The 2008 Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone was an

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

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

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. 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 open wheel racing. On February 26, 2008, the managements of Indy Racing League and Champ Car came to an agreement to becom ...

. 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 the CART 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, automotive ent ...

team.

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona wit ...

finished second, and

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...

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 entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

, 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 professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...

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 rac ...

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 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 season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...

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 i Imbers (born 13 July 1974) is a Spanish racing driver who competes part-time 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 man ...

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 The 2008 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County was the fifteenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on August 24, 2008. Race

{{s-end 2008 in IndyCar, Peak Antifreeze Indy Grand Prix 2008 in spo ...

, Next_race_in_season = 2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 , Previous_year's_race =

2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix The 2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone was an IndyCar Series race that was held on September 2, 2007 on the Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. It was the sixteenth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. Originally schedu ...

, Next_year's_race = 2012 Detroit Indy Grand Prix

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