The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers was an annual auto race on the IndyCar Series circuit. It was held in a street circuit located in downtown Houston for four years, then returned after a four-year hiatus for two years on a course laid out in the parking lot of the Reliant/NRG Park complex. Before resuming in 2013, the last race was held on April 22, 2007, (with the IRL merger canceling the 2008 event just two months prior to the event).

Race history

From 1998 to 2001, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) held a race on Houston's downtown streets, adjacent to the George R. Brown Convention Center. This event was sponsored by the oil company Texaco, and named the Texaco Grand Prix of Houston. However, construction in downtown Houston resulted in the race not being renewed for the 2002 CART season.

In 2005, the Champ Car World Series announced that it would be making a return to Houston in 2006; for some time, series directors had wanted to make a return to the city. The 2006 event was held on May 13 as the second round of the 2006 Champ Car schedule. However, this time the race was held on a 1.7-mile temporary street circuit on the Reliant Park complex instead of the downtown streets and was the first race held on a street course to run at night in the history of Champ Car or its precursor series (in 2003, Champ Car ran under the lights at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio). Also, the American Le Mans Series held an event, the Lone Star Grand Prix, on the previous night, marking only the second time Champ Car and American Le Mans promoted their own events in the same city on the same weekend (they joined in 2003 for the Grand Prix Americas in Miami, Florida). For 2007, JAG Flocomponents picked up the naming rights to the previously unnamed street course, naming it JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park.

Mi-Jack Promotions had a handshake deal with IndyCar to revive the event in October 2011, however the required sponsorship was not found by June 2010. IndyCar officials announced the event will return in 2013 sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell and using a tweaked version of the 2006–2007 course. The event had a 5-year race contract through 2017 with IndyCar and Shell, using its Pennzoil brand of motor oil, was signed for 4 years as the event's title sponsor.

On the final race lap of the 2013 event the car of Dario Franchitti was launched airborne in turn five when it made contact with the car of Takuma Sato. Franchitti's car flew into the catch-fencing, displacing a portion of the fence and sending debris into the stands, injuring 14.Olson, Jeff., Nate Ryan, and Curt Cavin. Franchitti breaks back, has surgery after crash that injures fans, USA Today, October 11, 2013, Retrieved 2014-01-12 Franchitti suffered a broken ankle, broken back, and concussion, injuries which led him to retire from racing later that year.Dario Franchitti retires from IndyCar after accident, USA Today, November 14, 2013, Retrieved 2014-01-12

IndyCar & Mi-Jack Promotions announced on August 29, 2014, that the Houston doubleheader at NRG Park had been canceled for 2015 due to scheduling issues.

Features The Champ Car paddock was located inside Reliant Arena. In 2006, the Newman/Haas, RuSPORT, Dale Coyne, and Team Australia haulers were on the northern side, while the Forsythe, Rocketsports, PKV, and CTE-HVM teams were on the southern side. The 2006 race was also the last Champ Car or IndyCar race to ever be held on a road or street course at night under the lights, the first of which was the 2003 U.S. Bank Cleveland Grand Prix. 2007 and subsequent runnings were day races.

Race winners

Champ Car/IndyCar SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)ReportRef Laps Miles (km)Champ Car history 1998 October 4 Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda70*106.89 (171.99)1:36:3066.051 Report 1999 September 26 Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda100152.7 (245.746)1:55:3178.96 Report 2000 October 1 Jimmy Vasser Target Chip Ganassi Racing Lola Toyota100152.7 (245.746)1:59:02 76.626 Report 2001 October 7 Gil de Ferran Penske Racing Reynard Honda100152.7 (245.746)1:54:4279.521 Report2002–2005 Not held 2006 May 13 Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford Cosworth96*162.24 (261.099)1:59:57 81.154 Report 2007 April 22 Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Panoz Cosworth93156.519 (251.893)1:45:32 88.986 Report2008–2012 Not heldIndyCar Series history 2013 October 5 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda90151.47 (243.767)1:54:4876.856 Report October 6 Will Power Penske Racing Dallara Chevrolet90151.47 (243.767)1:52:2978.444 2014 June 28 Carlos Huertas Dale Coyne Racing Dallara Honda80*134.64 (216.682)1:51:2670.389 Report June 29 Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Dallara Honda90151.47 (243.767)1:51:4478.981

1998: Race shortened due to heavy rainshower that caused poor visibility. 2006: Race shortened due to time limit. 2014: First race shortened due to time limit.

Atlantics/Indy Lights Season Date Winning driverAtlantic Championship 1998 October 4 Anthony Lazzaro 1999 September 26 Andrew Bordin 2000 October 1 Andrew Bordin 2001 October 7 Joey Hand 2006 May 13 Andreas Wirth 2007 April 22 Raphael MatosIndy Lights 2000 October 1 Casey Mears 2013 October 6 Sage Karam

Lap records

The fastest official race lap records at the Grand Prix of Houston circuits are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent Grand Prix Circuit (2013–2014): IndyCar 0:59.1215 Luca Filippi Dallara DW12 2013 Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Indy Lights 1:05.5724 Gabby Chaves Dallara IPS 2013 Indy Lights Grand Prix of Houston Pro Mazda 1:08.6893 Neil Alberico Star Formula Mazda 'Pro' 2014 Houston Pro Mazda Championship round US F2000 1:14.908 Henrik Furuseth Van Diemen DP08 2013 Houston USF2000 round Pirelli World Challenge GT 1:17.583 Johnny O'Connell Cadillac CTS-V.R 2013 Houston Pirelli World Challenge round Pirelli World Challenge GTS 1:21.338 Mark Wilkins Kia Optima 2013 Houston Pirelli World Challenge round Pirelli World Challenge TC 1:22.555 Michael Cooper Mini Cooper 2013 Houston Pirelli World Challenge round Mazda MX-5 Cup 1:22.633 Kenton Koch Mazda MX-5 (NC) 2014 Houston Mazda MX-5 Cup round Pirelli World Challenge TCB 1:32.485 Tyler Palmer Mazda 2 2013 Houston Pirelli World Challenge round Grand Prix Circuit (2007): Champ Car 0:58.018 Sebastien Bourdais Panoz DP01 2007 Grand Prix of Houston LMP2 1:02.893 Timo Bernhard Porsche RS Spyder 2007 Lone Star Grand Prix LMP1 1:03.047 Rinaldo Capello Audi R10 TDI 2007 Lone Star Grand Prix Formula Atlantic 1:05.072 Carl Skerlong Swift 016.a 2007 Houston Formula Atlantic round GT1 (GTS) 1:07.423 Johnny O'Connell Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 2007 Lone Star Grand Prix Star Mazda 1:08.375 Ron White Star Mazda 2007 Houston Star Mazda Championship round GT2 1:09.948 Dirk Müller Ferrari F430 GTC 2007 Lone Star Grand Prix Grand Prix Circuit (2006): Champ Car 1:00.176 Sébastien Bourdais Lola B02/00 2006 Grand Prix of Houston LMP1 1:05.148 Rinaldo Capello Audi R8 2006 Lone Star Grand Prix LMP2 1:05.284 Romain Dumas Porsche RS Spyder 2006 Lone Star Grand Prix Formula Atlantic 1:05.562 Jonathan Bomarito Swift 016.a 2006 Houston Formula Atlantic round GT1 (GTS) 1:08.565 Oliver Gavin Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 2006 Lone Star Grand Prix Star Mazda 1:09.941 Ron White Star Mazda 2006 Houston Star Mazda Championship round GT2 1:11.383 Jaime Melo Ferrari F430 GTC 2006 Lone Star Grand Prix Original Grand Prix Circuit (1998–2001): CART 1:00.219 Michael Andretti Lola B2K/00 2000 Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston Indy Lights 1:05.525 Casey Mears Lola T97/20 2000 Houston Indy Lights round Formula Atlantic 1:07.293 Andrew Bordin Swift 008.a 2000 Houston Formula Atlantic round

References

External links Grand Prix of Houston Homepage