| What: | The 19th Annual Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Firstar is the ninth stop on the 20-race FedEx Championship Series circuit. |
| When: | Friday, June 30, 2000 (Practice & Qualifying)Saturday, July 1, 2000 (SCCA Trans-Am Championship, Practice & Qualifying)Sunday, July 2, 2000 (CART/Fed-Ex Championship Series Race, CART/Toyota Atlantic Series, Barber Dodge Series) |
| Where: | Burke Lakefront Airport, located adjacent to Lake Erie is located in Downtown Cleveland. From Cleveland Hopkins Airport, take Airport Freeway (237) North to I-71 North. Follow to I-90. Exit I-90 at East 9th Street. Follow E. 9th St. towards Lake Erie, through Downtown to North Marginal Road. Turn Right on North Marginal, follow North Marginal to Burke Lakefront Airport. |
| 2000 CART Weekend Support Races: | CART/FedEx Championship Series, Barber Dodge Pro Series Championship, CART Toyota-Atlantic Championship Series, SCCA BF GoodrichTrans-Am Series |
| Circuit Distance: | 2.106 Mile Temporary Road Course (1997 - Present) 2.369 Mile Temporary Road Course (1990-1996)2.48 Mile Temporary Road Course (1982-1989) |
| Track Facts: | |
| The construction of the 50,000 grandstand seats starts on June 1, 2000. 65% of the track work can be completed prior to IMG Motorsports' temporary acquisition of the airport at 6 a.m. on the Friday of race weekend. Planes continue to land right up until 6 a.m. On the Friday morning of race weekend, IMG prepares the other 35% of the track in the four hours prior to actually having the track go hot. IMG has a very specific military-like plan in place. IMG uses the following equipment during that four-hour period:o Six heavy-duty forklifts to put over two hundred blocks in place; o Eight tractor-trailer trucks to place signage towers;o Two tractor-trailers to place the timing and scoring tower. These are supplemented by two, two-ton cranes to lift the timing and scoring structure into place;o Approximately 200 workers put over 5000 tires in place;o Twelve signage workers place over two hundred signs both on-track and off track throughout the venur; o The signage crew also places over 250 sandbags in A-frame signs throughout the track.IMG Motorsports will start the construction of the track and the surrounding grounds approximately six weeks prior to the July 2nd, 2000 race. To construct the track, IMG will: o Install and then remove 38,000 feet or over 7.2 miles of fence; o Install and then remove over 30,000 feet or over 5.7 miles of cable; o Install and remove over 1,400 concrete barriers (equivalent of 3.2 miles) which is the equivalent of 11,200,000 pounds equal to over 5,600 tons;o Install and remove over 80,000 grandstand seats. | |
| History: | |
| Clevelander and Indy car racing advocate, Ernie Holden, was the visionary for a Cleveland Indy car Race at Burke Lakefront Airport. With the help of Chuck Newcomb, President of C.K. Newcomb and Associates and organizer of the National Air Show, Holden ensured that his Grand Prix vision became a reality. A veteran event promoter, Chuck Newcomb worked with the FAA in approving use of Burke Lakefront Airport for the race and coordinated CART's involvement in designing the circuit. It was Chuck Newcomb who served in 1982 as the "Budweiser Cleveland 500's" first President. In 1985, the "Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix," was bought and promoted by Shaker Heights native, Roger S. Penske. Then in the fall of 1991, CART removed Cleveland from the organization's schedule. Upon learning of their action, Mayor Michael R. White, along with corporate leaders and Cleveland 500 Foundation Board Members, traveled to Houston to meet with CART. This group successfully convinced CART to put Cleveland back into the 1992 race schedule. 1993 brought another upset: after seven years of ownership, Roger Penske withdrew as owner and operator. Ironically, it was about this time that IMG Motorsports' Meadowlands Race had been canceled. IMG had the date and the staff with which to run a race, but did not have a race. And, Cleveland had a race but no promoter. IMG quickly submitted a bid for the Grand Prix to an eleven-member search committee, and won out over two other contenders. |
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