Have you ever heard of a professional auto race nearly being canceled because the track was literally crumbling? Not some dirt track race that passes for culture in a "real 'Merica" hickville cowtown. I'm talking about a first-tier international race circuit.
Well, that's what happened today in Detroit. Scott Dixon won the crumbling track-shortened Grand Prix, by the way.
Jalopnik: Indy's return to Detroit's Belle Isle course was supposed to be another signal of the rebirth of the American automaker. Instead, it's just been a reminder of Detroit's failing infrastructure and Indy's inability to make anything outside of the Indy 500 remotely interesting.
Race organizers patched up the cracks in the road with a filler that, it seems, couldn't survive a weekend of racing abuse and started coming up earlier in the race. The Grand Prix was allowed to continue until Hinchcliffe hit a chunk and lost his steering, causing him to kiss the tires.
So, in other words, the Grand Prix drivers experienced today what pretty much every race fan experienced on their commute to Belle Isle--terrible, terrible pavement.
Is this a bad time to mention how Carol Cain is super bullish on Belle Isle and there's a big M1 rail meeting tomorrow? -- JTW
Pure something-something Michigan.
