IndyCars - Detroit: An old friend with a brand new face

[MarkyS]

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IndyCars started racing on the streets of Downtown Detroit in 1989, but since 1992 whenever there was a Detroit Grand Prix it was held on Belle Isle, in the middle of the Detroit River, with Canada on the other bank. Many, many great races are in the history books there but starting this year the race will return to Downtown Detroit, on a new layout that is shorter than the original Downtown track but still incorporates some of those streets, as we do…

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

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The new track is a 1.645-mile, nine-turn street circuit along Jefferson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street and Rivard, with Jefferson producing the longest straight-away. There is a little bit of elevation change in the course, but the most interesting feature will be the Pit Lane, as it is split into two halves - some cars will pit to left and some will pit to right, depending on pit assignment. Cars then rejoin on the pit lane before reconnecting to the circuit.

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The inaugural weekend for the new track will feature several entertainers and many family-oriented events and most importantly, 6 races. They will be:

• The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series - 1 race on Saturday
• The Trans Am Series - 2 races on Saturday and Sunday
• Indy NXT - 2 races on Saturday and Sunday

…and, of course, the IndyCars will race on Sunday. We think there might be IndyCar drivers in all four series, so we will be keeping tabs on them all, for now.

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Let’s look at those support series…(continued)…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Support series…(continued)…

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The Trans Am Series - The road racing series sanctioned by the SCCA and featuring American muscle cars dates back to 1966. Throughout the years, some of the greatest names in motorsports have participated in the Trans Am Series. WE keep an eye on it because Road to Indy ace Matthew Brabham is a class star of the series with several WINS and podiums, driving a Mustang for Dyson Racing. Just last weekend, Matty pulled in P3 at the Trans Am race at Lime Rock Park, after starting on pole with a new track record. As it turns out, Matty’s class isn’t racing this weekend, so we will wish the Trans Am boys safe and happy racing and concentrate elsewhere.

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IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge - MPC is the non-prototype GT-only series that acts as a support series for IMSA’s premier WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, and the racing is the finest GT and Touring Car racing in North America. At Detroit, only the top Grand Sport class will be racing and there are at least 3 former Road to Indy stars in the race: Rob Meginnes, Eric Filgueiras and Austin McCusker. Eric is coming off a P2 at Laguna Seca in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS he drives for RS1 and shares with Stevan McAleer.

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Eric Filgueiras in the RS1 Porsche

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Indy NXT - (say, “Indy next”) The top step on the ladder system that trains drivers to drive IndyCars, Indy NXT used to be called “Indy Lights” but whatever it’s called it is a great training ground. The car is the Dallara IL-15 and is close to an IndyCar in performance and feel. The Dallara uses a 450 hp turbo-charged engine from AER. The adjustable brakes are by PFC and are the biggest in the ladder system. The cars have the widest wheels in the ladder and are now shod with Firestone tires - same as on the big cars. The IL-15 has one more thing - Push-to-Pass, just like on the big cars. That is, an additional burst of 50 horsepower is available to the driver under most conditions, with the push of a button on the steering wheel.

The drivers are typically graduates of lower ladder-rung series USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000, but can often come from F3 or F2 in Europe. These drivers are ready to make the move to the big cars by season’s end and many of the drivers in IndyCars are recent graduates of Indy Lights. Indy NXT have held 3 races so far, and the current points leader is Danish sophomore Christian Rasmussen for HMD Motorsports, with1 WIN, 3 TOP FIVES and 1 pole. Hot on his heels is teammate and rookie Nolan Siegel.

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Christian Rasmussen

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Friday will be a day of practice for all series and the Michelin gang and Indy NXT will also hold qualifying late in the day. Let’s GET THIS GOING!!!

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Detroit - The MPC GS class holds two practice sessions…

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The Michelin Pilot Challenge series held two practice sessions over the full morning, and we have COMBINED the results of them to give you the TOP THREE in practice for the featured Grand Sport class:

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TOPPING the day in practice was Aussie Scott Andrews in the # 27 Mercedes AMG GT GT4 for Lone Star Racing with a P-2 practice time of 1:15.947s for a speed of 77.975mph. Scott bested the P-2 time of Christian Szymczak in the # Mercedes AMG GT GT4 for Murillo Racing by 0.247 seconds. Christian and co-driver Kenny Murillo are coming off a WIN overall and in class at Laguna Seca. Posting third quickest was Canadian Daniel Morad in yet another Mercedes, the # 57 for Winward Racing with his own P-2 time.

Scott’s co-driver in the # 27 is Memphis native Anton Dias Perera while Daniel’s co-driver in the # 57 is Texan Bryce Ward.

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The # 27 Mercedes AMG GT GT4 for Lone Star Racing - TOPS in practice

Scott Andrews

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The Michelin Pilot Challenge gang will come out late today to qualify for Saturday’s 100 minute Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Next up, Indy NXT will come out for their one and only practice session on the new circuit…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Detroit - The Indy NXT get in their one and only practice session…

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…before they have to come out to qualify later this afternoon. With the new track there was a lot to learn and of course previous experience was absent. It was all about who could adapt quickest.

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy NXT practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Nolan Siegel [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 1:07.0420s for a speed of 88.333mph

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2 - Hunter McElrea, Andretti Autosport - time of 1:07.1825s for a speed of 88.148mph

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3 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 1:07.2214s for a speed of 88.097mph

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4 - Kyffin Simpson, HMD Motorsports - time of 1:07.6221s for a speed of 87.575mph

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5 - Louis Foster [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 1:07.8422s for a speed of 87.291mph

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6 - Toby Sowery, HMD Motorsports
7 - Josh Green [R], HMD Motorsports
8 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Abel Motorsports
9 - Jamie Chadwick [R], Andretti Autosport
10 - Jamie Chadwick [R], Andretti Autosport

11 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
12 - Rasmus Lindh, Juncos Hollinger Racing
13 - James Roe, Andretti Autosport
14 - Ernie Francis, Jr., HMD Motorsports / Force Indy
15 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports
16 - Reece Gold [R], HMD Motorsports
17 - Matteo Nannini [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
18 - Christian Rasmussen, HMD Motorsports

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Notable:

• Nolan put in the most laps of practice at 36 laps and it certainly didn’t hurt.

• Points-leader Christian Rasmussen was plagued with an electrical gremlin that sidelined him for most of the session. Eventually, they replaced the whole ECU for the fuel injection and voila, he was able to get in 9 precious laps.

• Many cars found the run-offs looking for the limits. The general consensus is this is your typical very bumpy street circuit, with a few very narrow connecting lanes and one hellaciously-long straight away, with a massive bump and a hairpin turn at the end of it.

• This is one of the races that Josh Pierson is not budgeted for, so Toby Sowery is in his car instead this weekend.

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Nolan Siegel - fastest in practice

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Indy NXT will come out late in the day to qualify. Next, the IndyCars come out for their own first crack at the track…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Detroit - the IndyCars hold their first practice session on the new circuit…

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…and the results were 6 red flags and 19 local yellows, as everyone pushed their cars to the limits, trying to figure out what will and what won’t work out there.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-1 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:03.0773s for a speed of 93.885mph

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:03.1759s for a speed of 93.738mph

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3 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:03.5140s for a speed of 93.239mph

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4 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:03.6388s for a speed of 93.056mph

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5 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:03.6929s for a speed of 92.977mph

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6 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren
7 - Will Power, Team Penske
8 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
9 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing
10 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

11 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
12 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
14 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
15 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
16 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
17 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
18 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
19 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
20 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
22 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
23 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
24 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
25 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
27 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• A lot of the same comments from the Indy NXT practice apply here: Bumpy, fast and at times very narrow, the track will be challenging. There is a lot more elevation change than is typical for a street course, too, and one of the downhill sections is also bumpy, causing even more mayhem.

• Agustin Canapino was the first guy to find a wall and do damage, but not much, though enough to cut his practice short.

• Best team is Arrow McLaren with the TOP SPOT and all three cars in the TOP SIX.

• As fast as they were at Indy, AJ Foyt Enterprises is reminding us that they do not yet have a good road and street package. It was good while it lasted.

• Helio Castroneves was airborne so long at one point that his engine over-revved and blew the top off a piston - new engine needed.

• Many, many excursions up the escape roads, sometimes resulting in a quick spin to get back out and sometimes resulting in a stall, needing a red-flagged tow out. The last red flag was Pato’s.

• Most team have been on simulators to learn the layout, but it is hard to duplicate the effects of the bumps. One has to experience them to know how upset the car will be and what one can and cannot get away with.

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Pato O’Ward - TOPS in the P-1 session

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The IndyCars will now debrief in each team and also debrief with IndyCar Race Control to make comments and even suggestions regarding the new circuit. They will next be out for another practice on Saturday morning. Next up, the Michelin Pilot Challenge gang qualify…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Detroit - the Michelin Pilot Challenge series holds qualifying…

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…for Saturday’s 100-minute Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. We have the TOP THREE qualifiers here:

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On the pole will be Cameron Lawrence in the # 95 BMW M4 GT4 (G82) for Turner Motorsport with a time of 1:16.236s for a speed of 77.679mph. Cam bested former USF2000 Champion Eric Filgueiras in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 by 0.150 seconds. Starting third will be Jenson Altzman in the # 13 Ford Mustang GT4 for McCumbee McAleer Racing with AEROSPORT.

Cameron shares the BMW with Indy Lights race WINNER Rob Megennis while Eric shares the Porsche with Stevan McAleer. Jenson’s co-driver in the Mustang is Joey Hand.

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The # 95 BMW M4 GT4 (G82) for Turner Motorsport and Cameron Lawrence - on the pole

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on Peacock Premium starting at 4:10pm EASTERN time on Saturday. Next up, Indy NXT qualifies for both weekend races…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Detroit - Indy NXT holds qualifying for each of their two races…

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…of the weekend, in a unique format, as the series held a separate qually session for each race, one right after the other, and we have both grids here. Dominating both sessions was Louis Foster for Andretti Autosport, taking both poles.

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Here is the way Indy NXT will grid for Season Round 4, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Louis Foster [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.9468s for a speed of 88.458mph

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P2 - Hunter McElrea, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:07.5926s for a speed of 87.613mph

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Row 2

P3 - Reece Gold [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 01:07.9741s for a speed of 87.121mph

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P4 - Nolan Siegel [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 01:08.0795s for a speed of 86.987mph

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Row 3

P5 - Christian Rasmussen, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:08.0915s for a speed of 86.971mph

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P6 - Rasmus Lindh, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:08.1175s for a speed of 86.938mph

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Row 4

P7 - Josh Green [R], HMD Motorsports
P8 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Kyffin Simpson, HMD Motorsports
P10 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Enaam Ahmed, [R], Cape Motorsports
P12 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Abel Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - James Roe, Andretti Autosport
P14 - Ernie Francis, Jr., HMD Motorsports / Force Indy

Row 8

P15 - Jamie Chadwick [R], Andretti Autosport
P16 - Matteo Nannini [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 9

P17 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports
P18 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports

Row 10

P19 - Toby Sowery, HMD Motorsports

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Notable:

• This is Louie Foster’s 2nd pole of the season, after St. Petersburg. It won’t be his last…

• Matteo Nannini actually qualified 3rd but was penalized his two fastest laps for a late infraction - probably a red flag.

• Toby Sowery hit the wall early and bent a tow link. He spent most of the session in the pits getting it changed, which didn’t help this session but was critical for the 2nd session.

• Danial Frost also hit the wall and bent a tow link.

• Reece Gold went up the run-off five times during practice and it looked like he couldn’t find the limits. Apparently, he was testing the limits in practice because he was near perfect in qualifying, putting in his best qually of the season, so far.

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Louis Foster

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Following the first qually session was a few minutes break and then a second qually session for Race 2.

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Here is the way Indy NXT will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Louis Foster [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.8374s for a speed of 88.603mph

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P2 - Christian Rasmussen, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:07.0280s for a speed of 88.351mph

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Row 2

P3 - Nolan Siegel [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 01:07.0557s for a speed of 88.315mph

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P4 - Reece Gold [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 01:07.1225s for a speed of 88.227mph

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Row 3

P5 - Hunter McElrea, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:07.3539s for a speed of 87.924mph

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P6 - Ernie Francis, Jr., HMD Motorsports / Force Indy - time of 01:07.5676s for a speed of 87.646mph

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Row 4

P7 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Abel Motorsports
P8 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports
P10 - Enaam Ahmed, [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - James Roe, Andretti Autosport
P12 - Rasmus Lindh, Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 7

P13 - Toby Sowery, HMD Motorsports
P14 - Jamie Chadwick [R], Andretti Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports
P16 - Josh Green [R], HMD Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
P18 - Matteo Nannini [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 10

P19 - Kyffin Simpson, HMD Motorsports

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Notable:

• Incredibly, Louis slammed the wall and visibly bent his left rear tow link BEFORE he put in his pole lap.

• Ernie Francis, Jr. is driving with a broken wrist he got from a first lap incident at the race at Barber, so this P6 is a tribute to his stamina, matching his best start ever at St. Pete. He sat out the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

• Several cars caused a local yellow which results in the loss of their best lap to that point. They included Ernie Francis, Christian Bogle, Jagger Jones and Matteo Nannini. Kyffin lost his two best laps due to causing a red flag.

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Here is Louie Foster in his pole lap for Race 2. Note the rear tow link!

INDY NXT

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Indy NXT Race 1 is scheduled for 12:00pm Noon EASTERN time on Saturday and will be broadcast on Peacock Premium. This was the last on-track activity of the day…
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[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at Detroit - The IndyCars hold their P-2 practice…

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This session was important for getting the cars sorted before qualifying for the first time on the track, later today. But it was very difficult for anyone to find enough open space to glean any useful information.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R} denotes rookie

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:03.2317s for a speed of 93.656mph

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2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:03.4627s for a speed of 93.315mph

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3 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:03.5658s for a speed of 93.163mph

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4 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:03.7165s for a speed of 92.943mph

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5 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:03.7166s for a speed of 92.943mph

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6 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren
8 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing
10 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

11 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
12 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
13 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
14 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren
15 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
16 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
17 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
18 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
19 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
20 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

21 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
22 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren
23 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises
24 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
25 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
26 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
27 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

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Notable:

• Dixon seems to have the best drift of the track, with this P1 and his P2 in the first practice. Perhaps it’s just the calmness of a veteran - like Will Power in 2nd place, too - when things get tough, and it was tough to find clear track.

• Two Chip Ganassis in the TOP FIVE, as well as two Team Penskes, with two Andrettis in the TOP SIX, but not able to either stay on track or find any open track was Colton Herta, who couldn’t catch any clean air for a single good lap.

• The young rookie Marcus Armstrong proves to have lost nothing on his street course package and Agustin Canapino is looking more and more like anything but a rookie, making for a nice start to the Juncos Hollinger weekend.

• There were again several local yellows and red flags to retrieve guys stuck up an escape road. The worst of it was an actual hard contact in the Turn 7 wall by Devlin DeFrancesco who lost the rear at just the wrong moment and went in nose first, with lots of damage to the car, but none to Dev. The team will have it ready for qualifying.

• Overnight, the end of the orange blend line coming out of the pits was moved closer to the wall to allow cars already on the track to make a better arc as they negotiate Turn 1 - this thanks to a suggestion by the drivers after the P-1 practice.

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Scott Dixon - calm before the storm

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Knock-out qualifying will begin at 1:15pm EASTERN time today and be on Peacock Premium. Next, Indy NXT does Race 1 of the weekend and will be on Peacock Premium, starting at 12:00 EASTERN time. The grid for this is the first one in post # 7…

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Detroit - Indy NXT goes for Race 1 of their weekend…

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…and it proved to be a wild one with a crazy and unpredictable finish, as rookie Reece Gold for HMD Motorsports grabs his first series WIN from a P3 start. P2 went to rookie Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports from a P8 start while P3 went to sophomore Ernie Francis, Jr. for HMD Motorsports / Force Indy from his P14 start.

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The race started with P2 starter Hunter McElrea getting into the back of his pole-sitting Andretti Autosport teammate Louis Foster at the end of the long straight at Turn 3, taking him out of the race, with damage also occurring to Christian Rasmussen and Kyffin Simpson, both for HMD. Rasmussen and Simpson would pit and eventually rejoin at the rear. On the lap 5 restart McElrea was immediately given a drive-thru penalty for avoidable contact. That elevated Reece Gold to the lead with teammate Nolan Siegel in P2. On lap 6 Josh Green in P5 for HMD and Rasmus Lindh in P4 for Juncos Hollinger made contact and dropped out of contention, pitting for repairs. By this time Toby Sowery for HMD had moved from P19 to P10, but on lap 8 Jamie Chadwick for Andretti passed Sowery to take over P10. On lap 12 Colin Kaminsky for Abel Motorsports made contact with the wall in Turn 7 and pitted for repairs.

Reece Gold and Nolan Siegel were getting away from the pack but were only a second apart from each other. On lap 13 Christian Bogle for HMD took P13 from Christian Rasmussen, now back out on track. On lap 15 Toby Sowery claimed P9 from Jamie Chadwick. Kyffin Simpson, also back out in P12, took the P11 spot from Matteo Nannini for Juncos Hollinger. On lap 20 Nannini dropped to P13 behind Bogle. On lap 22 James Roe for Andretti Autosport in P6 was fighting with Danial Frost for HMD for the spot. As they came to the end of the long straight Frost was squeezed into the wall before Turn 3 and his suspension collapsed, bringing out another caution. On the lap 26 restart Gold got away cleanly with Siegel still in close tow. Christian Bogle passed Kyffin Simpson for P10 while Christian Rasmussen passed Matteo Nannini.

On lap 28 Toby Sowery slowed from P8 with an engine malady, pitted and retired. On lap 30 Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports took P4 from Enaam Ahmed for Cape Motorsports. On lap 34 Ernie Francis passed Enaam for P5. Nolan Siegel was running nose-to-tail on Reece Gold. For two laps they were either in formation or beside each other but Gold held onto the lead. Finally, on lap 39 Nolan took P1 in Turn 3 from Gold and then began to get away. On lap 40 Ernie and Jacob began to battle for the P4 spot. They ran nose-to-tail and side-by-side until on lap 42 Ernie took P4 in Turn 8. By now, Nolan was more than a second in first place. Reece was getting heat from P3 Jagger Jones, who was nearly on his tail, with Ernie also in the mix, very near Jagger.

On the final lap, lap 45, Nolan turned the corner at Turn 8, one corner from the finish, and suddenly slowed with a broken half shaft. He was quickly caught and passed by Gold, Jones and Francis, Jr. By the time Siegel slowly rolled across the finish line past Turn 9 he had dropped to P8. Reece beat Jagger to the line by 0.297 seconds, while Ernie was 0.5 seconds in 3rd.

A dramatic race with a heartbreaking finish for Nolan Siegel.

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Notable:

• Nolan’s only consolation was that he finished ahead of title rival Christian Rasmussen, who came home P9.

• Nolan’s heartbreak was a joy for Reece Gold, who led the most laps, but lost the race to Siegel…and then reclaimed the WIN in the final seconds of the action. The racing gods are both cruel and benevolent on any given day.

• Great kudos to Ernie Francis Jr., getting his first Indy NXT podium while driving with a broken wrist.

• This was also rookie Jagger Jones’ first Indy NXT podium, as well.

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Your happy podium - That’s Jagger Jones in P2 on the left, Reece Gold in P1 in the middle and Ernie Francis, Jr. in P3 on the right:

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The 2nd Indy NXT race is scheduled for right before the IndyCar race on Sunday. Next up, the IndyCars qualify for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Detroit - the IndyCars are qualified…

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…and getting the first pole position on the newly-configured track was Alex Palou for Chip Ganassi Racing…

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Season Round 7, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:01.8592s for a speed of 95.734mph

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P2 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:02.1592s for a speed of 95.271mph

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Row 2

P3 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:02.2896s for a speed of 95.072mph

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P4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:02.4272s for a speed of 94.862mph

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Row 3

P5 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:02.5223s for a speed of 94.718mph

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P6 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:02.6184s for a speed of 94.573mph

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Row 4

P7 - Will Power, Team Penske
P8 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 5

P9 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren
P10 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren

Row 6

P11 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
P12 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren
P14 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 8

P15 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
P16 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 9

P17 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
P18 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 10

P19 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P20 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 11

P21 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
P22 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 12

P23 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
P24 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

Row 13

P25 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P26 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

Row 14

P27 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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Notable:

• Alex Palou’s 3rd IndyCar pole of course sets the new track record for the new track. His pole-WINNING lap was the fastest of the entire qualifying session - not just of the Fast Six. He was the only guy to crack the 1:01s on time for the day.

• Romain Grosjean is quickly becoming one of the best IndyCar drivers on street courses and consistently appears in the Fast Six in the concrete canyon races. We bet he never would have predicted that in his F-1 days.

• Colton Herta hit the wall early during his Q1,G2 session and was out instantly. This will be his worst start of the year and maybe his career.

• The woes continue for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan group. Christian Lundgaard was doing well in his Q1, G2 session but ultimately clipped the T7 corner with his left front tire and took the wheel hub off the suspension, ending his chances to advance. Kyle Kirkwood did the same thing in the same corner during the Fast Twelve.

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Here are qualifying highlights:

2023 QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS // CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX

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And here are qualifying interviews:

QUALIFYING INTERVIEWS // CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX

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The IndyCars will have a morning Warm-Up on Sunday. The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC with concurrent broadcast on Peacock Premium, starting at 3:00pm EASTERN time. next up, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race…

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Detroit - the Michelin Pilot Challenge race…

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It’s been over a decade since the MPC gang held a street race and this one wiil be remembered as an awesome return to the discipline for the series. Taking his first series WIN was Canadian Daniel Morad, closing in the # 57 Mercedes AMG GT GT4 that he shared with Bryce Ward for Winward Racing from their P11 start. P2 went to starter and USF2000 Champion Eric Filgueiras and closer Stevan McAleer in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 from their P2 start, while P3 went to closer Marc Miller and starter Michael DiMeo in the # 78 Mercedes AMG GT GT4 for Thaze Comp by MC Squared from a P5 start.

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Pole sitter Cameron Lawrence led from the start in the # 95 BMW M4 GT4 for Turner Motorsport all the way through to the pit stop near mid race. Filguieras pitted first to hand the Porsche off to Stevan McAleer. Shortly after that Lawrence pitted and handed the BMW off to Indy Lights driver Rob Megennis. Megennis exited the pits in front of McAleer and behind Rory van der Steur in the # 19 Aston Martin Vantage for van der Steur Racing that he shares with IndyCar driver Austin McCusker. The cars raced up the long straight and then Megennis turned into van der Steur in Turn 3 and ran completely over the top of the Aston with the Bimmer, ending up in the tire barrier - a spectacular crash that took out both cars, though they both were able to motor to the pits. While both drivers were unharmed, it took the track a long time to clean up the mess.

When the racing resumed McAleer was in 1st place with Danial Morad behind him. Within a few laps Morad found a way into P1 and then motored away. Behind McAleer now was Marc Miller in the # 78 Mercedes. For the rest of the race, Miller tried to find a way past the Scott but despite every trick in the book, McAleer was able to stay in P2. Several times the cars were rubbing paint and even somewhat beside each other, but McAleer was able to keep P2 to the end - a spectacular defense!

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Daniel Morad (left) and car owner Bryce Ward

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Here is video of the spectacular shunt in Turn 3:

Motorsports on NBC

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Detroit:

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1 - Christian Szymczak, Kenny Murillo, 1000
2 - Eric Filgueiras, Stevan McAleer, 900
3 - Robby Foley, Vincent Barletta, 890
4 - Spencer Pumpelly, Thomas Collingwood, 880
5 - Jeff Mosing, Eric Foss, 860

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The next outing for the Michelin Pilot Challenge will be in support of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 3rd of 4 Michelin Endurance Cup races, June 22-25. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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Sunday morning at Detroit - The IndyCars hold their P-3 practice…

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…also known as the Morning Warm-Up. As a post-qualifying practice, it is impossible to know what each team, each driver is trying to accomplish with the Warm-Up. Some are still looking for outright speed in race config, while others are checking tire wear over a distance or fuel consumption or adjustments for changing track conditions or something else. All we know for sure is NO ONE is checking a qualifying set-up. Therefore, the fast guys in Warm-Up will be fast guys in the race. They just won’t be the ONLY fast guys in the race.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-3 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 1:02.3615s for a speed of 94.962mph

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2 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 1:02.4818s for a speed of 94.780mph

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3 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 1:02.5860s for a speed of 94.622mph

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4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 1:02.7192s for a speed of 94.412mph

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5 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 1:02.8212s for a speed of 94.268mph

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6 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren
7 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
9 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
10 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

11 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren
12 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren
13 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport
14 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises
15 - Will Power, Team Penske
16 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
17 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
18 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
19 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
20 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
22 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
23 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
24 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
25 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
26 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
27 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

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Notable:

• Simon Pagenaud is coming off his best qualifying effort in a long while so this race set-up speed is indicative of a great improvement overall for the Meyer Shank driver.

• Josef Newgarden managed to kiss the wall just after Turn 9 and it obviously upset the steering wheel angle, so he will need attention before the race starts.

• This was the first satisfying session for Colton Herta, who has complained that he hasn’t been able to get any clean laps, most of the weekend. It does bode well for him, given his horrible qualifying effort.

• Santino Ferrucci is looking much better after overnight changes from his qually set-up. Maybe he can bring a little bit of his Indy 500 excitement, after all.

• Best out of the strong Chip Ganassi camp was also the best rookie - Marcus Armstrong, who seems determined to get back into things after missing the Indy 500, due to budget. Marcus is trying to get the budget to do both Iowa and Gateway, so he’s not avoiding ovals by choice.

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Simon Pagenaud - gotta be happy

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC with concurrent broadcast on Peacock Premium, starting at 3:00pm EASTERN time. Next up, Indy NXT does Race 2 of the weekend. This race will be broadcast on peacock Premium at 12:50pm EASTERN time and the grid for it is the bottom one on post # 7…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Detroit - Indy NXT closes out their weekend with Race 2…

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…and finally coming through with his first WIN is rookie Nolan Siegel for HMD Motorsports from his P3 start. P2 goes to his teammate Christian Rasmussen from his P2 start while P3 went to pole-sitter Louis Foster for Andretti Autosport.

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Josh Green for HMD failed to take to the track with a transponder problem and was stuck in the pits while Lap 1 was waived off due to an ugly-looking formation by the field. On lap 2 Foster took off with Rasmussen in hot pursuit. The two entered Turn 3 wide and that was the opening that Nolan Siegel needed to take the lead, going from P3 to P1. Reece Gold for HMD went too wide in Turn 3 and dropped from P4 to P8 while Toby Sowery for HMD moved from P13 to P10. Kyffin Simpson for HMD collided with Jamie Chadwick for Andretti, slowing them both down. Also taking damage on lap 1 was Ernie Francis, Jr. for HMD / Force Indy whose front left wing was dragging the ground. On lap 3 Rasmussen got inside Foster in Turn 3 and took P2, and then went after Siegel. Kyffin pitted for a new front wing. On lap 4 Jamie pitted for a new rear wing as Kyffin rejoined, only to be assessed a stop and hold penalty for hitting Chadwick. Matteo Nannini for Juncos Hollinger pitted with a flat tire.

On lap 6 Reece Gold in P10 attempted to pass P9 Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports in Turn 3 but went way wide and lost several spots, ending up in P14. On lap 7 Ernie Francis went up the run-off in Turn 8 and rejoined in P13. Meanwhile, Rasmussen was all over Siegel out front but could not find a way around him. Eventually, Siegel made a small gap back to Rasmussen. By lap 11 Toby Sowery was in P8 from his P13 start. On lap 14 Ernie Francis decided to pit for a new front wing. He was able to rejoin on the lead lap. On lap 16 Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports lost the rear coming out of Turn 2 and hit the wall with significant damage, ending his day and bringing out a full-course caution to clean it up. At the same time, Josh Green finally joined the race to put in laps. On the lap 21 restart Nolan was able to keep the lead over Christian, with Louis Foster still in P3.

On lap 23 Toby Sowery attempted to pass Jacob Abel in Turn 3 but had to escape up the run-off, dropping from P8 to P15. Enaam Ahmed for Cape Motorsports slotted in behind Abel and began to attack. The two battled for several laps, nose-to-tail. On lap 25 Christian Bogle for HMD in P11 went after Rasmus Lindh for Juncos Hollinger. The two spun each other out in Turn 3 and Bogle dropped to P15 with Lindh in P14. Bogle would earn a drive-thru for the incident. On lap 37 Jacob and Enaam also went wide in Turn 3 in their battle, allowing James Roe for Andretti to take over P7 and Ernie Francis to take over P8. On lap 38, Kyffin Simpson, many laps down, stuffed it into Turn 9 and brought out another caution, erasing the 2-second gap Nolan had built up in front. On the lap 44 restart Siegel again made it through Turn 3 still in the lead. Colin Kaminsky for Abel Motorsports tried to move from P5 past Hunter McElrea for Andretti in P4 but got caught out of shape and dropped to P8, instead. Nolan maintained to the end and crossed the finish line 0.655 seconds ahead of Christian, who was 1.42 seconds ahead of Louis Foster art the line.

A great race with a lot of action stem to stern and two restarts to add to the drama up front.

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Notable:

• Siegel was perfect all day, never leaving enough room for Rasmussen to get a toehold on him, but boy, they were often very close to each other. This was sweet redemption for the loss in Race 1, where Nolan’s mechanical dropped him from a five-second lead to P8 with just two corners to go in the race. He should have had a sweep of the weekend and should have left leading the points.

• Siegel is the fifth different WINNER in five races on the season - what a competitive group! With this WIN he comes within two points of teammate Christian Rasmussen for the points lead. The two are separating from others, a bit.

• Louis Foster was very unhappy after the race, believing he should rightly have swept the weekend from his two poles. He blamed Hunter McElrea for yesterday’s debacle but didn’t know who to blame for losing the lead today.

• Another great race for Ernie Francis who started in P6, got damaged by others, fell way back, pitted for a new wing, rejoined at the tail end of the lead lap and then recovered to a P7 finish. Gutsy driving all the way, with a broken wrist, to boot!

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Your happy podium - That’s Christian Rasmussen in P2 on the left, Nolan Siegel in P1 in the middle and Louis Foster in P3 on the right:

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Detroit:

1 - Christian Rasmussen, 178
2 - Nolan Siegel, 176
3 - Hunter McElrea, 138
4 - Danial Frost, 132
5 - Jacob Abel, 128

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The next outing for Indy NXT will be in support of the IndyCars at Road America, June15-18, with further support from USF2000 and USF Pro 2000. Next up, the IndyCar race. The grid for this is in post # 10…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Detroit - The IndyCars hold their inaugural race on the new, downtown circuit…

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The votes are in…the new circuit was a SUCCESS! It produced a great race with a ton of drama and just enough damage to make it tolerable and interesting. To a man, the drivers had praise for the tough and unforgiving circuit, precisely because it AIN’T easy to drive quickly. It is a true challenge and that means it is fun for them.

WINNING this first race in convincing fashion was Alex Palou for Chip Ganassi Racing from his P1 start - not that he always led or had it handed to him. He was well ahead for much of the race but was battled hard in the last half, principally by Will Power for Team Penske who led at times and finished the day P2 from his P7 start. P3 went to P9 starter Felix Rosenqvist for Arrow McLaren whose principal adversary was his own teammate, Alexander Rossi.

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Notable:

• Alex led 73 of the 100 laps and was often many seconds up the road, but a series of late cautions saw him needing to protect his lead with several restarts and he managed to do that all but one time.

• There were 7 cautions, including a waived-off lap 1. Palou lost the lead to Power in one of them when his car lost power in Turn 3 due to an electrical glitch that necessitated a “re-boot” of the electronics, but two laps later Palou was passing Power again to retake the lead. There were three cautions between lap 82 and the last lap, 100, and Palou was able to keep the lead through them all.

• Palou’s 2nd WIN of the season secures his points lead going to Road America. He is now 51 points in the lead. Second-in-points Marcus Ericsson came home in P8 and third-in-points Josef Newgarden came home P10. Fourth-in-points Scott Dixon was P4 at the end and fifth-in-points Pato O’Ward ended the day in P26.

• Pato O’Ward’s day seemed to come apart when his left rear wheel nut was not secured in the pits and he lost a lap getting it on, but he quickly regained the lap, only to miss Turn 9 and clout the wall, ending his day.

• Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Autosport may have made the most heroic drive after getting rammed by Callum Ilott in lap two, losing his rear wing, pitting for a replacement and then driving from dead last to finish in P6. One wonders what he might have done if he had not lost his P12 starting spot in lap 2.

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Here are race highlights:

RACE HIGHLIGHTS // 2023 CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX

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Your happy podium - That’s Will Power in P2 on the left, Alex Palou in P1 in the middle and Felix Rosenqvist in P3 on the right:

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Detroit:

1 - Alex Palou, 273
2 - MarcusEricsson, 222
3 - Josef Newgarden, 203
4 - Scott Dixon, 194
5 - Pato O’Ward, 191

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Thank you, Detroit! It was FUN! The next outing for the IndyCars will be in two weeks when they return to a newly repaved Road America, to do the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America, June 15-18, with support from USF2000, USF Pro 2000 and Indy NXT.

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