Kirkwood was in control as the final round of pit stops had begun. However, Callum Ilott had an unsecured left front tire after his final pit stop and Ilott slammed into the turn one barrier to bring out a caution. Kirkwood led the field to the pit lane, but Santino Ferrucci, Kyffin Simpson and Marcus Armstrong had all made their final pit stops prior to the Ilott caution. This shuffled Kirkwood back to fourth with just over 25 laps to go.
Victory required moves and Kirkwood made then, and in pretty quick fashion. Armstrong was vanquished in a flash. Simpson required some more aggression and some contact. Kirkwood damaged his front wing in the middle of the battle with Simpson, but it did not slow Kirkwood. He quickly overtook Ferrucci, and once in front, Kirkwood was gone.
The red flag for Louis Foster's suspension failure and collision with Felix Rosenqvist erased the four-second gap Kirkwood had built to the rest of the field, but no one came close to challenging Kirkwood in that final stint. He pulled out another impressive gap after the final restart and won by 3.5931 seconds.
Kirkwood was the best guy at Long Beach. He was brilliant today. Andretti Global has its street course program figured out. The team had the right strategy today starting on the alternate tire and getting off that compound early. This was going to be a three-stop race, and Kirkwood and company knew that from the beginning. There was no sense in contemplating a two-stop strategy. We would have needed at least 60 laps of caution for a two-stopper to work today just because of how quickly the alternate tire wore. Though Detroit has become famous for the amount of cautions, such a number of caution laps were an absurd expectation, and this race was going to require some aggression to win.
This is a good turnaround from how the week started when Kirkwood's team lost a sixth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 due to a technical infraction found post-race. Even with Álex Palou's accident today, Kirkwood, and the rest of the IndyCar field, has a lot of work to do to make this a championship fight, but the least Kirkwood can do is try and secure second. He looks up to that task.
2. It has been a while since we have had a street race where someone who was not at all in the picture had a timely combination of a pit stop and a caution lead to a near-victory. Santino Ferrucci was second today because he made his final pit stop on lap 66, the same lap Callum Ilott also made his final stop only for Ilott's crew to not get a tire properly secured. One man's unsecured tire is another man's vault to the race lead.
Without this caution, Ferrucci probably finishes somewhere between 12th and 16th. Ferrucci was mid-pack all race. He didn't have a thing for Kirkwood, and he was a little fortunate that the late caution and red flag came out. Ferrucci lost second to Will Power prior to the Foster-Rosenqvist caution, but Power did not have the tires ready on the next restart. Power dropped to fourth and Ferrucci was able to hold off Herta. Credit to Ferrucci for holding onto second. Without that final caution, he probably finishes fifth or so. He caught a break today. Ferrucci will take it as A.J. Foyt Racing has runner-up finishes in consecutive races.
3. Third is about right for Colton Herta, though he was better than Ferrucci. Herta probably should have been second because he ran behind Kirkwood nearly this entire race. Herta burned off his tires trying to get around Ferrucci and when that didn't work and his push-to-pass was gone, he was left playing defense against Will Power.
Herta needed a good day. He just had to get some points on the board and make up for the tough month of May. Third is good, but Kirkwood is the better driver at the moment, and the #27 Andretti Global Honda is the best Andretti team at the moment. We don't see the #27 team make mistakes and cost itself results. Until Herta consistently is finishing in the top five and not fumbling away victories and podiums, that is how we should view the hierarchy at this team.
4. Will Power caught a break early because his first pit stop came as Felix Rosenqvist spun into the turn eight barrier to bring out a caution. Power was able to get out of the pit lane between Kirkwood and Herta, which seemed very unlikely considering how close Kirkwood and Herta had been running. With that position, Power was in the fight for a podium.
Once he was ahead of Ferrucci, it felt the podium was secured. It didn't quite seem like Power could take the fight to Kirkwood on that last restart, but I don't think any of us thought Power would drop to fourth. His tires were not up for it after that final restart, and it easily cost Power two spots. It could have been worse, but Power also needed some points after his rough Indianapolis 500. He now has four top five finishes in the last five races.
5. Kyffin Simpson held onto fifth. Like Ferrucci, Simpson got a break. He had been running in the middle of the pack and not quite in the top ten. The team took a chance right when the pit window opened and it paid off. Simpson has looked better this year. Entering this race, he had finished outside the top twenty in his last three races, but you almost need to throw the last two out. He was 27th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis because the car did not start. There was a gearbox issue. Simpson never made a lap, and we don't know how he would have raced. Then Simpson was caught in the path of a spinning Kyle Larson at the Indianapolis 500. Neither result was Simpson's fault.
Let's see how the rest of the season goes. Fifth was kind today, but he has been more competitive this season.
6. Marcus Armstrong was just outside the top ten when the final round of pit stops started. Sixth is generous from how he had been running. He was good today but not this good. This is a nice consolation prize for Meyer Shank Racing after Felix Rosenqvist was caught in a late accident. This is Armstrong's best finish of the season. It is not about how you got the top ten, it is that you got a top ten, and the New Zealander has three this season.
7. Patricio O'Ward took a risk on strategy, and the late caution may have saved him. O'Ward used the primary tires on his first two stints, but he stopped on under caution on lap 20 for his first pit stop when most of the cars that started on the primary tires when until lap 33 to lap 39.
His second stint ran laps 21-53 with the alternate tire put on the car at lap 54. O'Ward was on a three-stop strategy, but it was a matter of how long could he go on that alternate tire. He took it at a time when he just had to go about 11 laps to get into the final window, and no one was doing more than ten or 11 laps on the alternate anyway. It was shaking out well for O'Ward. That caution may have prevented him from losing a few extra spots. If it wasn't for the lucky trio who stopped just prior to Ilott's caution, this could have been a top five day for O'Ward.
8. Christian Lundgaard kept getting shuffled back in this race. He didn't quite have what it took to remain with Kirkwood, Herta and Palou early. Then Power got ahead. Then O'Ward was ahead later in the race. The most frustrating part for Lundgaard is likely O'Ward beat him by a position. There was a 14-spot advantage to Lundgaard on the grid, and at the checkered flag O'Ward got Lundgaard by the spot.
Lundgaard has been the better of the two drivers this season, but it has been close. I think Lundgaard sees his first battle as beating O'Ward in the championship. If he can do that, he takes the mantle at Arrow McLaren, but this is turning into a much tougher battle than how it was looking a month ago.
9. Josef Newgarden survived to finish ninth today as Newgarden did 30 laps on the alternate tire to close the race. The cautions certainly helped. From 24th on the grid, Newgarden had to do something different. Opening with two stints on the primary tire was going to get him some positions, but he was setting himself to be in trouble on a two-stop strategy.
I wonder if Newgarden was going to be a three-stop strategy and the Ilott caution caught him out. It felt like Newgarden could run until about lap 73 and then with 27 laps to go the #2 Penske team would have had a decision.
Newgarden could have taken the alternate tire then and run ten laps before going back to the primary tire for the final 17 laps or so or Newgarden could have done the unthinkable, taken another set of primary tire and then made his pit stop for the alternate compound with under ten laps to go and tried to claw back spots in the sprint to the finish.
Newgarden wasn't quite on O'Ward's strategy, so I don't think it would have worked out the same way. If the Ilott caution doesn't happen, I think Newgarden finishes 14th or 15th. Though the Ilott caution put Newgarden in a corner and he had to stretch his alternate tire further than any driver dared, it also likely got him five more positions than if the race had remained green.
10. Alexander Rossi did not look like he was positioned to get a top ten finish until he ended up tenth in the closing laps. I am not sure how Rossi got up to tenth. He was outside the top ten and even outside the top fifteen for portions of this race.
Scott Dixon struggled in those closing laps. Scott McLaughlin was shuffled back at one point. David Malukas was given a penalty for taking out Álex Palou. There are four spots right there. Then Rosenqvist and Foster got together. That's six spots. I guess that is how Rossi got tenth.
11. We must suspend the belief that Scott Dixon is going to turn every race into a two-stop race and running 40 laps on one stint will turn into a race victory. Even though Dixon did 39 laps on his first stint, he was never winning this race today because the alternate tire was not going to last more than ten or 12 laps.
The long first stint got Dixon track position, but he wasn't going to take the alternate tire 25 to 30 laps on his second stint to somehow pull this one out, especially considering the pace Kirkwood was running. Anyone with a brain watching this race knew the alternate tire was not lasting that long.
It is disappointing the intelligent people who watch IndyCar did not recognize that, and they defaulted to the belief Dixon is going to work some magic. That was never happening today. I don't think Dixon should have finished 11th though. Obviously, three spots went to the three lucky ducklings who stopped prior to the Ilott caution. Dixon didn't have the pace though in the final stint, and 11th is a little harsh.
12. Scott McLaughlin caught a break because when the first caution came out for Rosenqvist's spin in turn eight, McLaughlin had not stopped and he was still on the alternate tire. It looked like he was going to shuffle back to the very back of the field and outside the top 24. Somehow, McLaughlin made his stop and came out around 14th, ahead of Kirkwood, Power, Herta and company who had all stopped prior to that caution.
I don't know how that happens. I know it happened because Detroit has the shortest pit lane. My guess is because McLaughlin stopped from the lead while the next 12 or 13 cars did not stop, it allowed McLaughlin to make his stop and pull out while Kirkwood and the rest who had already made their first stop were bogged behind the other cars going the pace of the safety car. Because Kirkwood and company were slowed down, McLaughlin could make his stop and blend out ahead of them all.
If McLaughlin had won this race, people would have lost their minds. This is something we should take a look at with the Detroit pit lane. It is not much different from the Nashville street course pit lane where we some similar occurrences of cars pitting from third and coming out in fifth despite half the field not making a pit stop.
Either way, McLaughlin performed his own act of karmic justice when he hit Nolan Siegel on the restart and McLaughlin was given a penalty for avoidable contact. This shuffled him behind all he had jumped, and McLaughlin was never able to comeback from that penalty and he was 12th.
13. Marcus Ericsson is stuck in the middle of the pack every race. Today, it was because of a slow pit stop. Ericsson had good pace this weekend. The entire Andretti Global team was stout, but this was a missed opportunity for Ericsson.
14. David Malukas looked poised for a top five finish, and then he nudged Álex Palou into the turn one barrier on the restart after Ilott's caution. That earned Malukas a stop-and-go penalty, and rightfully so.
Malukas did a lot wrong today. He was swallowed up immediately at the start and went from second to fourth in no time. He settled in, was running well after that and a top five looked promising, he was definitely in line for a top ten finish, and then Malukas does this and it cost A.J. Foyt Racing a double top ten day. The Foyt team was getting lucky that it had both cars in position for top ten finishes for the second consecutive week. Malukas screwed up when the last thing the Foyt team needed from him was a mistake.
For all the flashes that distract the masses, Malukas is error-prone. He shouldn't be in consideration for a Team Penske seat for quite some time.
15. There are really only two other drivers outside the top 14 that deserve dedicated attention.
Sting Ray Robb was 15th. Good for him. Do you know what he did today? I don't know! Someone had to finish 15th, and it was Sting Ray Robb.
Robert Shwartzman was 16th. Pretty anonymous today. At least he saw the finish.
Conor Daly, whatever time you have left in IndyCar is not being extended when you keep finishing behind your teammate Sting Ray Robb. You must do better than 17th.
Jacob Abel got his first career lead lap finish and his best finish in IndyCar as he was 18th. Good for you, Jacob! That is the first step of many left to make.
Nolan Siegel might have been a thorn in everyone's side because Kyle Kirkwood and company came out of the pit lane behind him after their first stops. If it wasn't for McLaughlin punting Siegel, this race could have played out differently. Either way, Siegel was 19th after that incident.
16. This was a brutal day for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Graham Rahal looked to be in the running for a top ten finish and then there was a right-rear wheel nut issue that it cost him multiple laps. The strange thing is Rahal had a wheel nut issue during the morning warm-up as well.
Devlin DeFrancesco had a loose wheel nut and he drove off course only to back up onto the course for the tire to come loose to bring out a caution as DeFrancesco drove back to the pit lane. This should have ended DeFrancesco's race because there was no need to back onto the circuit and bring out a caution. His race still ended with a mechanical issue.
Then there was the Louis Foster accident. Foster's right front suspension failed entering the turn three hairpin, and Foster was a passenger as he bounced off the wall and into Felix Rosenqvist. Rosenqvist was collateral damage. Foster was looking to be just outside the top ten, not a great day, but a respectable one for the rookie.
This felt like a promising day for RLLR and it ended with finishes of 20th, 22nd and 23rd. Yikes.
17. Felix Rosenqvist had a strange day. He spun to bring out the first caution, but did little more than nudge the tire barrier in turn eight. He resumed driving immediately. I almost do not understand why that was a caution. Either way, Rosenqvist was still in the mix for a top ten finish, and then he was in the wrong place when Foster spun. Rosenqvist did nothing wrong. He was vastly superior than 21st in the record book will show.
18. I don't know what happened to Christian Rasmussen that caused his race to ended after 80 laps. Rasmussen had been leading after the Rosenqvist caution early in the race because Rasmussen was the first car on the primary tire. He looked set for a top ten finish, and then we never saw nor heard what went wrong.
19. Who knew it would take David Malukas shutting his brain off for a second to end Álex Palou's hot streak? It is a shame that is how it ended.
Palou wasn't going to win this race today. He likely wasn't going to finish on the podium either, but he was going to be fourth or fifth. This race was shaping up to be Kirkwood-Power-Herta-Palou.
Not a bad day. Palou would have lost some ground to Kirkwood but minimal considering how Palou's season has started.
Let's slow our roll on this meaning the championship is alive. No! This was one result where Palou was unfortunate that a driver of a quarter of his ability couldn't make it through turn one without any contact. Palou is still up 90 points on second in the championship. It is going to require someone to likely win five or six of the final ten races with another two or three podium results in there to be a serious threat to Palou.
This was one unfortunate result. Palou isn't going to make mistakes and he isn't going to be caught in these accidents moving forward. He will likely finish in the top five in four of the next six races. Until someone is within 25 points of Palou, no one should be excited about a championship battle.
20. Callum Ilott was 26th after his poor pit stop. It is a shame because Ilott was in the running for a top fifteen result, and that is what Prema needs. It needs to check off some boxes. It got to the first race. It finished on the lead lap in the first race with both cars. It made the Indianapolis 500 and floored all of us winning pole position, but Prema needs results. It needs to work its way up the order. That unsecured wheel nut is not on Ilott. That is on the team, and we have seen constant pit lane problems for both Prema cars.
Prema gets a week off, but the line should be drawn that this is the moment where the team starts to clean up its mistakes over the final ten races of the season.
21. Rinus VeeKay lost drive early in the race and we hardly knew what he could have done today. It is a shame because VeeKay started six and he only completed six laps.
22. Two concerns from this weekend:
One: The wheel nut issues weren't just a RLLR thing.
Two: A number of teams lost telemetry this weekend. I know at temporary circuits there is a greater chance of a technological problem, but this was the case for many teams this weekend even into the race, and let's not forget we lost a good portion of a test day at Indianapolis in May because of Wi-Fi issues. Things happen, but this thing is happening too regularly in IndyCar circles. Let's keep an eye on this over the remaining race weekends.
23. IndyCar did not resume its experiment of requiring two sets of each tire compound to be used in the race like it had at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. I forgot about it and I wonder if IndyCar forgot about it as well because if there was ever a race to try it and have a mixed up result, it was Detroit.
It worked today that it was a three-stop race due to the alternate compound, but entering this weekend the door was open for this being a two-stop race. I still think the added wrinkle of using each compound twice is worth it. Drivers would have had to make the alternate tire work today. No one could afford to run two stints at ten laps in length. Even if meant drivers would have had to suffer for two 15-lap stints, it opens this race up a bit.
I think IndyCar should have tried it again this weekend. I definitely think it should be done at Road America because that is going to be a three-stop race but the pit windows are so small that there is no other strategy to play. We cannot be afraid to experiment at no additional cost. The tires are already there. It is not hurting the teams whatsoever. There is nothing to lose trying it.
24. And now we get a week off. Good! We all need it. Onto a night race at Gateway in two weeks. Do nothing next week, boys and girls!
