IndyCar romped around the streets of Detroit this weekend, and it was filled to the brim with excitement.
The very first corner of the race saw the event’s first caution when Will Power was punted into the barriers and was collected by a few other drivers.
That incident set the tone for the remainder of the race, but there were a few green flag laps near the end of the event which allowed some genuine racing to take place.
READ MORE: IndyCar Detroit – Full Race Results
Scott Dixon once again showed that he is the absolute master of fuel saving by running the final 44 laps on one tank of Shell gasoline.
Only one other driver was able to make it that distance, Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Marcus Armstrong, and he ran out of fuel on the cool down lap.
Dixon’s win boosts him into the points lead, and makes him the first repeat winner of the 2024 IndyCar season.
Marcus Ericsson took second place, his best result of the season. He was relieved to have some good luck after an admittedly horrible Month of May.
The aforementioned Armstrong finished on the podium for the first time, climbing from 19th to secure his best result so far just over a year into his IndyCar career.
Part of his ability to climb so far in the standings was due to the sheer number of cautions that interrupted the race.
There were so many incidents that barely any drivers avoided the chaos, and multiple drivers were involved in multiple crashes.
Josef Newgarden, Colton Herta, Romain Grosjean, Scott McLaughlin and many others were responsible for the numerous caution periods, leading to a hefty repair bill for their teams.
Most of the incidents came in the braking zones, as drivers consistently misjudged how late they could dive into the corners.
There were an incredible number of penalties handed out by race control as well, with 12 different penalties being levied for over-aggression and service in a closed pit.
Two of the caution periods were due to a very brief rain shower and moved over the track near the halfway point.
Everyone came to pit lane to take on rain tires, but then returned to pit lane to take the rain tires off again just a couple laps later as the rain moved out just as quickly as it arrived.
Will Power, who was involved in the first lap crash, was also served four separate penalties for various infractions.
Despite that, the veteran was able to work his way back up to sixth, two positions higher than he started.
His two Team Penske team-mates had their bad luck later on in the race, and were not able to recover in the same way.
McLaughlin was stuck a lap down after his slide into the tires, and Newgarden bent his suspension while trying to make up for a couple collisions earlier on. The drivers finished 20th and 26th respectively.
With only a couple days until the next race for teams to make repairs, there is no rest for the already weary paddock.
Next week’s race takes place at the historic Road America, a track that is very different from the tight and bumpy Detroit streets.
