The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Detroit this weekend for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. It serves as a home race for General Motors in the most literal sense, with the island street course sitting in the shadow of the Renaissance Center.
Chevrolet will be looking to take its third IndyCar win in a row at its home race after Simon Pagenaud and Team Penske swept the “Month of May”, winning both the Indianapolis GP and the 103rd running of the Indy 500. As always, Detroit is a double header weekend for IndyCar, so Chevy will have two chances at victory.
Via NTT IndyCar Series on YouTube
That doesn’t mean it will be easy for any of the Chevy-powered teams, though. Detroit is a tough race on both drivers and equipment – mistakes can be costly and the bumpy nature of the course is known to separate the best from the rest. Not to mention the drivers have to run the race twice in a row and just a weekend after racing a grueling 500-mile super speedway race.
One driver looking to spoil Chevy’s party will be Alexander Rossi, who finished second to Pagenaud in the Indy 500 and threw away a race win at Detroit last year while under pressure from teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay.
“We’re really excited to get back to work in Detroit and carry the momentum forward from a strong race last weekend,” Rossi said. “We have some unfinished business here based on Race 2 last year, and we will be looking to get two strong results to hopefully leave here in the lead of the championship.”
The current championship leader is Pagenaud, whose two race wins at Indy propelled him ahead of Penske teammate Josef Newgarden. Pagenaud has 250 points to Newgarden’s 249, while Rossi sits third with 228 points.
Via NTT IndyCar Series on YouTube
Race 1 of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will go live on NBC at 3:00 pm ET on Saturday, June 1, while Race 2 is scheduled for the same time on Sunday.
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Comment
One of the best INDY races of the year given the location and it’s a road course which should be a lot of fun for the drivers as tactics and not just engine performance could spell the difference between winning and losing.