This is why they run the race…
Scott Dixon recovered from a crash and last-place finish on Saturday to win the second race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday. The victory was the 45th of the five-time IndyCar Series champion’s career and moved Dixon within seven wins of tying Mario Andretti for second on the all-time Indy car list.
Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 Hitachi Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6, won on Saturday, during the first of two weekend Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix races on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. The win solidified Newgarden’s spot – for the moment only – as the top driver in the point standings. Rossi, Dixon, Pagenaud and Sato all drive like a series winner. (Honda Fastest in Practice for Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix)
On Sunday, Dixon crossed the Raceway at Belle Isle Park finish line 1.9419 seconds ahead of rookie Marcus Ericsson, who posted his first podium finish in his eighth series race. Dixon led 44 laps in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda – including the last 21 on the 14-turn, 2.35-mile temporary and bumpy street course.
IMSA
The Aim Vasser Sullivan (AVS) No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 scored its second consecutive victory in the GTD class at the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a win on Saturday at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park with co-drivers Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand. The win marks the fourth for Lexus in IMSA competition and the second for Aim Vasser Sullivan in just the team’s fourth IMSA race.
DPi
Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron, co-drivers of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi, accomplished something that never has been done since IMSA began racing on Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.
Before Saturday, GM race cars won their Dpi class in all nine IMSA races held on Belle Isle from 2007 through 2018, including overall victories from 2012 through last year. But on Saturday, Montoya and Cameron came away with their second consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory in a tight, 100-minute battle.
After claiming the Motul Pole Award in qualifying Friday, Montoya got the jump at the start to take the lead, which he held for the first 19 laps of what was a 58-lap race before pitting under the second of the race’s five full-course caution periods to turn the car over to Cameron. Montoya’s stop gave the lead over to Tristan Nunez, who was on a different pit-stop strategy in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P DPi.
Following the restart, Cameron picked up where Montoya left off, taking the lead away from Nunez on the first green-flag lap. Cameron lost the lead for one more lap when he came in for his final pit stop but retook the lead on Lap 35 and held it.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Dixon – Last and First in Detroit Indy Car Weekend
This is why they run the race…
Scott Dixon recovered from a crash and last-place finish on Saturday to win the second race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday. The victory was the 45th of the five-time IndyCar Series champion’s career and moved Dixon within seven wins of tying Mario Andretti for second on the all-time Indy car list.
Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 Hitachi Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6, won on Saturday, during the first of two weekend Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix races on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. The win solidified Newgarden’s spot – for the moment only – as the top driver in the point standings. Rossi, Dixon, Pagenaud and Sato all drive like a series winner. (Honda Fastest in Practice for Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix)
On Sunday, Dixon crossed the Raceway at Belle Isle Park finish line 1.9419 seconds ahead of rookie Marcus Ericsson, who posted his first podium finish in his eighth series race. Dixon led 44 laps in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda – including the last 21 on the 14-turn, 2.35-mile temporary and bumpy street course.
IMSA
The Aim Vasser Sullivan (AVS) No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 scored its second consecutive victory in the GTD class at the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a win on Saturday at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park with co-drivers Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand. The win marks the fourth for Lexus in IMSA competition and the second for Aim Vasser Sullivan in just the team’s fourth IMSA race.
DPi
Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron, co-drivers of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi, accomplished something that never has been done since IMSA began racing on Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.
Before Saturday, GM race cars won their Dpi class in all nine IMSA races held on Belle Isle from 2007 through 2018, including overall victories from 2012 through last year. But on Saturday, Montoya and Cameron came away with their second consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory in a tight, 100-minute battle.
After claiming the Motul Pole Award in qualifying Friday, Montoya got the jump at the start to take the lead, which he held for the first 19 laps of what was a 58-lap race before pitting under the second of the race’s five full-course caution periods to turn the car over to Cameron. Montoya’s stop gave the lead over to Tristan Nunez, who was on a different pit-stop strategy in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P DPi.
Following the restart, Cameron picked up where Montoya left off, taking the lead away from Nunez on the first green-flag lap. Cameron lost the lead for one more lap when he came in for his final pit stop but retook the lead on Lap 35 and held it.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.