Roger Penske expects the Detroit Grand Prix Indy Car series race to return to Belle Isle as early as Labor Day weekend 2007.

Penske, who successfully led the Super Bowl XL Host Committee, has met with several Detroit City Council members and has had conversations with Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Penske said Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

“At the moment, I would say it’s been positive response, but it’s not time to ask for the order yet until we get all of the different constituencies communicated to properly.

“My goal would be to have it next year.”

Penske does not have a timetable, but he would like to have details ironed out within four weeks. The date that has been tossed around is Sept. 2, 2007.

City spokesman James Canning said the idea of racing returning to the city is exciting.

“The mayor is supportive of the idea as long as it’s something we can do in terms of resources,” he said, noting that coordination with police, fire and other city departments would be necessary.

The race will be an Indy Racing League IndyCar series event.

“Everybody knows we want to have it there,” Penske said. “We’ve been open with it, which I think is positive, but on the other hand, we have not asked for the clearance yet. We have to talk to all the people who are committed to help make that decision, and that’s going to take probably another 30 days or so.

“But I’ve had good feedback from the council members that we’ve talked to. We’ve got some more meetings this week, and then we’ve got to get into looking at the contracts and see what it would take.

“I want to meet with the people who support Belle Isle, the nonpolitical people who are very important to the future of Belle Isle, and I need to be sure that I have face-to-face meetings with those people, which I hope to be able to do over the next few weeks.”

Penske said returning racing to Belle Isle offers nothing but advantages. Open-wheel racing, along with several support events, moved from the downtown streets to Belle Isle in 1992, where it remained a June fixture through the 2001 season. Grand Prix racing then left town because of the location and track.

“This is not a promoter coming in — this is the Downtown Detroit Partnership,” Penske said. “We can set up an arm that would be Belle Isle Grand Prix or Belle Isle Indy and then use that as the base. I think with the expertise we have, we can pull together the right people.

“If there’s a profit to be made, that profit can go back into Belle Isle to enhance it. That’s the basis of the sale, quite honestly. They’ve raced there, the track is a great track, there’s not a lot that has to be done, and there’s some things we can do to make it better for the spectators and the corporate people.

“The good news, can we let everyone who lives in Detroit come in for Friday — that’s a chance for everybody to see something about racing, and maybe an Indy experience like the NFL Experience like we had for the Super Bowl.”

The Detroit News

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