By INDYCAR
DETROIT – A significant off-track week for Kyle Kirkwood extended to more good news Friday on track at the Raceway at Belle Isle.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Kirkwood was the quickest driver under sunny skies Friday afternoon during the opening practice for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, with a best lap of 1 minute, 16.1345 seconds in the No. 14 ROKiT/AJ FOYT RACING Chevrolet. The practice-leading performance – the first time Kirkwood or a Foyt driver has led a session this season – came just two days after Andretti Autosport announced Kirkwood will replace 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi in the team’s No. 27 AutoNation Honda starting in the 2023 season.
SEE: Practice Results
This was the second session Kirkwood led today on the 14-turn, 2.35-mile temporary street circuit. He also was the quickest driver in the GTD class during the second practice for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, as Kirkwood is pulling double duty this weekend.
Kirkwood’s speed in both machines shouldn’t be that surprising, as he won both Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires races last June on Belle Isle en route to the 2021 series championship.
“I guess I really like this place,” Kirkwood said. “It’s going well so far. The car was quick for Seb (Bourdais) last year through the practices and qualifying, as well. We (Foyt team) kind of brought that same car, maybe a little bit of upgrades. It paid off.
“We’ll see how the track evolves. It can always change as a street course. You never know. But right now we’re feeling good, feeling confident. We’ve been solid at all the street courses. It’s nice to see our name at the top of the charts.”
Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge runner-up Pato O’Ward ended up in the same position today with a top lap of 1:16.1556 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Rossi, who was announced Thursday as O’Ward’s new Arrow McLaren SP…
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