Five Takeaways from the Detroit Grand Prix

Goodbye Belle Isle

Sunday was the final race here on Belle Isle, as the Chevrolet Grand Prix moves to downtown Detroit in 2023, and what a race it was. Shockingly, the toughest track on the schedule didn’t see a caution until the very last lap, when the leaders were already across the line. And while usually the lack of a full course yellow indicates a boring race, the extreme tire wear and differing strategies kept the race fascinating the entire time. Belle Isle has been a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar for decades now, and has produced some truly incredible races. The numerous support series that have gone to Belle Isle, including the multiple incarnations of American sportscar racing, have put on great shows as well, and may not follow IndyCar to downtown. So goodbye Belle Isle, we’ll miss you.

Back to Penske Perfect

Last week, I said that Penske was average at best. They certainly returned to expected form at Detroit, with Newgarden taking the pole position, leading the first stint until his red tires fell off, and his teammate Will Power took the lead after charging up on the black tires. Power never gave up the lead, and Newgarden ended up P4 after his red tire gamble didn’t quite pan out. McLaughlin had a tough race, with a rough qualifying burying him in the field, and a spin burying him even further back, a lap down. McLaughlin almost brought out the FCY, but miraculously managed to find reverse gear twice, and pull back onto the track. All of the Team Penske cars have led the championship standings this year, and Will Power has vaulted himself back into the lead. As the series heads to Road America, a race that was dominated by Newgarden last year, Penske sits in perfect position to bounce back.

Musical Chairs

Alex Rossi announced before the race that he had signed with Arrow McLaren, and Andretti announced that he would be replaced at the no.27 car by Kyle Kirkwood, the 2021 Indy Lights champion and current driver of the no.14 AJ Foyt car. Signing a new contract appears to be worth at least a second a lap around Belle Isle, as Rossi finished second, almost chasing down race winner Will Power in what was by far Rossi’s best performance of the year, maybe the last two years. His replacement at Andretti, Kyle Kirkwood, had one of the best weekends of his professional racing career, leading FP1, winning the GTD pole in IMSA and then the IMSA race, and running just behind Rossi until he tapped the wall on lap 50, breaking a toe link and ending what was a top 5 run. The impending switch, with Rossi to presumably a third car at McLaren and Kirkwood to the 27, appears to be a boon for both sides, as Rossi gets out of what has been a poor environment for him, and Kirkwood gets a car that matches his prodigous talent.

Dale Coyne Shines

Although the race results show a P11 for Malukas, and a P13 for Sato, the race weekend went better than that result. Both cars made it in to the Fast 6, and both ran well all day, finishing 3rd and 5th of the cars on the 3 stop strategy, and although that strategy didn’t pay off as it did last year, both cars ran extremely well. After their strong run at Indy, this really creates momentum for the DCR cars, heading to a track where last year they were strong.

Standings

The IndyCar championship continues to change, as Will Power regains the lead, and Ericsson falls down to 2nd. O’Ward stays behind Ericsson in 3rd, with Palou quietly in 4th, only 14 points behind. The gap to Newgarden in 5th is 33 points, with Dixon only 6 behind Newgarden in 6th. None of these drivers are out of the championship by any means, and we should all kow better than to count out Scott Dixon and Newgarden. Alexander Rossi is 7th, off the back of a strong Indy 500, and a brilliant run at Detroit, and he sits 21 back of Dixon, and 74 back of Power. 74 points is a lot, and admittedly Rossi doesn’t have the best track record the last few years, but there are 10 races left and if Rossi has this speed the rest of the year, he could really move himself into the top 3 of the standings. As Rossi improves his position, one driver who has had a very rough run of late is Scott McLaughlin, who finished 20th in the GMR Grand Prix, 29th in the Indy 500, and 19th in Detroit. The run of poor finishes has dampened what looked like a strong run championship run from McLaughlin, as he dropped all the way down to P10 in the standings. Even though we’re 7 races in, it feels like we haven’t established a clear cast of contenders. The line between championship contenders, top 5 contenders, and drivers who are out completely feels blurred.