DETROIT — It was three years ago when the NTT IndyCar Series arrived on the current 1.645-mile, 9-turn tight and bumpy street course in downtown Detroit that Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren uttered one of his more memorable lines.
“It’s going to be gnarly, bro,” O’Ward said in 2023.
Three years later, IndyCar is back and although some of the portions of the course have been modified since that first race, it remains a challenge for the drivers and teams that just five days ago competed in the biggest race in the world, the 110th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing brings a 37-point lead over Team Penske’s David Malukas in the battle for the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Championship. Palou was the fastest driver in Friday’s combined practice session which includes one all-cars session followed by two split sessions for 12 minutes each.
Palou’s best time was 1:02.7722 for a speed of 94.341 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
“Good start,” Palou said. “It’s just super tough to get a lap here when everything feels good. Although we looked very good, I think we need to work on the car and try to make it a little bit better because I think there was a ton of people that couldn’t really get a good lap.”
Defending Detroit winner Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global was second at 1:02.7914 (94.312 mph) in the No. 27 Honda followed by teammate Will Power’s No. 26 Honda at 1:02.9433 (94.085 mph).
Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing was fourth at 1:03.1743 (93.741 mph) in the No. 66 Honda with Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward rounding out the top five at 1:03.1825 (93.738 mph) in the No. 5 Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden’s left foot and ankle remain in a walking boot and the Team Penske driver is using crutches after he was injured in a hard smack into the Turn 4 wall at the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday.
Newgarden was 21st out of 25 cars in Friday’s practice at 1:04.3734 (91.995 mph) in the No. 2 Chevrolet.
“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 after practice. “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.”
Felix Rosenqvist, who won the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history last Sunday, was 11th at 1:03.4064 in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda carrying a special livery featuring the SiriusXM station of legendary Detroit rapper Eminem.
Up next is another practice session at 9 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 1 p.m. ET. Both sessions will be broadcast on FS1, FOX One and IndyCar Radio powered by OnlyBulls.
Back to O’Ward. Will Sunday’s race still be, “Gnarly, Bro?”
“I feel like in certain areas, they’ve cleaned up like out in the chicane,” O’Ward said. “I feel like the wall looks much nicer. There are different patches that I think turn nine, there was quite a big dip when we were first coming here, now it’s not as aggressive. They’ve definitely made it much better for us.
“I don’t think the backstretch is as bumpy and aggressive as it used to be. The first year we came here I thought it was really aggressive. It’s gotten better and better, yeah.”
