A Brief History of Motorsports in Miami

" The Sun & Fun Capital of America" is also the largest city in the state famous for oranges, alligators and beaches and its fair share of motorsport history too.

The beat of Rhumba and Racing has a long and distinguished history in and around Miami. Almost a century ago in February 1926, the 1925 Indy 500 Champion Peter DePalo was the winner of a 300-mile race on an oval wooden track, the Fulford-Miami Speedway.

The 1.25-mile (2 km) track was the brainchild of Carl Fisher, who was also involved in building the “Brickyard,” the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In the 1980s and 1990s Miami was a popular destination for IMSA Sports Car and Indy car racing. The man behind this was Miami businessman Ralph Sanchez. He was a young boy in Havana when Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 Cuban Grand Prix.

His dream became a reality on February 27, 1983, with the Budweiser Grand Prix of Miami, but heavy rain turned the IMSA-sanctioned event into a nightmare and the race was red-flagged after only twenty-seven laps. Al Holbert in a March was declared the winner.

The final edition of this race was the 1993 Toyota Grand Prix of Miami. It was aptly won by Dan Gurney-prepared Eagle-Toyota piloted by Juan Manuel Fangio II.

The infamous split in American open-wheel racing also spilt over into sports car racing between ALMS, American Le Mans Series owned by pharmaceutical billionaire Don Panoz and Grand Am, owned by the France family of NASCAR fame and fortune.

The ALMS races ran for two years, 2002 & ‘03, at the street circuit. Winners were Audi drivers, Frank Biela and Emanuelle Pirro in the first race, and Johnny Herbert and JJ Lehto in the second year.

The Grand Am series organized races across town at the Miami-Homestead Speedway. The inaugural event in 1998 was part of the United States Road Racing Series. Butch Leitzinger and James Weaver were the winners in the Riley & Scott-Ford.

In 2004, Venezuelan Milka Duno and co-driver Andy Wallace won both events, Grand Prix of Miami and Miami 250, driving a Crawford-Pontiac.

The final Grand Am race at the Miami-Homestead Speedway in 2012 was won by Max Angelelli, he was the driver of the safety car at the ill-fated 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, and Ricky Taylor.

The first CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) sanctioned race was the 1985 season finale at the Tamiami Park street circuit. The race is best remembered for on-track family feud and high emotions of the Unser family.

Young Al Unser Jr. was hoping his third-place finish would make him the series champion, long as his father did not finish in the top four.

In the closing stages Unser Sr. was able to pass Roberto Moreno to take fourth and the title from his own son - by a single point. Penske driver Danny Sullivan won the race.

In 1996, Indy cars moved to the new 2.4 km oval at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. This was the season of the Big Split in American open-wheel racing. Jimmy Vasser was the winner over Gil de Ferran. The final CART-sanctioned Indy car race in 2000 was won by Max Papis.

Tony George’s IRL, Indy Racing League, which started out as an oval-only series, held events at the Miami-Homestead Speedway from 2001 till 2010.

Sam Hornish Jr. won three of the first four races. Dan Wheldon won three in a row from 2005-’07. Tragedy struck in 2006 when American Paul Dana was killed in an accident during Sunday’s warm-up session.

Kiwi Scott Dixon was the last winner in 2020 of the Indycar race in Miami area.

The all-electric series made its only stop in Miami at The Biscayne Bay Street Circuit in March 2015. Nicolas Prost was the winner followed by the very first Formula 1 Grand Prix in the United States took place at Sebring in 1959, a three-hour drive north of Miami.

Liberty Media’s relentless pursuit to popularize Formula 1 in the United States has resulted in three Grands Prix across the nation. Plus, the uberly successful Netflix Drive to Survive series.

Stephen Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, is the man behind the Miami Grand Prix. The temporary circuit - Miami International Autodrome - around the stadium is 5.4 km in length and was designed by Apex Circuit Design. It features nineteen corners and three DRS zones.

The 57-lap Miami Grand Prix on Sunday will be Round 6 in this year’s championship. In the two races so far, Max Verstappen is the only winner.

The inaugural race was house-full. Both in terms of paying spectators and highly paid celebrities. American glitz and glamour in grand style. Even the fake Marina was the talk of the town.

We leave the final words to Tom Garfinkel, Vice-Chairman, President & CEO, Hard Rock Stadium: “You could walk around the top deck of the stadium and see every corner on the racetrack – and that’s pretty unique.”