Tag: Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

Kirkwood Leads Choppy Session

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Kyle Kirkwood emerged with the fastest lap of the weekend in a morning practice interrupted by several red flags.

Rinus VeeKay lost an engine to bring out the second stoppage of Detroit Grand Prix practice. The first one was to retrieve a blue flag dropped by a corner marshal.

Christian Lundgaard lost his engine during the first group practice. It has been a difficult month for Chevy engines beginning with the Open test in late April.

Kirkwood had scraped the wall with his right rear tire, but he returned before the end of the group round to set the quickest lap. Just 4 tenths of a send separate Kirkwood from fourth place Alex Palou.

Results:

Qualifying Groups;

Group 2 looks brutal. One contender might get knocked out.

Saturday at Detroit

thepitwindowLeave a comment

SATURDAY, MAY 30

8-8:45 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone practice #2, FS1(live)

9:05-10:25 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice #2 (45 minutes all car session followed by two 10-minute group sessions), FS1 (live)

Noon-12:30 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (Two groups, 10-minute session), FS1 (live)

1-2:30 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)

IMSA Race 4pm NBC

Practice Groups

Group A goes first in the split sessions following the entire grid period.

Notes

For the 2026 season to date, five drivers- Palou, Kirkwood, Newgarden, Lundgaard, and Rosenqvist- have won races. The drivers represent five different teams- Penske, Andretti, Ganassi, Arrow McLaren, and Meyer Shank. At this point last year only Palou and Kirkwood had won races.

Indianapolis 500 leftovers:

Sincde 2020 only four different teams have won the Indianapolis 500- Rahal Letterman Racing (1) Team Penske (2), Meyer Shank Racing (2), Chip Ganassi Racing (2).

Six different drivers have won the race, none from the pole.

I’ll be back with Practice 2 results and qualifying groups later today, and qualifying results this evening.

Palou Tops Detroit Practice 1

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Alex Palou was fastest in Friday practice for the Detroit Grand Prix, just edging defending race winner Kyle Kirkwood by 19 hundredths of a second. Will Power was third quickest, 22 hundredths of a second behind Palou.

Palou is seeking his third pole in the month of May. He won the pole at the Sonsio Grand Prix, where he finished fifth, then took the coveted Indianapolis 500 pole position for the 110th running. Palou finished seventh last Sunday.

“Good start,” Palou said. “It’s just super tough to get a lap here when everything feels good. Although we looked very good, I think we need to work on the car and try to make it a little bit better because I think there was a ton of people that couldn’t really get a good lap.”

Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist was 11th fastest in today’s practice.

Tomorrow is a short, ,packed day with practice at 9 am Eastern and qualifying at 1 pm. IMSA then has the track for the rest of the day.

Results

Detroit Has a Tough Act to Follow-

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Against the tide of a lingering Indianapolis 500 hangover, the Detroit Grand Prix begins today with a practice at 3 pm for the IndyCar series. The Detroit race on the downtown streets usually presents a less than scintillating show, and its place on the schedule does the event no favors. IndyCar goes from a 220 mph drag race for the Borg-Warner trophy to a sub 100 mph tour in the Motor City.

This weekend is the fourth edition of the Detroit race since its move from Belle Isle, a track where the racing became decent in the late 20 teens. I used to wish the series would not race there because the contests were dull processions. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

Detroit is the eighth race on the 18 race calendar for 2026, and unlike the last two years, the potential for a title fight remains. David Malukas has moved into second place, trailing Alex Palou by 37 points. Kyle Kirkwood has dropped to third, 49 points behind. Kirkwood lost 32 points to Palou in May.

Here are some things to watch for:

Andretti Rebound

Andretti Global had a difficult May at IMS, but the team returns to the discipline which is their strength. Kirkwood has won three street course races since 2025, and he is the defending winner at Detroit.

Will Power has been a winner on several street courses, and Marcus Ericsson also has a street victory to his name.

Look for this trio, especially Kirkwood, to be at or near the front the entire weekend.

Rosenqvist 500 Hangover

Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist might have the ultimate post=race hangover following a week of activities honoring the new Indianapolis champion. The race might be his most relaxing time of the past eight days.

Winners of the 500 don’t traditionally fare well in the race following the 500. It was true in Milwaukee, and it remained true in Texas and continued to Detroit.

Malukas Momentum?

David Malukas remains agonizingly on the cusp of his first series win. He has an average finish of 7.3 this season in the three previous street races. AS result in that range will keep him in the title hunt. I think he gets his first win at Gateway next weekend.

A solid result on a course that is not Malukas’s strength will go a long way toward erasing the pain he felt at the end of the race five days ago.

The Indianapolis 500 is a tough act to follow no matter which race is next. There have been rumblings this week about giving everyone in the series a break after the 500. The schedule is hard on the crews and staff, and this year there are consecutive weekends following the 500. IndyCar is afraid of losing momentum by taking a week off, but a break would allow about 12 days to celebrate the winner of the biggest race in the world and promote the rest of the season.

If the series wants to build on the momentum of the 500, an oval race should be the next contest. Gateway and Detroit should swap dates on the calendar.

I see Kyle Kirkwood reestablishing his street course dominance with a victory on Sunday, inching closer to second place and gaining on Palou.

I will be covering the race from home with results of all sessions and reports on anything else I hear.

INDYCAR Announces Detroit Grand Prix Post-Race Technical Violation, Penalty

thepitwindow

From IndyCar:

  No. 14 Failed To Meet Required Driver Ballast Weight
INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, June 2, 2025) – INDYCAR has announced a post-race technical inspection penalty for the entry No. 14 of A.J. Foyt Enterprises following Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear after it was found to be under the required driver ballast weight following the event.
During post-race inspection of car No. 14, INDYCAR discovered the driver ballast needed to bring the combined weight of the driver and driver ballast to 185 pounds was underweight and not within the driver ballast weight tolerance of 0.00 to + 1.00 pounds.However, also during inspection, the series found the weight of car No. 14, itself, was 10 pounds over the minimum weight for road and street circuits of 1,785 pounds and competed over the minimum weight requirement on-track.A.J. Foyt Enterprises was in violation of:
Rule 14.4.2. Driver Equivalency Weight Rule 14.4.2.2. Driver Equivalency Weight must bring the combined weight of the Driver and Driver ballast to 185 pounds.
Rule 14.4.2.5. The Driver ballast weight tolerance is 0.00 to + 1.00 pounds. The Driver Equivalency Weight must be installed and secured in the designed location forward of the seatback. This location may only be used for Driver ballast.
This rule is in place to equalize the weight of varying-sized drivers so there is no advantage based on the weight of the driver. Post-race weight determination, as implemented by INDYCAR, is a common practice after every event and in nearly all forms of motorsports to ensure an equal playing field.
The No. 14 will be allowed to keep the second-place finish; however, the entry has been fined $25,000 and will forfeit 25 championship driver and entrant points. The bonus point for leading a lap also is not awarded.
The No. 14 also is ineligible for engine points and prize money associated with the race.
Updated results of the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix can be found here.
Members may contest the imposition of the penalties detailed in the review and appeal procedures of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rulebook. 

Quick Thoughts- Detroit GP

thepitwindow

Andretti Redemption Week continues as Kyle Kirkwood wins the Grand Prix of Detroit. The win, coupled with Colton Herta’s pole on Saturday, eases some of the pain from their disqualifications at last Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

Kirkwood said that this entire week had all the emotions a driver feels through a season.

“The lows make the highs that much better,” Kirkwood said.

Alex Palou is human after all. After spending much of the race in the bottom half of the top 10, the points leader and winner of the 500 had his ay end early when David Malukas bumped Palou from behind, sending him into the tire barrier on lap 72. Malukas was penalized for the contact.

The Grand Prix of Detroit was arguably the best race so far this year. The start was clean, and all =cars got through the hairpin. Cars were able to pass, cautions were spread out, and there were alternate pit strategies. The race saw a pass for the win on lap 79 as well as other passes for the lead. Today was the first time I actually enjoyed watching a race at this track.

A. J. Foyt Racing appears to have become competitive again. David Malukas finished second in the 5400 and started on the front row today. Santino Ferrucci has a shot at victory today and finished second. It is nice to see this team mixing it up with the big four again. I think they could get a win this year.

Meanwhile woes at Rahal letterman Lanigan continue. Graham Rahal made the Fast Six, although an engine penalty caused him to start 11th. Rahal and teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster all had wheel issues. Rahal was running at the finish, but DeFrancesco and Foster retired, Foster in a horrific crash when his right front suspension broke.

FOX

I thought the broadcast was decent, but I still don’t know why the network can’t have a pit stop timer. I felt the post-race coverage was skimpy- just three brief interviews and no podium celebration.

I do not recall a season other than 1964, which had fewer, where there have been just two different winners after seven races.

Thanks for following along this wee3kend. I am going to lay low for a couple of days and have something up around midweek.

Detroit Race Day-Starting Tire Choices, Warm Up Results

thepitwindow

First- Congratulations to the Indian Pacers on reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years. I’m sure there are going to be some tired IndyCar officials in Detroit today.

Felix Rosenqvist led the morning warmup which featured some contact between cars. Colton Herta had contact late in the session, and Alexander Rossi was involved in another incident. Both cars were able to to continue with minor damage.

I will be back this afternoon with some quick thoughts on the race. I’m still picking Kirkwood to win, but I think David Malukas and Marcus Ericsson may also have a shot.

Tire selections- Includes official line up

Results

Redemption-Detroit Qualifying

thepitwindow

After two long weeks, Colton Herta finally has something to smile about. On May 17th he crashed hard as he began his Indianapolis 500 qualifying lap and started the race in 27th. He finished 17th, but was moved to 14th after two of his teammates and another car were disqualified.

Today Herta won the pole for tomorrow’s Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit, edging David Malukas by two tenths of a second.

Kyle Kirkwood, started the 500 23rd and drove to a 6th place finish on track before being disqualified, will start third tomorrow.

Overall, it was a day of redemption for Andretti Global.

Notes

David Malukas qualified second, a nice follow up to his second place last Sunday. He held the provisional pole for quite a while, then pulled into the pits with time left, allowing Herta to post a faster time.

Where are IndyCar’s priorities? No action was taken against Will Power for his dangerous pushing of Kyle Kirkwood in yesterday’s practice session, but Alexander Rossi was held out for 10 minutes of practice time this morning because he missed a required weigh in. This a bit skewed in the wrong direction.

Team Penske looked strong for a while. Will Power led his first round group without a tow. Josef Newgarden brushed the wall while on a lap that would have put him in round 2 and he will start 24th. Scott McLaughlin and Power got to the second round, and they will star on the fourth row.

Results

Note– Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon will serve 6 place grid penalties for engine changes. Rahal will start 11th and Dixon starts 16th.

The official starting lineup with starting tire choices will be published after tomorrow’s warm up.