DETROIT – Last year’s winner on the streets of Detroit was the most vocal critic of the 1.65-mile, nine-turn course — Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing.
Some changes were made to the circuit to make it a bit better, but once again Palou was the fastest in Friday’s practice session for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
Palou’s best lap was 1:01.7210 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
“The track is grippier, a lot grippier than last year,” Palou said. “I think we ran two seconds faster than we did in Practice 1 last year. The car feels good so far.
“I’m pretty happy.
“There are still some moments of traffic and not being able to do the last sector flat out, so it was more productive. I’m pretty happy. A good start; let’s see what we can do on Saturday.”
Pato O’Ward, who finished second in last Sunday’s 108th Indianapolis 500, was second in Friday’s practice at 1:01.7315 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“It was better than last year, at least we got laps in,” O’Ward said. “We’ve still got some work to do. It’s tricky out there. It really is. There’s a lot of bumps, and it’ll be very important to get the window right on the car in qualifying just because those bumps can kind of throw you off in sequence quite quickly. It’ll just ruin your lap, so you have to be pretty precise.”
Colton Herta of Andretti Global was third at 1:01.7968 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global was fourth at 1:01.8103 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five at 1:02.0959 in the No. 3 Chevrolet.
He was followed by last week’s winner of the 108th Indianapolis 500, Josef Newgarden, who had a best lap at 1:02.2377 in the No. 2 Chevrolet for Team Penske.
“It got better through the session, and we were running a lot with the primary tire and abusing them,” Newgarden said. “In the middle, towards the end of the early running, I think we hit on some changes that were really good. Then, we were able to show it a little bit more on the greens. I think we have even more in it. I think the car feels really good. I’ve got to clean some stuff up on my side. I think I know some areas where we can be better and faster.
“The Astemo Chevy looks good, feels good. Long weekend, we’ve got to make it to the end, and we’d love to have a good result with these guys.”
Approximately 700 feet of asphalt resurfacing was completed before the Turn Three braking zone. The Turn Three runoff area was also resurfaced since last year.
Concrete resurfacing also was completed beginning approximately 50 feet before the apex of Turn Nine and continuing approximately 150 feet beyond the corner.
Four of the members of Team Penske who were suspended for the two races during the Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway returned to the IndyCar paddock on Friday. Those included Team Penske President Tim Cindric, Managing Director Ron Ruzewski and engineers Robbie Atkinson and Luke Mason.
The front row sweep, the pit stop contest victory and Newgarden’s back-to-back Indy 500 win made it one of the most successful months in Team Penske history.
Although they weren’t there, the four suspended team members all helped create a winning foundation for the team this year at the Indianapolis 500.
“Oh, without a doubt, it was fun to watch,” Cindric said. “To see to see it go that smoothly and all that you never expect that.”