I was wrong, as were many others. The wreck fest did not happen. The Detroit Grand Prix turned out to be an entertaining race with two on track passes for the lead and late caurions creating some drama toward the end. We laso a battle between teammates. Some storylines from today.

Palou on a Roll

Alex palou’s resume since May 13:

May 13- Wins the GMR Grand Prix

May 21- Wins pole for the Indianapolis 500

May 28th- Finishes fourth in the 500

June 3- Wins pole for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

June 4- Wins the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

Not a bad month’s work at all. Palou now has a 51 point lead over Matcus Ericsson for the championship.

Asked at the winner’s press conference which drivers concern him mostm Palou priceeded to name seven drivers and he said he could name several more. The points chase will tighten up in the next month, and he is aware of it.

The Curious Case of Pato O’Ward

Pato O’Ward continues to confuse me. Great skill, usually good equipment, but he seems to get into hiw=s own head too much. An ill fitting wheel nut on his pit stop set him back, Just a few minutes later, he crashes. Last week we saw him try to gain in a spot on a questionable pass.

I like Pato, and I think he is great for the series, He seems to have what I callan “inner Senna” which takes over at the most inopportune times. I hope he can start being more consistent and star winning races again. The series needs O’Ward victories.

Kirkwood Comeback

The race started as a typical Kirkwood race, as he was involved in an early incident when Callum Ilott ran over the back of Kirkwood’s car in turn three of lap 1. Kirkwood got a new rear wing and worked his way through the field , even leading a lap, His sixth place finish on the box score shows he officially gained six spots from wher he started. he in fact gained 20 spots.

Split Pit Not an Issue

The split pit lane did not cause any issues in today’s race. It was barely noticeable. The modifications Indycar made after Friday’s practice seem to have helped.

What Happened to Crash Fest?

This was not the raqce drivers or a lot of fans expected. Third place finisher Felix Rosenqvist said, “The track came alive.” Rosenqvist said the surface got grippier as the race went on

.Will Power believes nif the second half of the front stretch is repaved there will be more passing next year.

We ended up with an entertaining race.

A Final Thought

I haven’t heard attendance figures for the weekend, but today’s crowd was huge. The grandstands and garage rooftops were packed. Most fans standing along the fence between turns three and four stayed there the entire race.

I hope the level of entusiaqsm and civic pride I saw today can be sustained.

I will have a more detailed wrap up tomorw. Thanks for following along . Special thankd to Kyle McInnes for his outstanding photo work this wekend.