Photo credit: Indycar.com/Joe Skibinski
Scott Dixon paced a second chaotic session on the streets of Detroit Saturday morning, setting a fastest lap of 1:03.2317. Chip Ganassi Racing put three of their four cars in the top ten in second practice, with points leader Alex Palou coming in fourth at 1:03.7165 and Marcus Armstrong coming in eighth at 1:03.8105. Will Power pulled off a fast lap at the very end of the session good for second overall at 1:03.4627, with Kyle Kirkwood’s early time of 1:03.5658 staying toward the top for most of the session before settling to third. Scott McLaughlin was just one ten-thousandth behind Palou in fifth, with Romain Grosjean sixth at 1:03.7251 and Pato O’Ward seventh at 1:03.7732.
The session saw five red flags, four of which–involving Palou, Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, Rinus Veekay, and Colton Herta–were at turn 8, with still more drivers finding their way into that runoff. The fifth red flag was the most serious incident and the first crash of the weekend, as Devlin DeFrancesco understeered almost straight on into the wall at turn 7. The narrow 6-7 complex saw frequent bottlenecks from cars electing to crawl through the section if not on a flying lap.
Juncos Hollinger Racing were one of the high points of the session, with both cars nearly in the top 10; Ilott placed 9th with a 1:04.0307, while Agustin Canapino was 11th at 1:04.1445. Between them was Simon Pagenaud, who rounded out the top 10 with a time of 1:04.0399.
The combination of elevation changes, varying circuit widths, and long straights has given this circuit the feel of an American Baku; however, the combination of these with an incredible bumpiness has resulted in some unique racing lines and a heightened level of frustration among some of the drivers. With eleven red flags between two practice sessions, qualifying and race day are shaping up to be eventful and unpredictable.
