The Grand Prix of Minnesota was an

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

event held from 1996 until 1998 on an Alan Wilson-designed temporary street circuit in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

near the

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

. It was known as the Children's Grand Prix of Minneapolis in 1996, changing its name to The Sprint PCS Grand Prix of Minneapolis for its final two years. The Grand Prix of Minneapolis was started as the first professional auto race in the United States that would contribute all of its profit to

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

. The goal of the Grand Prix was to make a $1 million annual contribution to the Cancer KIDS Fund, part of the Children's Healthcare Foundation of the Twin Cities. The event was founded by Mark and Claudia Cohn after their son Tyler (1988 – 1997) was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

at the age of 4. Rather than giving a one-time donation, the Cohn's decided to create an event that would provide long-term support for the Cancer KIDS Fund. The event debuted on July 6 and 7 1996 with

Boston Market Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Golden, Colorado. It is owned by the Rohan Group. Boston Market has its greatest presence in the Northeastern and Midwes ...

as the sponsor. They returned for their second year on July 4 through 6 1997 with Sprint PCS as its sponsor, and they held an event on June 27 and 28 1998 with Sprint PCS continuing to be their sponsor. All three years had the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Trans-Am Championship as the featured race. The supporting races in 1996 included the World Challenge Grand Sports Division, Sports 2 and Touring Division, Touring 1 and 2,

Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford is a class of racing car used in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and other series road racing events. The Spec Racer Ford, manufactured and marketed by SCCA Enterprises (a subsidiary of SCCA, Inc.), is a high performance, close ...

Pro Series, and a Vintage Car race. The supporting races in 1997 were the

Barber Dodge Pro Series The Barber Dodge Pro Series was a professional open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were primarily on road and street courses in Nor ...

, World Challenge Touring Division 1 and 2, Spec Racer Ford Pro Series, and a Vintage Car race. For their last year, the supporting races were the

United States Road Racing Championship The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover rac ...

, F2000 Series, World Challenge Touring Division 1 and 2, and the

Dodge Neon Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Ply ...

Charity Challenge.

Race winners

Trans-Am USRRC SCCA World Challenge S2 Class SCCA World Challenge T1 Class SCCA World Challenge T2 Class SCCA Spec Racer Ford Barber Dodge Pro Series U.S. F2000 National Championship Vintage

External links

Cancer Kids FundSports Car Club of America Website

Sources

* Deborah Hopp, Publisher, Children's Grand Prix of Minnesota 1996 Official Souvenir Program, MSP Communications Custom Publishing * Deborah Hopp, Publisher, Sprint PCS Grand Prix of Minnesota 1997 Official Souvenir Program, MSP Communications Custom Publishing * Deborah Hopp, Publisher, Sprint PCS Grand Prix of Minnesota 1998 Official Souvenir Program, MSP Communications Custom Publishing * http://wilsonmotorsport.com/public_html/code/maps.htm#street * http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=5884&FS=TRANSAM * http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=5885&FS=TRANSAM * http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=10231&FS=TRANSAM * http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=10233&FS=TRANSAM * http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=17002&FS=TRANSAM * http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=17146&FS=TRANSAM {{Pirelli World Challenge circuits Sports car races Auto races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1996 Recurring events disestablished in 1998 Motorsport in Minnesota