Time to shift gears from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing to the rest of the NTT IndyCar Series championship as the series heads to the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. This is the second year on the new layout which took inspiration from the look and feel of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, which took place on a street circuit in downtown Nashville.
Last year, the race with the dual-sided pit road put on a thrilling street battle between Will Power and eventual winner Alex Palou over the 1.645-mile course. It was Palou who took the checkered flag which started him on a remarkable series of finishes which catapulted him out in front in the championship.
Palou rolls into Detroit as the defending winner, and the current points leader, well aware of the impact this result had on his second title run. Meanwhile, through the field there are many drivers and teams looking to rebound after a frustrating Indianapolis 500 and Month of May.
It’s time to grind away on the streets of Detroit.
Last Year
Over 100 laps in the 2023 running of the Detroit Grand Prix, it seemed the two best cars were Power and Palou, which was true. Power had Palou on a crossover move heading through the best passing zone in turn 3 with 10 laps to go, but as he dipped under the Spaniard, Scott Dixon, running in third, hit the Team Penske No. 12 in the rear. Like Josef Newgarden earlier in the year at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, it thrust his engine into anti-stall mode, which killed his momentum. Palou pulled away and Power lost a couple spots. Fortunately he made up the lost ground to make it back to the runner-up spot but the win was out of reach.
Further in the field, the race was also known for the on-track battle between Arrow McLaren Racing teammates Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist. With the Swede long moved on to Meyer Shank Racing, leaving Rossi still in papaya orange, will a repeat of that conflict flare up again?
Indy 500 Winner Doesn’t Need Fuel, He Needs Caffeine
Winning the Indy 500 is the greatest achievement in a driver’s career. However it doesn’t bode well for them the race after. Since 2012 when the Detroit Grand Prix was moved to the week after Indy, the best finish at Detroit of someone coming off adding their face to the Borg-Warner Trophy was a second place by Dario Franchitti in 2012 and Power in the second race of the 2018 doubleheader. Outside of those two runner-ups, only one other top five…
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