The Caesars Palace Grand Prix was a car race held in Las Vegas between 1981 and 1984. For the first two years, the race was part of the Formula One World Championship, before becoming a round of the CART series in 1983. Nissan/Datsun was a presenting sponsor of both races. The temporary motor circuit used for the event is commonly referred to as the "Caesars Palace car park" by the media, as a result of its location. History There had been Can-Am races at the Stardust International Raceway in the mid to late 1960s, but that circuit was bought by developers and then demolished in 1970. The first race was originally supposed to take place as the last race of the 1980 season on November 2, 4 weeks after the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. But when Watkins Glen went off the schedule after 1980, the Caesars' Palace Grand Prix gained importance, and more effort was put forth by Bernie Ecclestone and others to make sure this Las Vegas race went ahead. The new race ended the year, whereas Long Beach, only away, started it. But Las Vegas was not as popular among the drivers as Long Beach, primarily because of its flat, repetitive nature of the circuit, its parking-lot location and Las Vegas itself. It has also been described as one of the worst circuits Formula One has ever visited. The track was laid out in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel and was set up for a temporary circuit. Wide enough for overtaking, it provided ample run-off areas filled with sand and had a surface that was as smooth as glass. Its counter-clockwise direction, however, put a tremendous strain on the drivers' necks. When Nelson Piquet clinched his first World Championship by finishing fifth in 1981, it took him 15 minutes to recover from heat exhaustion after barely making it to the finish. The 1982 race, held in intense heat — another unpleasant feature of this race — was won by Michele Alboreto in a Tyrrell, but that was the end of Formula One racing in Las Vegas, since the races had drawn only tiny crowds and the 1981 race turned out to be a huge loss for the hotel. Following the withdrawal of Formula One, the event was assumed by CART for 1983 and 1984. The circuit was modified with turns 1, 6, and