The West Michigan Grand Prix was first announced in 1997 by SCCA Pro Racing. As part of the promotion of the event three Trans-Am Series cars raced down Fulton Street. A Ford Mustang Cobra, Oldsmobile Cutlass and Chevrolet Camaro passed Grand Rapids mayor John H. Logie waving the green flag. Alan Wilson designed the 13-turn track named after late IndyCar Series driver Scott Brayton. Brayton suffered a deadly crash during Indy 500 practice in 1996. Before the inaugural Grand Prix weekend official pre parties were held at the Grand Rapids Art Museum and Van Andel Museum Center. The Trans-Am Series was the headline event of both West Michigan Grand Prix editions. The first edition saw 31 Trans-Am cars take the green flag. Bill Saunders won the race with a margin of victory of over 44 seconds. The largest field was that of the SCCA Spec Racer Ford Pro Series in 1999. 40 cars participated in the race. The fastest overall racelap was set by Todd Snyder in the 1999 Barber Dodge Pro Series. Snyder passed polesitter Sepp Koster for the lead on lap 17. Koster left a gap coming out of turn one and Snyder could pass him for the lead.