Paddock Buzz: Drivers Shift Mindset From Oval Speed to Street Fighting

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the track Friday for opening practice ahead of Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.

Drivers shifted their attention to the tight confines of the 1.645-mile, nine-turn downtown Detroit street circuit on a sun-splashed Michigan afternoon after spending two weeks focused on oval racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at speeds exceeding 230 mph.

"It definitely is a different mindset," Santino Ferrucci said. "The way that you drive here is vastly different, so that's kind of the biggest mental challenge."

Ferrucci (photo, top) finished eighth in last Sunday's Indianapolis 500 and returns to Detroit in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing after finishing second here last year.

Sting Ray Robb said he spent more than 90 minutes Thursday night studying Detroit race footage before climbing into the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger-Goodheart Chevrolet. That’s because he, like everyone else, spent Monday night in downtown Indianapolis for the “500” Victory Celebration and had a hard time refocusing on the next race.

"It is hard to make that switch back to street-course racing," Robb said. "We’ve slowed down in sort of driver inputs for the Speedway, everything happens at a slower rate, pretty much. Now it speeds back up. It is a bit of a mental switch to get back into their street course.”

The transition also requires drivers to refocus on the championship after a month centered on winning the sport's biggest race.

Kyle Kirkwood enters Sunday's 100-lap race third in points, 49 behind four-time series champion Alex Palou.

"It's hard to get your mind off the ‘500’ because it is the biggest race of the year; you dwell on it quite a bit, and it's hard to get rid of it,” Kirkwood said. “But it's actually nice having a race right after. Switch the mindset, get into race mode, get into championship mode at a street course where we know we've done really well. It puts you into championship mode.”

Palou agreed and paced Friday's session with a lap of 1 minute, 2.7722 seconds in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kirkwood was second at 1:02.7914 in the No. 27 Sam's Club Honda.

"Once we got here, it was like, ‘OK, it's Detroit,’" Palou said. "You put so much effort into Indy that it breaks your heart when it doesn't work out."

Indy 500 Delivers Big Audience

FOX averaged 6.635 million viewers for last Sunday's sold-out 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Viewership peaked at 8.349 million viewers from 4-4:15 p.m. ET as Felix Rosenqvist edged David Malukas by .0233 of a second, the closest finish in Indy 500 history.

Through seven races, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is averaging 2.383 million viewers, up 10 percent from last season's 2.173 million average and the strongest start since the 2008 unification with Champ Car.

Palou Maintains Control

Palou entered May with a 17-point lead over Kirkwood and exited Indianapolis with a 37-point advantage over second-place Malukas despite not winning either race at IMS.

He started on pole for both the May 9 Sonsio Grand Prix and May 24 Indianapolis 500, leading 23 laps in the road-course race and a race-high 59 in the "500." Strategy worked against him in both events, resulting in fifth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively. He earned 12 bonus points for the Indy 500 pole.

Even without victories, Palou remains in command of the title fight. He has won two of three street races this season, at St. Petersburg and Long Beach, and finished second at Arlington. He also won at Detroit in 2023.

"May breaks your heart for everybody except one person," Palou said. "We had the fastest cars. We just didn't execute perfectly."

Kirkwood Looking To Answer

Kirkwood lost ground during May, dropping from second to third in the standings after surrendering 32 points to Palou.

He finished ninth in the Sonsio Grand Prix and 16th in the Indy 500.

Detroit offers an opportunity to respond. Kirkwood (photo, above) won this race last year and was second fastest Friday. He also won at World Wide Technology Raceway last season, the site of next Sunday’s race.

"It helps," Kirkwood said of returning to Detroit and WWTR as the defending winner. "But we're the reference now. Everybody's looking at what we're doing, so we still have to keep pushing."

Kirkwood said Andretti Global continues searching for consistency on street circuits despite having won four of the last eight street races.

"Arlington, we were phenomenal," he said. "Long Beach, we went from being four-tenths up the road to two-tenths behind. We're scratching our heads a little bit there."

Newgarden Still Recovering

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden arrived in Detroit wearing a walking boot on his left foot and using a crutch after crashing from fourth place on Lap 124 of the Indianapolis 500.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner (photo, above) said the injury “is cosmetic.”

"I’ve made some adjustments in the car to accommodate for the injury, and those will take some more practice to dial in a bit better,” Newgarden said. “The Astemo Chevy crew has done a great job in getting me as comfortable as possible in the car. When the race starts on Sunday, we will be ready to go.”

Newgarden was 21st in Friday practice in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, 1.5820 seconds behind leader Palou.

McLaughlin Building Momentum

Scott McLaughlin carried momentum from Indianapolis, where he climbed from 10th to third during the final two restarts, both in the final six laps.

The result was his second top-six finish in the last three races, as he also finished sixth in Long Beach.

Street circuits also have suited McLaughlin this season. He won the pole and finished second at St. Petersburg and showed speed at Arlington before a qualifying crash left him 25th on the grid. He recovered to finish 11th.

"I come into Detroit, a track that I really enjoy, and I feel like my car's good," McLaughlin said. "No reason why we can't keep it going."

McLaughlin was ninth Friday in the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Team Penske Chevrolet.

Siegel Showing Progress

Nolan Siegel entered the season facing expectations from Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan that he contend for a top-10 finish in points to secure his future with the team.

After opening the season with four finishes outside the top 18, Siegel (photo, above) has shown progress.

He climbed from 25th to 12th at Long Beach, earned his first top 10 of the season in the Sonsio Grand Prix with a 10th-place result and finished 11th in the Indianapolis 500.

“The car was really good,” Siegel said of Indianapolis. “The guys were really good on pit lane all day.”

Detroit could continue that momentum. While Siegel finished 19th here last season in INDYCAR SERIES competition, the downtown circuit also was the site of his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory in 2023.

“The speed is there,” Siegel said. “I’m happy because we’ve still not been our best yet. On our best days, we’re going to be fighting for a top five.”

Schumacher Continues Learning Curve

Mick Schumacher left Indianapolis encouraged after earning Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors as the highest-finishing rookie in 18th.

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver (photo, above) sits 24th in points but has shown flashes of speed, particularly during the Sonsio Grand Prix weekend before contact with Ferrucci resulted in a drive-through penalty and 20th-place finish. The duo was dueling for 11th.

"I think a top 10 would have been in play," Schumacher said.

Team co-owner Bobby Rahal said the learning process remains steep.

"People come from Europe, and they think INDYCAR racing is kind of a piece of cake," Rahal said. "They find out it's not. This is a tough series."

Odds and Ends

• Brightly colored murals around the circuit were created by children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit using racing-themed designs.

• Caio Collet said he remained sore after his Indianapolis 500 crash in Turn 2 while running 11th with nine laps remaining. The AJ Foyt Racing rookie led nine laps after starting 32nd.

• Graham Rahal said his No. 15 United Rentals Honda lacked the pace he enjoyed in Detroit last year when he qualified fifth.

• Pato O'Ward was fifth fastest in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. He has finished fifth in all three street races this season.

• Andretti Global placed all three cars inside the top 10 Friday, with Kirkwood second, Will Power third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda and Marcus Ericsson 10th in the No. 28 Siemens Honda.