, get in the car, leave. The impact … wasn’t enough.
Denker decided not to recreate the old F1 track. “It cut through areas that suffocated businesses and cut them off for literally a week or two,” he said.
Now, grandstands for the circuit’s signature 180-mph back straight on Jefferson Avenue give easy access to busy, restaurant-rich Campus Martius and Woodward Avenue. A 180-degree hairpin at the end of the straightaway funnels racers past The Fist to Atwater Street on the waterfront. Denker satisfied the 1,000-foot pit-lane requirement by building parallel, 500-foot lanes on Franklin Street — a first for IndyCar.
Much of the circuit will be free of charge, but the Grand Prix should make plenty of dough from grandstands and pit chalets — GM’s Renaissance Center towering above them.“What other world headquarters anywhere in the world has a racetrack surrounding it?” Denker said. “The Spirit of Detroit, The Fist, Renaissance Center, the riverfront. These are images that will come into play with every photographer’s shot, and people (will) find them very compelling when they watch from around the world.”
hpayne@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @HenryEPayne