Burke Lakefront Airport was normally a fully functioning airport year-round, but was shut down for the week leading up to the event each year. This required careful maintenance of the runways to keep them safe for cars at high speeds. The long, wide runways, which were much wider and longer than typical courses, allowed for side-by-side racing, fast speeds, and superb passing zones around the entire track. The layout and overall flatness of the circuit also allowed a view of nearly the entire course from the grandstands. However, the track was less popular with drivers because the runways were much bumpier than normal asphalt courses. The first turn, where the runway narrowed and cars turned at an almost 135º angle at the end of the front straight, was considered one of the toughest in the circuit.
From 1982 to 1989, the race was held on a 2.480 mi (3.991 km) layout. In 1990, the track configuration was abruptly changed after practice due to problems in a bumpy section in turns one and two. The track was slightly reconfigured prior to the start of the race, eliminating the left-right combination of turns one and two. The main straight was extended towards the location of what was turn three, which then became turn one. The new layout measured 2.369 mi (3.813 km), and the segment eliminated became an extended exit to the pit road. This new layout was then adopted permanently. In 1997, the track length was remeasured to 2.106 mi (3.389 km) without visible changes on the layout. The current layout is known for its turn 1 "vortex" at the start of races, frequently resulting in multi-car crashes.
Originally known as the Budweiser Cleveland 500, the event was first held on July 4, 1982, as part of the CART series. Kevin Cogan started from pole position, but local rookie driver Bobby Rahal won the race. Twice, in 1984 and 1990, a round of IROC was held as a support race. Formula Lightning also participated as a support race in the mid-1990s. In 2007, it was announced the race would continue at Cleveland through to 2012. However, the race did not return in 2008 with the merger between Champ Car and IndyCar.
The event's name changed several times over the years to reflect naming rights sponsors. From 1984, the event's generic name was the Cleveland Grand Prix. The name was switched around in 1992 to the Grand Prix of Cleveland, and the race retained this name until its cancellation. Budweiser held naming rights through 1994. Cleveland-based pharmacy chain Medic Drug owned the rights from 1995 to 1999, and Marconi from 2000 to 2002. Presenting sponsors included Cleveland-based convenience store chain Dairy Mart from 1993 to 1995, Cincinnati-based Star Bank in 1998, and Star Bank's successor Firstar from 1999 to 2001. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, the successor of Firstar, held the presenting sponsorship from 2002 to 2006, with LaSalle Bank being the final presenting sponsor in 2007.
The 25th running of the Grand Prix of Cleveland was held in June 2006. In addition to the Champ Car race, scheduled support events included Champ Car Atlantic, Formula Ford 2000, and Touring Challenge for Corvettes. It was commemorated by a painting of memorable grand prix events.
The Cleveland Grand Prix nearly went to the IRL in 2000, but the plan was eventually scuttled. CART officials elected to drop the race from the schedule after a dispute with the promoter over the sanctioning fee. On June 29, 1999, it was announced that the race would switch alliances and become an event on the Indy Racing League schedule for 2000. The original course layout would be transformed into an oval configuration approximately 1.2 miles in length. A three-year initial contract was signed. Weeks later, it was determined that construction necessary for the oval configuration would require FAA approval, and the city deemed the improvements excessive. On September 9, 1999, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White announced he was withdrawing his support of the project, and the IRL dropped the event. In 2000, the race returned as a Champ Car event on the original course.
The all-time outright unofficial track record on the original circuit layout is 1:04.636 seconds, set by Mario Andretti in a Lola T89/00, during qualifying for the 1989 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland. The outright track record on the later modified Grand Prix Circuit layout is 0:56.417 seconds, set by Jimmy Vasser in a Reynard 98I, during qualifying for the 1998 Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.