Scott Dixon won a chaotic Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, keeping the No. 9 Dallara-Honda steady as ever while several other IndyCar title contenders found major trouble on the downtown layout.
The six-time series champion inherited the lead with 34 laps remaining on an aggressive fuel-conservation strategy and then hung on without another stop for his second victory this season and 58th of his career.
“The team called it perfectly,” Dixon told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “We were on the right strategy. A lot of fun driving my Honda out here. And we won, man. How fun was that?
“You never are really sure how the transitions and strategies are going to fall. So stoked for everyone on the team. That was cool.”
Dixon is nine victories from tying A.J. Foyt’s record of 67 wins. He also took over the championship lead through six of 17 races this season, leading the standings by 18 points over teammate Alex Paou.
Marcus Ericsson finished a season-best second after a late pass of Marcus Armstrong, who finished a career-best third.
It was a needed rebound for Ericsson, who crashed twice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month in his Andretti Global debut.
“It was very big,” Ericsson, who finished 0.8567 seconds behind, told NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch. “After the month of May, it was really, really tough mentally. I’m new on this team, and I want to show myself as a top driver that’s why they hired me.
“We were strong all weekend and gave us a really good car. Really strong out there today. Had so much pace. One more lap, I might have been able to get that win. I’m really happy with that.”
Andretti teammate Kyle Kirkwood was fourth, and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five.
Will Power (who was penalized three times) took sixth, followed by Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist and Santino Ferruci, who overcame an early drive-through penalty by avoiding the calamity that affected many others. Theo Pourchaire was 10th.
Race settles in with 30 laps to go
Scott Dixon is leading the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix with 30 laps remaining and the odds improving of the six-time series champion sneaking away with another fuel-mileage victory.
The Chip Ganassi Racing star pitted on Lap 56 of 100 and then inherited first when much of the field pitted on Lap 65 under the race’s eighth caution.
Dixon will have to stretch the fuel tank in his No. 9 Dallara-Honda for the final 44 laps, but that task got slightly easier when the yellow flew again on the Lap 70 restart as Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden slid and spun into Alex Palou in Turn 3.
On Lap 72 of 100, Dixon leads over teammate Marcus Armstrong, Tristan Vautier, Kyle Kirkwood (on the freshest tires) and Marcus Ericsson. Dixon won two months ago at Long Beach with superior fuel mileage.
According to NBC Sports correspondent Bruce Martin, there have been 31 minutes of green-flag running so far in the race and one hour and 4 minutes under yellow.
DISASTER for the points leader and Indy 500 winner!@AlexPalou and @josefnewgarden collide in Turn 3!
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 2, 2024
📺: #DetroitGP on USA and Peacock pic.twitter.com/wnNIPvjiW9
Herta crashes on Lap 46
Pole-sitter Colton Herta will have to wait longer to end an IndyCar winless drought that dates to May 2022.
Attempting an overly optimistic of two cars on corner entry during a restart on Lap 46 of 100, Herta straight-lined Turn 5 and made light contact with the tire barrier in the runoff. He fell a lap down to 23rd as the safety crew worked to get his No. 26 Dallara-Honda back on track.
Kyle Kirkwood, Herta’s Andretti Global teammate, leads over Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean.
Will Power, who was angry about receiving an avoidable contact penalty on Rinus VeeKay for the previous yellow, has been penalized a third time for stopping in a closed pit lane.
After the race restarted on Lap 52, the yellow flew again after Romain Grosjean was clipped by Christian Lundgaard.
Grosjean radioed his team, “What’s the point in going again? ... The championship is done for me.”
Rain and pit woes
Chaos has erupted through 40 of 100 laps of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
With rain intermittently falling around the nine-turn, 1.7-mile street course, IndyCar Race Control delayed the restart by at least three laps while confirming the order was correct.
When the green finally waved on Lap 41 (after seven laps of yellow), Rinus VeeKay spun after contact with Will Power, bringing out a fourth caution. Power received an avoidable contact penalty.
During pit stops under yellow, Josef Newgarden had a problem exiting the pit lane after hitting an air hose. Christian Lundgaard also hit his tire and a team member on exiting.
Newgarden was given a drive-through penalty nearly 20 laps later for the incident. He later tagged the wall with less than 20 laps remaining, ensuring he would finish outside the top 20 a week after his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory.
YIKES!
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 2, 2024
Close call in the pits for @josefnewgarden! 😳
📺: #DetroitGP on USA and Peacock pic.twitter.com/iyMfoHCYyj
Yellow for Scott McLaughlin in wall
The race’s third caution is for one of the contenders as Scott McLaughlin has found the tire barrier.
McLaughlin was running second when he lost control entering a turn and slide sideways into the wall. The safety team needed extra time trying to extricate his No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet but was able to keep the Team Penske driver on the lead lap.
Josef Newgarden was among those stopping under yellow as he pitted from third, and he elected to pit a second time as rain began intensifying under caution on Lap 36.
Pole-sitter Colton Herta initially stayed out as the radar was showing inconclusive evidence that the rain is heavy enough. The Andretti Global team eventually decided to bring him to the pits for rain tires.
Christian Lundgaard stayed on track without pitting, betting the track might dry when it returns to a green flag. Kyle Kirkwood, Herta’s teammate, is running second and also debating whether to stop with his team.
More problems for Santino Ferrucci
Santino Ferrucci has found himself in the middle of another IndyCar maelstrom during the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
His No. 14 Dallara-Chevrolet punted the No. 66 Dallara-Honda of Helio Castroneves in Turn 5, bringing out the race’s second caution.
Castroneves’ spin also collected Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Kyffin Simpson.
Ferrucci, who was in an altercation Saturday with Kyle Kirkwood, radioed his team that he ran into Castroneves because the field had slowed down for Felix Rosenqvist under braking.
But IndyCar Race Control wasn’t buying and penalized Ferrucci with a drive-through for avoidable contact.
Santino Ferrucci PUNTS Helio Castroneves, who collects Kyffin Simpson.
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) June 2, 2024
📺 : USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/fTreohP8JM
During the ensuing caution, the “split” pit lane of the Detriot Grand Prix got its first test under yellow as nearly all of last year’s pit stops came under green. Despite predictions of calamity with drivers exiting from both sides of the pit lane, there were no incidents in the first instance Sunday.
The timing of the yellow seemed to save Christian Lundgaard, who just had pitted on Lap 15 before the pits closed because his alternate tires had dropped off by 1.5 seconds since the start.
Alex Palou also struggled after starting on alternates, dropping from second to eighth in the first 10 laps before pitting under green for fresh softer tires.
Castroneves was making his first start on a street course since last season after replacing struggling rookie Tom Blomqvist for the next two races.
First-lap spin for Will Power
There’s action on the opening lap of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, and it predictably involved Will Power, whose tough week continued.
After a disappointing crash in the Indy 500 (which he had started second), Power was apoplectic Saturday after
failing to advance from the second round of qualifying.
The frustration continued at Detroit as the two-time series champion got punted by Arrow McLaren rookie Theo Pourchaire. The No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet of Power, who also seemed to get tagged by Christian Lundgaad, came to a stop and created a traffic jam that also involved Alexander Rossi, Santino Ferrucci and Pato O’Ward.
All restarted outside the top 15 when the green flag flew again on Lap 4. Power restarted last after being penalized for repairs and service in a closed pit lane.
IndyCar Race Control reviewed the incident and took no action.
A STACK-UP AT THE START!
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 2, 2024
Multiple cars are involved after the drop of the green!
📺: #DetroitGP on USA and Peacock pic.twitter.com/capjyjAmbn
Prerace storyline
Colton Herta is making no apologies about starting first in an NTT IndyCar Series race for the first time in nearly a year. And the Andretti Global star is accepting no apology from Santino Ferrucci, either.
After a disappointing 23rd in the 108th Indy 500, Herta qualified first for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (noon ET, NBC and Peacock). It’s the 12th career pole position for the No. 26 Dallara-Honda driver but his first since July 2023 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Herta edged defending series champion Alex Palou on the nine-turn, 1.7-mile street course that will play host to IndyCar for the second consecutive year. The new downtown layout produced a caution-plagued race last season.
It already has been a contentious weekend in Detroit for the IndyCar paddock, which is in a grueling stretch of seven race weekends over an eight-week period. Santino Ferrucci was angry at the Andretti duo of Herta and Kyle Kirkwood, whom Ferrucci shoved when he approached for a conversation.
Ferrucci later apologized to Herta and Kirkwood in an interview during the Peacock qualifying broadcast. But Herta had no reaction to the apology.
Asked by NBC Sports’ Marty Snider during a prerace interview Sunday about where things stood, Herta said, “Can’t be much worse than it already is.”
In a separate interview, Ferrucci said he had smoothed things out with Kirkwood, whom he’s raced for nearly 20 years dating to go-karts.
“Man, we’re all good,” Ferrucci said. “I went over to their tent after things settled down. Me and Kyle texted, so we’re good. We’ve known each other a long time. Lot of respect for both those guys. I’d say we’re good to race clean and hard.
“It’s hard to ruin a friendship that you’ve had since you were 6 or 7 years old over a little bit of miscommunication on track”
Follow along here for live updates during the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.