All Times Eastern
Friday, May 30
4:05 pm- 4:25 pm IndyCar practice 1 FS2
Saturday, May 31
9:05 am-10:05 am IndyCar practice 2 FS1
12:20 pm-1:50 pm IndyCar Qualifications FS1
Sunday, June 1
9:32 am-9:57 am IndyCar Warm Up FS1
12:30 pm FOX broadcast begins
12:52 pm Green Flag Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit FOX
Photo by Kyle McInnes
When the dust settles in a chaotic Indycar race, fans can rest assured that either Scott Dixon or Marcus Ericsson will be out front. Both drivers thrive on chaos, whether of their own doing or the rest of the field’s.
Dixon drove another masterful fuel saving race, squeezing 44 laps out of his last fill up. He has two wins and a third place in 2024, and now leads the championship by 18 points over Alex Palou.
Meanwhile, Marcus Ericsson charged hard but fell eight tenths of a second short. Ericsson needed a good result coming off a nightmarish Indianapolis 500 and battling electrical gremlins Friday.
It seems as if every car had contact at some point. If you drove your car into turn three, you expected to get hit. half of the eight cautions were for issues in turn 3. Several incidents did not bring out the yellow flag there as well.
17 of the first 40 laps had Oriol Servia in the pace car at the head of the field.
Penalties were assessed early and often. Of the 12 handed down, Will Power received four of them. Still, because of the numerous cautions, he ended up sixth. His last penalty came on lap 60. Power had another penalty rescinded, or he would have fouled out.
When the green flew on lap 73 for the final time, fans saw the best racing of the day as a three-way battle for the lead between Dixon, Marcus Armstrong, and Ericsson developed. Armstrong, like Dixon, was saving fuel and to yield second place. he ran out of fuel just as he took the checkered flag.
Was it pretty? No. Was it sloppy? Yes. There will be a race or two like this during a season. I’m glad we got one out of the way so early. I think the twelve days at IMS were exhausting for everyone, and the four hour rain delay didn’t help matters much.
Today we saw the aftereffects of the 500 fortnight. Road America will be a welcome sight next weekend.
Should Detroit be the next race after the 500? With the mazing viewership numbers last Sunday, which may have brought in some new fans, Indycar chooses to go to a tight street track which invites crashes and televises it on an obscure cable channel. I don’t see how this keeps the momentum going after Indianapolis.
I am not against racing in Detroit. The city’s automotive history alone makes it worthy of having a race. There are parts of detroit I really like.But a better track where actual racing can take place would be great. perhaps this race could be at the end of June.
Indycar also needs to look into taking a week off after the 500. it would give the winner more time for appearance at more leisurely pace.
The 500 winner’s next race curse continues. Josef Newgarden had a fueling issue on his first stop, ran over an air gun on his next visit, nearly injuring a crewman in another pit, served a penalty for it, then hit the wall and broke a toe link, ending his day in 26th place.
This date in Alex Palou history: Palou finished 18th, his first finish outside the top 10 in 637 days.
I’m not sure what it will take for Colton Herta to win a race. He has to be the most frustrated driver in the paddock.
Felix Rosenqvist improved 16 positions to finish sixth. Saturday was the first time this year he had not qualified in the top 10.
Thanks for following along this weekend. I will be posting just basic information about Road America the next couple of days, and I’m not sure how much coverage I will be able to do. I leave for France and LeMans Wednesday afternoon.
A cool damp track made for a tricky warmup session this morning. Josef Newgarden edged Colton Herta for the fastest lap with a 1:02.0463 circuit. Herta was just 184 ten thousandths slower.
Early morning rain left the track still damp, especially near the walls. Many cars got sideways but the drivers were able to recover.
The session ended 90 seconds early when Theo Pourchaire had trouble refiring his car after ending up in a runoff area.
Televison coverage begins at noon on USA and Peacock. green flag is set for 12:45 Eastern..
Photo by Kyle McInnes
Colton Herta had a day of personal redemption and led a Honda resurgence in winning the pole for the Grand Prix of Detroit. Defending race winner Alex Palou will start second. Four Hondas advanced to the Fast Six.
Herta was one of the favorites to win the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday, but he spun and hit the wall in turn 1. Herta finished 23rd.
” A complete 180 and just super happy for the team,” Herta said of his rebound from Indianapolis disappointment. “They worked their tails off in the Month of May. To come back with some redemption, it feels good.”
Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Scott McLaughlin make up the second row, the only Chevy representatives in the top six.
Scott Dixon and Kyle Kirkwood make up the third row. Kirkwood was on track for a top four spot until he slid into a runoff area and stalled the car, bringing out a red flag with 43 seconds left in the final round.
After a frustrating May followed by an electrical issue in the morning practice, Marcus Ericsson advanced to the second round of qualifying. He will start ninth.
Andretti Global has looked strong this weekend. The team will start first, sixth, and ninth.
Theo Pourchaire was fourth fastest in the morning practice, led his round one qualifying group, and just missed the Fast Six. He is the fastest Arrow McLaren qualifier. The rookie, who will drive the number 6 car for the rest of the season, looks great.
The race tomorrow is USA network. Coverage begins at noon and the green flag is at 12:45 PM Eastern.
Photo by Kyle McInnes
In one of Honda’s strongest sessions of the season, Colton Herta led Practice 2 in Detroit this morning, followed by teammate Kyle Kirkwood and Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou.
Herta turned a fast lap of 1:01.5726, which is faster than the 2023 pole speed set by Palou.
The 45 minutes featured lots of cars in runoff areas. Indycar had AMR Safety team members at the ready with starters preventing what would have been several red flags. The lone stoppage came with 75 seconds remaining when Theo Pourchaire went head on into the tire barrier in turn 9.
Traffic was an issue throughout the practice as drivers seemed unwilling to allow fellow competitors to get the gaps needed for a clean lap.
During the red flag, Kirkwood confronted Santino Ferrucci, who had tried to pass and made contact with Kirkwood on track. Ferrucci aliso had contact with Herta. Ferrucci shoved Kirkwood, who just walked away.
This is not the first on track issue the driver for A. J. Foyt Racing has had with other drivers on track. Ferrucci needs to learn to drive with respect and respect his fellow drivers..
Results
Photo by Kyle McInnes
Alex Palou was the fastest driver at Detroit in 2023 on the new downtown street circuit. He picked up today right where he left the Motor City, recording the quickest lap in this afternoon’s opening practice session.
Palou thinks the track has improved since last year.
“It was busy,” Palou told Indycar. “I visited the run-off areas a couple of times here and there, just trying to find the limit and the grip of the track. The track is grippier, a lot grippier, than last year. Pretty happy. The car feels good so far.”
This practice period began with a 45-minute session for all drivers and ended with two 10-minute sessions, each with half the field.
Colton Herta led the 45-minute session with a time of 1:02.0219. Palou chopped three tenths from Herta’s time with a lap of 1:01.7210. Pato O’Ward had the second quickest time of 1:01.7315.
Marcus Ericsson’s difficult month of May continued as he slapped the wall hard with his right rear tire. He was 14th on the speed charts.
Woes continue for car 18. Nolan Siegel crashed attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, and today jack Harvey grazed the inside wall and then slid across the track, hitting the outside wall hard. The right front wheel was torn from the car.
The view on the screen: This track does not present as an attractive venue on television. Granted, downtown Detroit is not that scenic, but the GM Tower and the waterfront could get some more tv time. Perhaps NBC could do with a few (a lot) less on-board camera shots here. The viewer has no idea where the car is, and there is not camera on Atwater with a view of a car zipping along the shore.
Practice resumes tomorrow morning at 9:15 am Eastern with qualifying at 12:15. I will cover the practice, but I will be at commencement for a favorite student of mine. I will watch the replay and post a report tomorrow late afternoon.
From Indycar:
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 