Circuits
Phoenix
At the start of 1989 Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone negotiated a five-year deal with the city of Phoenix, Arizona, to run a street race in the city's downtown area. The intention was to use the race to promote Phoenix and liven up its image as a place where people went to retire. Local interest was virtually non-existent, however, and the crowds stayed in the rich suburbs when F1 arrived for the first time in the baking heat of the midsummer of 1989. Alain Prost won a dominant victory for McLaren.