Perfect timing: Dario Franchitti will be driving the No. 10 Suave Men entry for Target Chip Ganassi Racing this weekend in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans a few days after he entered Esquire Magazine's Hair of Fame.

"You have to be very careful with this cut because it only works for guys with thicker hair that's somewhere between wavy and mildly curly. Try it with straight hair and you're gonna go into Joe Dirt territory," men's hair stylist Paul Labrecque says in the style blog.

Look for Franchitti Fatheads being distributed, along with product samples, around the circuit. The four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion won in Detroit in 1999 (it was his fifth of 31 Indy car victories to date) and was runner-up to teammate Scott Dixon on the Belle Isle circuit last June.

Pagenaud to stay on the attack

Simon Pagenaud, driver of the No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports car, enters the inaugural IZOD IndyCar Series doubleheader weekend with four consecutive top-10 finishes. He advanced 13 positions to finish eighth in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 26. Last June at Belle Isle, he finished third.

The 70-lap races June 1 and 2 on the 2.36-mile, 13-turn street course will be for full points.

"Certainly it has been an interesting season for everybody," said Pagenaud, who is 10th in the standings. "For the championship also. There are a lot of new faces on the board. All the teams have raised their games. It's interesting to see how it's going at the moment. We're very happy with four top-10 finishes. Hopefully we can continue to go forward on the ladder. 

"This weekend is going to be very, very important. Two races in one weekend, that's a lot of points, and a good opportunity for us to march our way through. It's going to be physically and mentally very demanding, not only for the drivers but for the crew and for the car. The biggest thing is if you crash in qualifying, then you can't really go racing.

"It's going to be very important to take as much risk as possible without crashing the car because that would be quite dramatic on the event itself. The approach, it's still to attack as much as possible, because that's what everybody is going to do."

Andretti vaults to top of standings

Consistency has paved the way for Marco Andretti to climb to the top of the championship standings with top-seven finishes, including podiums on two street courses, in each of the five races. He leads Takuma Sato of A.J. Foyt Racing by 11 points and Team Penske's Helio Castroneves by 16.

"It's great to head to Belle Isle with the points lead. We need to keep the momentum going with consistency," said Andretti, who last year at Belle Isle advanced from 22nd on the starting grid to finish 11th. "The new layout should be good for passing so we're looking forward to two great races for the fans."

Great ticket upgrade; thanks, TK

n honor of Tony Kanaan's Indianapolis 500 victory (and car number), ticket-buyers for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 25 can upgrade with an INDYCAR Garage Pass for $11. That's a savings of up to $19 for race day access to the garage area in addition to seat for the race.  CLICK HERE for details.

Of note

Quicken Loans’ President and Chief Marketing Officer Jay Farner will be the grand marshal for the June 1 race. ... Castroneves has two victories, including his first in Indy car competition, and two pole starts at Belle Isle. ... The entries for Franchitti, Charlie Kimball, Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal will incur 10-grid spot penalties for the first race at Belle Isle because of unapproved engine changes at Indianapolis. ... In four starts at Belle Isle, Dixon has one win (2012), two poles, two top-fives and three top-10 finishes.