It looks like most everyone wants to get the reds out of the way early. Will Power may be able to cycle to the lead when everyone ahead of him pits for blacks.
Tag: NTT Indycar Series
Front Row Flips for Race 2
Photo: Kyle McInnes
Yesterday’s Detroit Grand Prix front row drivers swap places for Race 2 today.
Josef Newgarden took the pole and Alexander Rossi will start second. Newgarden had the fastest lap of the two qualifying groupos at 1:14. 860. Rossi’s best lap was 1:15.182. Newgarden turned his fast lap in the last minute of the session. Newgarden won yesterday’s rain delayed and shortened race.
The second group was delayed for about 40 minutes to dry the track from water which had spilled from a cover on top the tire barrier in turn 6. The cars had just entered the track for their warm up lap when the red flag was shown.
The clock was reset to the full 12 minutes and the session ran cleanly.
This is Newgarden’s first pole this year and seventh career pole. His last pole was at Toronto in 2018.
Scott Dixon, Colton Herta, and Felix Rosenqvist also start in the first three rows for the second straight day.
Look for Quick Thoughts here after the race and a full report on Wildfire Sports tomorrow.
Quick Thoughts- Detroit Race 1
It is frustrating race to watch a race that runs 50% of the time under yellow. 29 green laps isn’t much of a race.
There were some good battles early, but the race got processional once everyone went to slicks.
Tim Cindric once again made the right strategy call. If the race stayed green it might not have worked out.
Rossi has two straight second place finishes and Sato two straight third places. I said a couple of weeks ago that Sato will be in this fight all season.
I’m sure television influenced the length of the time limit, but 85-90 minutes would have made a better show and guaranteed a second pit stop.
Ryan Hunter-Reay did a great job recovering from missing turn 7 early.
Looking at the tire choices set for today before the rain, it looks like most of the field was planning to start on reds and be done with them for the rest of the race. We might see the same plan tomorrow.
I have had my fill of rainy races this year.
Tomorrow the weather looks good for a dry full length race. It should be a better show.
It’s hard to believe that we are seven races into the season and Will Power hasn’t won a race. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
Watch for my full race report on Wildfire Sports tomorrow morning.
Rossi Takes Pole for Race 1
Photo: Kyle McInnes
Alexander Rossi won the pole for Race 1 at the Detroit Grand Prix. His fastest lap, 1:14.1989, nipped Scott Dixon in the last minute of his qualifying group. Dixon had the second fastest time overall, 0.2 seconds behind Rossi, but will start third since he was in Rossi’s group. Josef Newgarden led Group 1 with 1:14.9272 and will start second.
The bonus point Newgarden earned puts him in a virtual tie with Simon Pagenaud for the series lead.
This is Rossi’s sixth career pole. He has won four times from the pile. It is his second consecutive pole at Belle Isle.
Rain may have an impact on the race. Rossi and Newgarden still don’t think the red tires will last very long, but Rossi added, “We’ve been surprised in this series before.”
Other notable performances include Colton Herta, fifth and Pato O’Ward seventh.
Detroit Race 1
Good Morning from Belle Isle and Race day 1 .
Today’s schedule
10:45 Indycar Qualifying Delayed Showing on NBCSN at noon
12:30-2:30 IMSA Race
3:00- Indycar Race 1 (green flag at 3:50) on NBC
Detroit uses a different qualifying procedure. Two groups each have fifteen minutes on track. The fastest car in each group gets a bonus point. The fastest overall wins the pole. For Sunday’s qualifying session, the groups go out in reverse order.
There is a possibility of rain late in the race.
Back after qualifying.
Rossi Fastest in Practice 2; Chevys Make Gains on Reds
Alexander Rossi had the day’s fastest time of 1:15.135 to lead the second practice session at Belle Isle this afternoon. The official practice ended early when Simon Pagenaud made contact with the outside wall. The team repaired the broken toe link and took part in the pit stop practice.
Spencer Pigot was the first driver to go to the alternate red tires with about 12 minutes left in the session. Most other cars put on the reds about three minutes later. Pagenaud brought out the red flag with just over three minutes left.
Josef Newgarden broke the Honda logjam at the top of the standings on the red tires, finishing second to Rossi. Five Chevrolets were in the top ten nthis afternoon, two more than in the morning round. The Chevys represented the entire Penske and Carpenter teams.
Watch for a full report on the day on Wildfire Sports later tonight.
Dixon Leads Practice 1
Scott Dixon had the fastest lap in the opening practice session for the Detroit Grand Prix. His best lap was 1:16.7418, a speed of 110.240 mph. Four Hondas and two Chevrolets occupied the top six spots. Will Power was second, 0,3464 seconds behind Dixon.
The rest of the top six – Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, and Colton Herta. Spencer Pigot was the only other Chevy driver in the top 10, in ninth place. Alexander Rossi, one of this weekend’s favorites, was eighth quickest.
The session was green until Sebastien Bourdais found the runoff area in turn seven with about eight minutes left. He tried to spin the car around and continue, but the car stalled. The session resumed with about five minutes left. Felix Rosenqvist spun into a runoff area, but the session continued.
The next practice is at 2:50 and the results will determine tomorrow’s qualifying groups. Pit stop practice follows the practice session.
More later.
Welcome to the Detroit Grand Prix
Here at the Detroit Grand Prix. The first practice begins in about 20 minutes. Most of my coverage will be on Wildfire Sports this weekend, but I will still have posts here, including qualifying and race quick thoughts.
One change I noticed is the food court has moved to the drive just before the bridge leading to the paddock. Picnic tables are in the grassy area near the bridge. This arrangement makes the food court less crowded.
Practices today will be on NBC Gold. I’ll be back after practice.
Lessening Post Race Depression by a Day- The Victory Banquet
Last year I decided to attend the Victory Banquet. It is something I have always wanted to do and the time was right. I knew after five minutes 2018 would not be my one and only Banquet. The best thing about it is that it delays the post race blues for another day.
This year my good friends Frank and Nola Proctor joined me for the first time. Marty was planning to go, but had to change her plans at the last minute. The Proctors were awestruck. They loved the proximity to the drivers.
This year featured tributes to Mari Hulman George and Mario Andretti on the 50th anniversary of his 500 win. A. J. Foyt gave a touching tribute Mrs. George.
There were humorous moments. Conor Daly pretty much did a stand up comedy routine. Colton Herta said His $351, 000 prize would allow him to move out his parents’ basement. James Hinchcliffe warned him that since Herta lives in California, that wasn’t enough money to move.
The evening’s most awkward moment of the night occurred when Helio Castroneves seemed to be pleading for Roger Penske to let him drive in next year’s race. I thought he had a three year agreement for the 500. Penske did not seem to be smiling. The room got eerily quiet. while Castroneves spoke.
Santino Ferrucci received the Rookie of the Year Award. This rookie class was so close that I thought it would come down to which rookie had the highest finish in the race. Ferrucci finished seventh. No other rookie finished any better than 22nd.
The Banquet Format Needs Work
The one thing I don’t like about the banquet is that some drivers come to the podium to speak and others, sometimes two at a time, sit in chairs and have a late night talk show type chat with a different host. This format sets some drivers apart as being more important than others.
I especially don’t like when they talk to two drivers at once. the banquet should be a chance for each diver to talk about his day and thank his sponsors and others. The two driver portions diminish each driver’s accomplishments. We don’t learn how much prize money some of the drivers get.
Here are some photos from the banquet. Tomorrow look for my Detroit preview on Wild fire Sports. The thing I like about Detroit is that I get to incorrectly pick two winners instead of one.
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