  Lodgedodger Member Username: Lodgedodger Post Number: 1122 Registered: 05-2008 |
http://www.freep.com/article/2 0081218/SPORTS16/81218098 Ouch! | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 7311 Registered: 10-2003 |
Maybe we can have weekend flea-markets on that cement slab in front of the Casino all summer long. | ||
Lodgedodger Member Username: Lodgedodger Post Number: 1123 Registered: 05-2008 |
I hate that cement slab. However, it was a little price to pay in order for the race to take place. At any rate, I'm really surprised about the race. | ||
Alley Member Username: Alley Post Number: 970 Registered: 02-2008 |
add this to the list of proof that the sh*t's going down  | ||
Davemarc Member Username: Davemarc Post Number: 126 Registered: 06-2008 |
To bad,I work for a Speed world challenge team.I was looking forward to a home race.Dave | ||
Mortgageking Member Username: Mortgageking Post Number: 255 Registered: 12-2006 |
Which team Dave? Good racing in that series. | ||
Lowereast Member Username: Lowereast Post Number: 29 Registered: 08-2007 |
Sad news indeed...the Grand Prix is what got me interested in becoming an engineer. Its going to be a slow summer, no Detroit GP and no Canadian GP in Montreal (F1). Dave, working on a race team has always been a dream of mine. Thats awesome! | ||
Bobl Member Username: Bobl Post Number: 288 Registered: 07-2008 |
Last time I attended the Belle Isle race, the good was gone. Ordered a Guinness, for eight dollars, and was given a cup with 20% beer and 80% foam. I asked the volunteer to re pour it slowly, explaining that a Guinness must be built. She was apologetic, but the inebriated person behind me was obnoxiously impatient with her and me. Bad start. Later, another inebriated one spilled his beer on my shoes. Then, while drinking a Coke, I was stung by a bee that had found its way into the can! It is still sad to see yet another indication that the bottom has fallen out of the economy, though..... | ||
Servite76 Member Username: Servite76 Post Number: 131 Registered: 02-2008 |
Too bad, I received an e-mail this afternoon from the DGPA in regards to this. This past year I was a Circuit Marshall. I was looking forward to next summer. "Dear DGPA members, First of all, best wishes to you and your families for the holiday season. As you all know, the economic crisis across the nation has touched everyone, but it has created an especially difficult environment throughout the state of Michigan and metropolitan Detroit. Due to the current economic conditions, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2009 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix as sponsorship and funding for the event has been, and will continue to be, very challenging. An announcement is planned for Friday morning, but as important supporters of the event we want to inform the DGPA membership of this news beforehand. It is not easy to take such action knowing that our event has brought tremendous benefit to Belle Isle Park and to the metropolitan Detroit region during these past two years. Many organizations and individuals have contributed to the successful return of world-class auto racing to the Motor City, but none more than the 1,000 members of the Detroit Grand Prix Association. You are the best ambassadors of any race in North America and I want to personally thank you for your efforts. If the economic conditions improve, we hope to be able to bring the event back to Detroit in the summer of 2010. We would sincerely enjoy seeing all of the “yellow shirts” once again at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Take care and thanks again, Bud Denker Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Event Chairman" (Message edited by servite76 on December 18, 2008) | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 1392 Registered: 01-2006 |
Shit! Just as the money to improve the island was just starting to make a difference... | ||
Davemarc Member Username: Davemarc Post Number: 127 Registered: 06-2008 |
Mortgageking,I spent 5 years in gt class w/Autosport development(Pontiac gto),then last year in T/c class w/chili pepper racing.(vw jetta,compound turbo diesel).Before that I worked for a few trans-am teams.Detroit was always a gerat venue for sedan racing,very sad,but understandable. Dave | ||
Ruxy17 Member Username: Ruxy17 Post Number: 49 Registered: 08-2007 |
jams i really like your idea... | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 480 Registered: 12-2007 |
O noez!! That is a big bummer to hear | ||
Secondndfloorwalkup Member Username: Secondndfloorwalkup Post Number: 23 Registered: 08-2008 |
good thing they built that slab huh? | ||
Retroit Member Username: Retroit Post Number: 621 Registered: 04-2008 |
Next thing you know, they'll cancel summer. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 14941 Registered: 12-2003 |
Well, now for plan B. We setup the course EVERY weekend night during the summer so those street racers can have a legal place to run their competitions. Then if anyone is EVER found to race, like those jerks next to the Pepsi plant who killed Histeric's children's teacher and another, we can shoot them on sight. NO cheers...they deface our island with what I thought was a five or six year commitment...and within a few years they bail. Oh yeah, did they EVER put up those temporary basketball nets and have those 2-on-2 and 4-on-4 tournaments that ther promised? Any basketball camps for the city youth? I don't remember hearing or seeing anything about that... | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 14942 Registered: 12-2003 |
Freep needs to EDIT that damn article. Last paragraph is a rewrite of the second-to-last one. I'm sending them a bill for this notice...along with a little encouragement to actually read through the stuff they post. | ||
Gene Member Username: Gene Post Number: 146 Registered: 10-2006 |
The slab is a great place to watch the wannabe motorcycle trick riders try to kill them-selfs in the summer. I love the slab. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 3313 Registered: 07-2004 |
Thank goodness we got that slab in! Now that we have all that wonderful room for pit crews, adjoining the Scott Fountain, we can truly be proud of our city. A small price to pay for ensuring our annual Grand Prix race. Thank you to Detroit's far-thinking leaders!  | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 120 Registered: 10-2007 |
Since they didn't build anything with all that money they were supposed to be making for Belle Isle, can Roger Penske and his friends now come back and rip up all that hideous concrete crap they put down in what used to be one of the prettiest places in the whole Detroit area? Oh no, I forgot, Penske's broke now, right?... | ||
Kensingtony Member Username: Kensingtony Post Number: 43 Registered: 09-2008 |
That concrete slab is where we in the Michigan Sports Car Club run our autocrosses in the summer.It's been a boon for our sport because of a lack of available lots in the area to use for our events.Now with the race off for this year maybe we can use the paddock in July,August,and September instead of being on hiatus from the end of June until October. I don't think Belle Isle is defaced at all by the presence of the paddock slab.The closed down snack shack over by the lighthouse,the unmowed grass,the skanky lagoons,the overflowing trash cans,and the remnants of the stables are a far bigger blight than the concrete ever could be. | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 898 Registered: 11-2007 |
In 2007 we had the race, the Tigers and the Jazz Fest all on Labour Day weekend. Last yr and next the Tigers are out of town so we're down to just the Jazz fest. | ||
Raptor56 Member Username: Raptor56 Post Number: 682 Registered: 05-2007 |
http://www.detroitgp.com/news/ index.cfm?cat_id=327&cid=20180 This will be the first, but certainly not the last major event to fall by the wayside due to the tightened pocket books of the "Big" Three. Far too many of the events around Southeast Michigan rely too heavily on the advertizing bank of GM, Ford, and Chrysler. If Toyota, Honda, BMW, and the like really want to make an impression on Michiganders, how about picking up the slack and sponsoring a few events around town? I'm wondering what is going to happen to the traditionally Chrysler sponsored Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival this year. | ||
One_shot Member Username: One_shot Post Number: 152 Registered: 11-2003 |
That just sucks. Never attended it on Belle Isle but it was cool just knowing it was there. | ||
Detroitej72 Member Username: Detroitej72 Post Number: 986 Registered: 05-2006 |
At least we still have the swans!!! Kensingtony, the stables are long gone, now it's the "natural zoo" for the deer. And the closed snack shack by the lighthouse is gone as well since at least a year or more. | ||
Warrenite84 Member Username: Warrenite84 Post Number: 460 Registered: 01-2007 |
That slab can and should be used for lots of people centric activities. How about a Flea market, Art festival, Car show, move River Days Fest there... Who wouldn't want to have a picture of their old car and class winning trophy with a Downtown backdrop? | ||
Orange_barrel Member Username: Orange_barrel Post Number: 59 Registered: 02-2008 |
Great. After all the money and hard work Roger Penske and others poured into this event, it's gone again after only two years. Can't say I'm surprised, but it's still a big loss for the local economy. I'd like to think this would cause city and state officials to redouble their efforts to save the NAIAS, but my cynical side says no... |
