{"id":31002,"date":"2023-06-02T11:09:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T15:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=31002"},"modified":"2023-06-02T11:09:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T15:09:01","slug":"bud-denker-is-bringing-the-detroit-grand-prix-back-downtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/bud-denker-is-bringing-the-detroit-grand-prix-back-downtown","title":{"rendered":"Bud Denker is bringing the Detroit Grand Prix back downtown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This weekend, they are bringing open-wheel racing back to the downtown streets of Motown after a 32-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be the most inclusive event our city has seen \u2014 maybe any sports event has seen anywhere \u2014 because of how we’re bringing the fans in for free,\u201d said Denker, 64, of the 1.7-mile street circuit that will encircle General Motors Co.\u2019s Renaissance Center. \u201cFans 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\u2019re making the site fully inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Bud
Bud Denker has been instrumental in bringing the Detroit Grand Prix back downtown.TODD MCINTURF, THE DETROIT NEWS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBud\u2019s vision and leadership have been a catalyst in bringing this iconic race back to the streets of Detroit,\u201d said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of GM Performance and Motorsports. \u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.\u201cFrom there, I just became a gearhead,\u201d Denker said with a smile. \u201cTo 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 \u2014 so many years later \u2014 I’d be with Roger Penske and live my dream of racing and running a very, very large business.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and \u201cThe Captain\u201d hit it off, and Penske gave him the assignment of bringing Indy racing back to the Motor City in 2007. Recalled Denker: \u201cThe question was asked to Roger: what legacy would you like to leave behind after the (2006) Super Bowl so the city isn\u2019t forgotten about? He said: ‘We’re going to bring racing back to Belle Isle.’\u201dFrom 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\u2019t let go.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n

But Team Penske got the itch to bring the race back downtown.\u201cThe importance of racing on Belle Isle was fantastic,\u201d said Denker. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
Bud Denker, chairman of the Detroit Grand Prix<\/figcaption>
The importance of racing on Belle Isle was fantastic.\u00a0But as I look back now, it may as well have been 50 miles from Detroit:<\/span>\u00a0Get in the bus, go to Belle Isle, take the bus back, get in the car, leave. The impact … wasn’t enough.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Denker decided not to recreate the old F1 track. \u201cIt cut through areas that suffocated businesses and cut them off for literally a week or two,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now, grandstands for the circuit\u2019s 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 \u2014 a first for IndyCar.<\/p>\n

Much of the circuit will be free of charge, but the Grand Prix should make plenty of dough from grandstands and pit chalets \u2014 GM\u2019s Renaissance Center towering above them.\u201cWhat other world headquarters anywhere in the world has a racetrack surrounding it?\u201d Denker said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

hpayne@detroitnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

Twitter: @HenryEPayne<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31003,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31002\/revisions\/31003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}