Event Featured Impressive On-Track Action Along with Attendance, Viewership and Social Media Totals
DETROIT, Mich. (June 11, 2024) – In its second consecutive year hosted on the Streets of Downtown Detroit, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear once again delivered strong results following an exciting weekend of racing, music and family fun in the heart of the Motor City.
From the competition on track to attendance across the three-day event to the total broadcast viewership, along with social media coverage and conversation, the May 31-June 2 Grand Prix weekend delivered incredible results as Detroit continued to shine on an international stage.
The on-track action was intense and entertaining on the nine-turn, 1.7-mile street circuit in Downtown Detroit. The Chevrolet INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday, June 2 featuring the cars and stars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES included nearly 30 more on-track passes than last summer’s race, despite more laps run under caution. With passing areas available in six of the nine turns on the tough and technical track, the race featured 217 passes – more than any other street circuit on the series schedule this season by a wide margin. With 53 green-flag laps, the INDYCAR field averaged more than four passes a lap under green over the course of the race, which is just under the same number per lap as this year’s thrilling Indianapolis 500. Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon won Sunday’s race for his record fourth career victory at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. The future stars of INDYCAR also raced on Sunday as Louis Foster dominated the INDY NXT by Firestone race leading all 45 laps to win from the pole for the Andretti Global team.
On Saturday, June 1, the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship made its debut on the Detroit street circuit with the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport No. 10 Acura claiming the overall victory and the GTP class win with drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. In the GTD Pro class, drivers Laurin Heinrich and Seb Priaulx drove their Porsche 911 to the win for AO Racing.
With sold-out grandstands on Sunday for the second consecutive year, as well as free access across more than half of the venue over the course of the weekend, the Grand Prix welcomed an estimated total crowd of approximately 150,000 people to Downtown Detroit – equaling its total attendance from 2023. Overall ticket sales revenue increased by more than 10% over the event’s return to Downtown Detroit last summer. In addition to the paid attendance areas inside the event’s footprint, the Grand Prix once again featured a very inclusive event with free access provided all weekend in Hart Plaza, Spirit Plaza, the Detroit Riverwalk, down Woodward Avenue to Cadillac Square and Campus Martius Park and all along Jefferson Avenue through courtesy viewing platforms and activation areas on the blocks immediately north of Jefferson. Saturday’s night’s free concerts – featuring EDM artists JVNA and Illenium – attracted more than 10,000 fans to the Grand Prix Entertainment Stage presented by Priority in Cadillac Square.
The number of people that witnessed Sunday’s Chevrolet INDYCAR Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES race was also impressive. The Total Audience Delivery (TAD includes television, digital and out of home coverage), according to Nielsen ratings, topped 681,000 with Sunday’s race broadcast coverage on NBC’s USA Network and Peacock. It marked the highest-rated Detroit race cable broadcast ever and the fourth-highest NBC Sports’ INDYCAR cable broadcast in history. Detroit led all markets across the United States in the INDYCAR race television ratings, posting a 1.79 share.
Earned media coverage of the event saw a dramatic increase over 2023, when the Grand Prix returned to the Streets of Downtown Detroit for the first time in 32 years. The earned media coverage of this year’s event produced an advertising value equivalency of $208 million, which represents an increase of 38% over the 2023 event results.
Social media metrics for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear were at an all-time high in 2024. The Detroit GP social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn) delivered an incredible total reach of 10.5 million during race weekend with over 576,000 total engagements. INDYCAR video views on YouTube measured 1.79 million during the Detroit Grand Prix weekend, which represents the second-highest total of any NTT INDYCAR SERIES event this season, trailing only the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 (2.1 million views).
“It was a fantastic weekend in Downtown Detroit and we were so happy to see so many fans join us for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear,” said Michael Montri, President of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. “From the racing on track to the packed grandstands and the strong viewership and social media coverage, it was a memorable three days in the Motor City and we appreciate all the support from our 95 partners – the most we have ever had at our event – as well all of our fans, to make this year’s Grand Prix so special.”
The Grand Prix also delivered for its identified charitable causes during race weekend. Celebrating its 10th year in 2024, the annual PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet, held on Friday evening May 31 in Campus Martius Park and Cadillac Square in Downtown Detroit, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for five Detroit-area organizations. Through Grand Prixmiere donations, as well as some unique auction items and experiences, funds were raised to benefit the Belle Isle Conservancy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Public Safety Foundation, Detroit 300 Conservancy and the Pope Francis Center in Detroit. Since 2014, the PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet has helped raise nearly $8 million for local charities.
For more information on the 2024 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, visit www.DetroitGP.com.
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ABOUT THE DETROIT GRAND PRIX
The Detroit Grand Prix is a 501(c)3 organization and a subsidiary of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. The event was hosted May 31-June 2, 2024, on the Streets of Downtown Detroit. The 2024 Grand Prix included the Chevrolet INDYCAR Grand Prix featuring the cars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the sports cars of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the rising stars of racing competing in INDY NXT by Firestone. For more information, visit www.DetroitGP.com and follow our social media pages at www.facebook.com/detroitgp, www.twitter.com/detroitgp, and www.instagram.com/detroitgp
