Denver Civic Center

Circuit History

The Denver Grand Prix was born during CART’s early 1990s expansion, when the series was aggressively adding street circuits to capitalise on the success of events in Long Beach, Toronto and Detroit. For 1990, two new street races were introduced: Vancouver and Denver. The latter was seen as a key market, bringing top-flight motorsport to the Rocky Mountain region.

South African-born Alan Wilson, CART’s then-Chief Steward and an experienced circuit designer, was tasked with creating the course. Wilson had previously overseen the IMSA GTP event in Columbus and would go on to design several internationally acclaimed circuits. In Denver, he not only drew up the 16-turn, counter-clockwise layout but also served as the event’s President and CEO.

The result was a compact and technical course that threaded between municipal landmarks. Race footage from the era shows high-rise residents leaning from balconies to watch the spectacle, as IndyCars blasted through the city centre, framed by civic architecture and summertime crowds.

Unser Jr. reigns supreme

The inaugural Denver Grand Prix took place on 26 August 1990, contested over 80 laps. Al Unser Jr., then driving for Galles-Kraco Racing, emerged victorious after a strategic duel with Bobby Rahal. The 90-degree summer heat, combined with the thin mountain air and narrow racing line, made for a physically demanding contest. Unser handled the conditions with aplomb, beating Danny Sullivan by 28 seconds to extend his lead in the season championship.

In 1991, Unser repeated the feat—this time overcoming first-corner chaos that saw Eddie Cheever nudge Mario Andretti into a concrete barrier. Unser, who had started third, avoided the incident and went on to claim a second straight Denver victory, though the final margin was just 1.65 seconds after late-race caution flags wiped out a commanding lead.

Michael Andretti claimed the fastest-ever lap of the circuit that weekend, setting a qualifying time of 1:25.896 in his Lola T91/00.

The price of the show

Despite strong crowds and corporate backing from Texaco/Havoline, the Denver Grand Prix quickly became a financial millstone. The 1990 event reportedly lost $5 million, with a further $1.8 million lost in 1991. The organisers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy shortly after the second race, citing unsustainable losses of nearly $7 million across both seasons.

Several factors contributed to the collapse. The complexity of converting downtown Denver into a racetrack each year incurred enormous costs—temporary barriers, fencing, grandstands and street resurfacing had to be installed and removed annually. Teams also struggled with the altitude, which impacted cooling and brake performance. Makeshift engineering fixes such as oversized brake ducts and modified sidepods became the norm.

Compounding the issue was the event’s aftermath: sections of Civic Center Park were left damaged by the infrastructure and footfall, prompting public outcry. The city was left with an unpaid bill of around $500,000 for services and support. Local officials were quick to distance themselves from any future involvement.

“Never again” as race collapses

By September 1991, hopes of reviving the race in another form or location had faded. Without city support or a solvent promoter, CART quietly removed Denver from its 1992 calendar. As one city official later recalled: “We had a Grand Prix race in the ’90s that went belly up after we put millions into it. Under no circumstances would we do that again.”

When top-level open-wheel racing eventually returned to Denver in 2002, it did so on a revised layout near the Pepsi Center arena, with private organisers absorbing all financial risk. That race ran until 2006 before being discontinued, reinforcing the notion that even successful events can struggle without sustainable economic foundations.

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