The 2026 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear reports the May 29-31 event matched last year’s 156,000 attendance total, and it saw a 10 percent increase in overall viewership and record social media engagement.
The organization states there were sold-out grandstands and pit lane suites on Sun., May 31, while fans filled rooftop decks and garages surrounding the venue along the Detroit River. Last year’s attendance was the highest it’s been since the event’s return to its original home on the downtown city streets.
The 2026 Grand Prix also established record totals for both concession and merchandise sales during the three-day weekend.
According to Nielsen ratings, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race broadcast from Detroit on Sun., May 31, delivered an average audience of 1.17 million viewers across the FOX network and FOX streaming services. The results represented a 10 percent increase from the 2025 race broadcast on FOX.
Viewership for NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying on Sat., May 30, on FS1 drew an average audience of more than 343,000 viewers, marking the highest-rated qualifying broadcast of the INDYCAR season outside of the Indianapolis 500 (Nielson ratings).
The race over a nine-turn, 1.7-mile street circuit included the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on Sat., May 30. Overall, General Motors saw Chevrolet and Cadillac each earn class victories.
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber won the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class for Cadillac’s first win in the Motor City since 2022. In the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class, Corvette scored its first official Detroit win since 2008 as Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims drove the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R to Victory Lane.
On Sunday, one of racing’s most legendary families returned to the top step of the podium in Detroit as Enzo Fittipaldi earned his second career INDY NXT by Firestone victory. Fittipaldi is the grandson of former Formula One and INDYCAR champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who himself won twice in Detroit during his INDYCAR career (1989 and 1991).
The final race of the weekend, Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Chevrolet INDYCAR Grand Prix, saw Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou win from the pole in the No. 10 Honda. It marked the second win on the Motor City streets for Palou, the five-time series champion, who also claimed victory in the first race in 2023.
The 100-lap race included 173 on-track passes — the most of any INDYCAR street circuit this season.
According to the organization, total social media this year surpassed 40 million over the course of race week (Grand Prix social channels and all mentions of the event across all social platforms). The total reach increased by more than two million over the 2025 race week.
The Grand Prix social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn) produced an all-time high of nine million-plus video plays during race weekend, representing a 25 percent increase over the 2025 race weekend results.
The event saw its biggest growth on Instagram, gaining more than 5,000 followers in the month of May and 3,000-plus followers during race weekend alone.
On the community side, the annual PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet, hosted on Fri., May 29, at the Department at Hudson’s Detroit, raised more than $1.2 million.
Through Grand Prixmiere donations, as well as sold auction items, the funds benefited the Belle Isle Conservancy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit, Detroit Public Safety Foundation, Detroit 300 Conservancy, and the Pope Francis Center in Detroit. Since 2014, the PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet has helped raise more than $10 million for local charities.
“We were so excited to help the City of Detroit and our beautiful Riverfront shine on an international stage at the 2026 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear,” says Michael Montri, president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
“It was an amazing race weekend here in the Motor City, from the incredible weather, to the great racing on track, the packed grandstands, rooftop decks, and full suites, to the growth in viewership and the record results across social media. We’re proud that the Grand Prix continues to drive Detroit forward and we have to thank all of our fans, the competitors, our nearly 90 event partners, and our more than 1,200 volunteers for helping us produce a truly special weekend on the Streets of Downtown Detroit.”
The Detroit Grand Prix is a 501(c)3 organization and a subsidiary of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. The 2026 Grand Prix included the Chevrolet INDYCAR Grand Prix featuring the cars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the sports cars of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the rising stars of racing competing in INDY NXT by Firestone.
For more information, visit DetroitGP.com.
