Instant Recall: Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear

Fox Sports

2 days ago

INDYCAR
Tight racing, fierce competitiveness, a red flag and one good laugh. That was what the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear delivered over the weekend.
The fun began with Will Power thoroughly enjoying his car's deliberate shove of Kyle Kirkwood in the first practice session. As Power saw it, Kirkwood was going too slow in the preferred approach to Turn 6, so he physically hurried him along. Kirkwood wasn't initially amused, but given that no significant harm was done, they later shared a lighthearted chat in the paddock in a signature moment of the weekend.
Contact continued within the concrete confines, and NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader Alex Palou was on the receiving end of it from David Malukas in Sunday's race. Palou got knocked into the tire barrier in Turn 1, leading to his first DNF in nearly a year. He certainly wasn't happy about it, but Malukas was apologetic, so each will move on from it.
It remains to be seen how Tony Kanaan and Scott McLaughlin carry on from here. For the second week in a row, McLaughlin had a big issue. He crashed on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway front straightaway before the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge even began. Then Sunday, he ran into the back of Nolan Siegel, drawing a penalty for avoidable contact. For a reason that's not yet clear, Kanaan, Arrow McLaren's team principal who hired Siegel, later took a social media swipe at McLaughlin and Team Penske.
Felix Rosenqvist had two reasons to forget about this race. The first was a spin into the tire barrier at Turn 8. Later, he was slowing to make the hard left-hander at Turn 3 when the damaged car of rookie Louis Foster slammed into him from behind. Foster's car had suffered right front suspension failure under heavy braking on the bumpy street circuit. Both drivers were fortunate to escape injury in the hard impacts.
Ten drivers led the 100-lap race, including Kirkwood (48 laps) and Christian Rasmussen (21). There were five cautions and six penalties in the race.
Kirkwood was fourth in the order when the race resumed following cleanup from the Rosenqvist-Foster incident. The Floridian made quick work of Marcus Armstrong, Kyffin Simpson and Santino Ferrucci with passes on the long straight on consecutive laps, although contact with Simpson broke his front wing. Once in the lead, Kirkwood was gone, scoring his second victory of the season and the fourth of his career, all on street circuits.
Kirkwood and Palou (five wins) are still the only drivers to have won races this year, a stark contrast to the 2024 season when six drivers won the first seven races. Despite the hit from Malukas, Palou still leads the championship by a sizable margin (90 points).
Finally, there's a break in the schedule, and yes, it's needed. The teams have been on track 17 of the past 31 days, and the crews have worked more than that. There have been four races, including the ridiculously important '500,' and the two days of Indy qualifying. Some rest is more than welcomed: It's needed.
There are 12 days between Sunday's race and the first practice of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. That oval race won last year by Josef Newgarden begins something of a stretch run, with 10 races over the next 12 weeks. Palou is obviously still in the driver's seat for a third straight series title and fourth in five years, but there is still much to be decided.
Enjoy a few days, INDYCAR. Much work remains.
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