The 2008 Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone was an

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

race that was held on August 31, 2008 on the Raceway on Belle Isle in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. It was the sixteenth race of the

2008 IndyCar Series season The 2008 IndyCar Series was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American Championship car racing, American open wheel racing. It began on March 29, 2008, and ended on September 7 after 17 point-s ...

. Originally scheduled to run over 90 laps, it was shortened to 87 laps due to 2-hour limit. The race was won by Justin Wilson for the

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automo ...

team.

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have w ...

finished second, and

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed "TK", is a Brazilian racing driver who is the team principal of Arrow McLaren. He is best known for racing in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) from 1998 to 2002, an ...

clinched third. Wilson dedicated his win to actor

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

, the ailing joint-owner of his team; Newman died less than a month later.

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a New Zealand racing driver who races the 9 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Dallara DW12-Honda car in the IndyCar Series. He is a six-time drivers' champion of the IndyCar Series, having claimed the title in ...

claimed

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

for the race, and led through the first lap. Dixon and Castroneves, who had qualified second, pulled away from the pack, until the seventeenth lap, when a full-track

caution Caution may refer to: * Prudence * A precautionary statement, describing a potential hazard * A police caution, an alternative to prosecution for a criminal offence in some countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia * A statement read by a ...

was issued after an incident between

Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 Indianapol ...

and Jamie Camara. Dixon pitted under the yellow, but did so alone, granting the lead to Castroneves. The Brazilian led the race until lap 72, other than a single lap during which

Oriol Servià Oriol Servià Imbers (born 13 July 1974) is a Spanish racing driver who competed most notably in the IndyCar Series. He raced for Dragon Racing in the 2014–15 Formula E season, and left the series prior to the 2015 Miami ePrix to become manag ...

was leading during pit stops. Late in the race, Wilson was challenging for the lead, and Castroneves was judged to have blocked the other driver, resulting in a penalty which allowed Wilson to take the lead. Despite a late push by Castroneves to pass Wilson, the rookie British driver maintained his position to claim victory. There were four cautions, totalling 11 laps during the race. It was Wilson's first career IndyCar win. Of the 25 drivers that started, 18 completed the race, three retired after contact, one retired with handling problems and three retired due to mechanical issues.

Classification

Race results

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship

References

{{IndyCar Series race report , Name_of_race =

Detroit Indy Grand Prix The Detroit Grand Prix (currently branded as the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Corporation for sponsorship reasons) is an IndyCar Series race weekend held on a temporary circuit in Detroit, Michigan. The race has been held from ...

, Year_of_race = 2008 , Previous_race_in_season = 2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy Grand Prix , Next_race_in_season = 2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 , Previous_year's_race = 2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix , Next_year's_race = 2012 Detroit Indy Grand Prix

Detroit Indy Grand Prix 2008 in Detroit August 2008 sports events in the United States