Belle Isle Tag

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor The bumpy, narrow Raceway at Belle Isle Park is challenging for even the best in the Verizon IndyCar Series. It’s no surprise, then, that series newcomer Santino Ferrucci was challenged in his IndyCar debut. Ferrucci took advantage of an off-weekend for Formula 2 and Formula One – where he is a reserve driver for Haas F1 Team – to make the voyage to Detroit and compete at the 2.35-mile Belle Isle Park for Dale Coyne Racing. The 20-year-old hopped in the team’s No. 19 HondaRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor One week removed from a disappointing Indianapolis 500 effort, Helio Castroneves found himself with the Verizon IndyCar Series once more at Belle Isle Park. But this time Castroneves was a spectator – supporting his teammates after competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic. The weekend could have been a challenge if the 2018 Month of May had been the Brazilian’s last. A strong No. 3 Chevrolet and spirited drive ended in defeat for the three-time Indy 500 champion when he crashedRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Writer Following a convincing win in Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit, Ryan Hunter-Reay has a good reason to be on cloud nine. After finishing second in Saturday’s 75-lap doubleheader, the driver of the No. 28 DHL Honda for Andretti Autosport had the perfect mix of strategy and a hard-charging drive to snap a 42-race winless streak on Sunday in what he described as one of his finest performances. “To be that much faster than the rest of the field, it’s got to be one of myRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Spencer Pigot came into Sunday’s second dual of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle Park with confidence after scoring his first top-10 of the season Saturday. That all changed after the opening lap. Pigot was hit from behind by Santino Ferrucci in Turn 5 shortly after the green flag flew, sending the third-year veteran into the wall. The other Verizon IndyCar Series competitors were able to dodge Pigot’s helpless No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, but the accident brought out the only full-course cautionRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT – The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix was a Honda-dominated affair. Hondas took both Verizon IndyCar Series poles, won both races and led the majority of the laps in-between, leaving the Bowtie’s biggest “highlight” to be a crashed Corvette pace car in the parade laps before Sunday’s race. It was a difficult weekend for Chevrolet, just down the road from their Detroit corporate offices in Belle Isle. But Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power helped the manufacturer salvage something good out of the doubleheader. Power deliveredRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT — It all happened so fast. One moment Alexander Rossi found himself in the lead, poised to go three-for-three in wins following poles in his young Verizon IndyCar Series career, fending off Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay and holding onto the series points lead in the process. The next moment he was in the Turn 3 runoff area, his race ruined. “Honestly I have no idea,” Rossi said when asked what happened. Rossi led a race-high 46 laps in the 70-lap Race 2 of the Chevrolet DetroitRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT – In Saturday’s first Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, Ryan Hunter-Reay fell just shy of claiming his first victory in three seasons. On Sunday he wouldn’t be denied. Hunter-Reay overcame a 10th-place starting position with a three-stop strategy and pressured Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi into a late mistake to secure Sunday’s Race 2 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. The victory was the Floridian’s 15th-career triumph, and his first since Pocono Raceway in August 2015. While Hunter-Reay ended up in victory lane at day’s end, early onRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT — Felipe Nasr stayed clear of a late charge from Ricky Taylor to earn his first-career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park. The win was Action Express Racing teammate Eric Curran’s eighth in IMSA competition. It also kept up an impressive Detroit trend. Since their first race at Belle Isle in 2007, every IMSA-sanctioned event at Belle Isle has been won by a General Motors affiliate. The latest win was among the least likely. ARead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle Park in Detroit was unkind to both Graham Rahal and Verizon IndyCar Series debutant Santino Ferrucci, ending their Saturday afternoons on the hook after separate crashes with less than 25 laps to go. Rahal was running a two-stop strategy as the only driver to have started the race on the black primary Firestone tires. Eventually, he pitted for the softer reds on Lap 26, but struggled adapting on those alternate rubber. As theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Prior to Belle Isle the sophomore slump had plagued Chip Ganassi Racing driver Ed Jones. In the first six races of the Verizon IndyCar Series season, the former Dale Coyne Racing shoe failed to finish three races, including last Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 – where he was transported to the hospital after a Turn 1 crash. Jones soldiered onto Detroit to turn his season around. In the end the United Arab Emirates native did just that – providing a quiet, consistent run. Last year’s Verizon IndyCarRead More