Alex Palou, the defending champion of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, led the first practice session for this year’s event with a top lap time of 1 minute, 1.7210 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Palou is aiming for his second consecutive pole position on the challenging nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit. The Spaniard currently leads the championship by 20 points over his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon after five of the 17 points-paying races this season.
“It was busy,” Palou remarked. “I visited the run-off areas a couple of times here and there, just trying to find the limit and the grip of the track. The track is grippier, a lot grippier, than last year. Pretty happy. The car feels good so far.”
Pato O’Ward, fresh off a runner-up finish in the thrilling conclusion of the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, was second in the 75-minute session with a lap time of 1:01.7315 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Colton Herta secured third place with a lap of 1:01.7968 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian.
Kyle Kirkwood, who triumphed in street-circuit races at Long Beach and Nashville last season, clocked in fourth at 1:01.8103 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda, making Andretti Global the only team with two drivers in the top five. Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five with a lap time of 1:02.0959 in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden, who clinched his second consecutive Indy 500 win last Sunday, finished sixth with a time of 1:02.2377 in the No. 3 Hitachi Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, despite an incident involving Kyle Kirkwood when traffic congested on the course.
A red flag halted the session with less than 15 minutes remaining due to Jack Harvey’s collision. Harvey clipped the left-side barrier in Turn 7, causing his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda to cross the track and hit the right-side barrier before coming to a stop between Turns 7 and 8. Fortunately, Harvey was uninjured.
The next practice session is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by qualifying in the early afternoon. The 100-lap race will be broadcast live starting at noon ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock, and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
