IndyCar crashes at Detroit: Incidents on the tight downtown track
The IndyCar Series raced on the streets of Detroit on Sunday, a change after decades of racing on nearby Belle Isle.
The 9-turn, 1.7-mile downtown circuit offered changing surfaces, tight corners, narrow lanes and little room to pass in many areas. Plenty of drivers expressed frustration with the track during Saturday's qualifying.
Many compared it to the first year on Nashville's downtown circuit in 2021. That race featured 17 caution periods for yellow-flag running for 69 of the 160 laps.
'It's gnarly, bro': IndyCar drivers ready to tackle Detroit's bumps, double-sided pits
Here are Sunday's incidents:
Lap 93: Sting Ray Robb and Santino Ferrucci
Robb and Ferrucci make contact and stall on track. They get restarted and fall back in line. Caution.
Lap 87: David Malukas
David Malukas hits the wall as the leaders are taking the restart. Another caution.
Lap 80: Romain Grosjean
Romain Grosjean hits the wall while racing in the top 10 and is out.
Late race heartbreak for @RGrosjean.
After this incident in turn 4, Grosjean's day is done. #INDYCAR // #DetroitGP pic.twitter.com/aLWN3NY6gm— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 4, 2023
Lap 51: Graham Rahal and Benjamin Pederdsen
Rahal crashes by himself under caution, and Pedersen, coming around a corner, can't avoid Rahal. Pedersen resumes racing.
Graham Rahal hit the wall under caution. 😬
Benjamin Pedersen didn’t have anywhere to go. #INDYCAR
📺: @nbc and @peacock pic.twitter.com/YeyIRZH48h— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) June 4, 2023
Lap 50: Sting Ray Robb
Sting Ray Robb runs off track, bringing out a yellow. He gets back on track.
Lap 43: Pato O'Ward
Pato O'Ward, who fell a lap behind with a bad pit stop, is done after hitting the wall. He carried too much speed into a pass of Santino Ferrucci and could complete the turn.
.@PatricioOWard's day is DONE.
Contact in turn 9 has ended Pato's @detroitgp. #INDYCAR // #DetroitGP pic.twitter.com/AT5zdFfQrt— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 4, 2023
Heartbreak for @PatricioOWard.
The No. 5 with issues on pit lane but is now back on-track and a lap down.#INDYCAR // #DetroitGP pic.twitter.com/sBK81ht4LL— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 4, 2023
Lap 2: Callum Ilott and Kyle Kirwood
Ilott's car climbed up the back of Kirkwood's in Turn 3. Kirkwood got a new rear wing and resumed racing. The prospects are bleaker for Ilott. (Lap 1 was run under yellow after race officials waved off the start for the field being too spread out.)
Motor City street fight starting out with a punch. @callum_ilott's day is done after connecting with @KKirkwoodRacing. #INDYCAR // #DetroitGP pic.twitter.com/3H2za6U3ff
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 4, 2023
Heartbreak for Callum Ilott, whose day is immediately affected on Lap 1, Turn 1. #INDYCAR@DetroitGP | @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/X1DvJsz22i
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) June 4, 2023
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar crashes at Detroit: Incidents on the tight downtown track