Preview – 2019 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
The INDYCAR season continues this weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan. The Open Wheel will be on-site covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.
Photo by Parker Hall/The Open Wheel
Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map – Tickets
NTT IndyCar Series Preview: Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix – Race 1: Saturday, June 1, 2019 3:00PM (ET) NBC & Race 2: Sunday, June 2, 2019 3:00PM (ET) NBC – Previous driver experience at Belle Isle shows seven former winners in the field in Sebastien Bourdais (2), Scott Dixon (2), Will Power (2), Graham Rahal (2), Ryan Hunter-Reay (1), Tony Kanaan (1), and Simon Pagenaud (1). The active leaders in laps led at Belle Isle are Dixon (122), Rahal (109), Pagenaud (93), Power (47), and Alexander Rossi (47). Dixon and Hunter-Reay won races in the doubleheader last year. Looking at box scores from 2018 Race 1 and 2018 Race 2, Hunter-Reay finished first and second so he’s a big name to watch this weekend. Hunter-Reay and Dixon were the only drivers to finish in the Top 5 in each race. If that’s expanded to the Top 10, added to that list are Power, Ed Jones, and Marco Andretti (pole winner here last year). My picks to win: Alexander Rossi & Ryan Hunter-Reay – Rossi won on the streets of Long Beach earlier this year and will be hungry for wins this weekend. He threw away a victory in Race 2 at Belle Isle last year with a mistake forced by Hunter-Reay and showed how impressive he is when driving angry last week at the Indy 500. Speaking of Hunter-Reay, he was ultra-impressive at Belle Isle last year with P1 and P2 finishes and there’s no reason to believe he shouldn’t be strong again this weekend.
My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Felix Rosenqvist, & Patricio O’Ward – You know my thoughts on Rossi and Hunter-Reay. Rosenqvist is a rockstar on street courses and will be a massive threat to win at least one of these races this weekend with any good fortune at all. O’Ward is a big gamble, but at just $15 this weekend he offers a lot of quickness and potential to come through with a good result.
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