Morning Warm-Up: Texas 2018

Josef Newgarden looks to retake championship lead from pole position at Texas

Josef Newgarden took pole position for the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway with a two-lap average of 220.613 MPH. It is Newgarden's second pole position of the season and his second career pole position on an oval. Newgarden won earlier this season from pole position at Barber and his other victory this season came at Phoenix after he started seventh. Three of Team Penske's nine Texas victories have come from pole position. Only one American has won from pole position at Texas. Sam Hornish, Jr. won the October 2001 race from pole position while driving for Panther Racing. Newgarden has finished in the top five in every race he has started on pole position. Car #1 has never won at Texas Motor Speedway. Simon Pagenaud qualified next to his teammate on row one but the Frenchman was over three-tenths of a mile per hour slower than Newgarden. This is Pagenaud second front row start of the season. He started second at Phoenix but finished 10th. Pagenaud has never won from second on the grid in his IndyCar career. His most recent victory was last year's season finale at Sonoma, which he won ahead of Newgarden with each driver leading 41 laps.

Will Power swept the top three positions on the grid for Team Penske. With a two-lap average of 220.194 MPH, the three Penske cars were the only three cars to average over 220 MPH in qualifying. Power won from third position at Texas in the second race of the 2011 doubleheader. Power also won from third two weeks ago in the Indianapolis 500. Robert Wickens will start fourth in his Texas debut. He was the fastest Honda in qualifying. Only once has a Texas winner started fourth and that was Hélio Castroneves in 2009. Sébastien Bourdais rounded out the top five in qualifying. This is Bourdais' best starting position at Texas by ten positions. This is Bourdais' fifth top five start of the season, the most he has had in season since 2007. Bourdais had five top five starts over the previous three seasons combined. Tony Kanaan joins Bourdais on row six. This is Kanaan's best starting position of the season and best starting position since he started fourth at Pocono last year.

Second and third in the championship will start on row four with Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi next to one another. This is the fifth time Dixon has started seventh at Texas. He won from seventh at Texas in 2015. Dixon's next podium finish will be the 100th of his career, tying him with Michael Andretti for third all-time. Rossi has started in the top ten in all three of his Texas starts. He is still looking for his first top ten finish at this track. Takuma Sato will start ninth. This is Sato's third consecutive top ten start at Texas. This is the first time Sato has started ninth since Pocono 2015. In the five previous times he has started ninth he has finished fourth, sixth, ninth and 18th twice. Ryan Hunter-Reay starts tenth for the second consecutive race and he won from tenth on the grid last week at Belle Isle. The last driver to win consecutive races from the same starting position was Simon Pagenaud in 2016 when he won from pole position at Barber and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The last driver to win consecutive races from the same starting position that wasn't pole position was Paul Tracy in 2003, who won the first three races of the CART season at St. Petersburg, Monterrey and Long Beach from second on the grid.

Marco Andretti starts 11th and this is fifth consecutive Texas race starting outside the top ten. Andretti has finished in the top ten five times from 11th on the grid in eight starts from 11th. Arie Luyendyk won the inaugural Texas race from 11th on the grid. Charlie Kimball qualified 12th, the best starting position for Carlin on an oval. This is only the third time Kimball has been the best Carlin qualifier this season. Ed Jones will start 13th for the fourth time in his career. Two of Jones' starts from 13th have occurred at Long Beach and both ended in top ten finishes, including a third place finish this year. Since finishing third in last year's Indianapolis 500, Jones' average finish on ovals is 19.333. Ed Carpenter will start 14th, his third consecutive year starting 14th at Texas. Ninety of Carpenter's 92 laps led at Texas came in his 2014 victory.

James Hinchcliffe starts 15th and this is the first time has started outside the top ten this season. Hinchcliffe has not finished in the top ten when starting outside the top ten since he started 22nd and finished ninth at Iowa in 2016. He started outside the top ten in eight races since that Iowa race. Zach Veach joins Hinchcliffe on row eight. This is the third time Veach has started 16th this season. The last oval race won from 16th was Dario Franchitti in the 2012 in the Indianapolis 500. The last time an American won from 16th on the grid was Al Unser at Pocono in 1976. Gabby Chaves will start 17th. This is the first time Chaves has started 17th since he started 17th in three consecutive races at NOLA, Long Beach and Barber in 2015, three of his first four starts in IndyCar. The furthest back a Texas winner has started was 17th by Justin Wilson in 2012. Spencer Pigot joins his fellow past Indy Lights champion on row nine. Pigot is still looking for his first career top ten finish on an oval.

Matheus Leist and Graham Rahal will start on row ten. Leist has finished on the lead lap in six consecutive races while Rahal has seven top ten finishes this season. Rahal's average starting position this season is 15.555. He is on track for his third-worst season in terms of starting position. Rahal has led in both oval races this season. Leist has yet to lead a lap in his IndyCar career. Zachary Claman De Melo will start 21st in his first Texas start. Claman De Melo led seven laps in the Indianapolis 500 before he finished one lap down in 19th. Max Chilton rounds out the grid in 22nd. Despite having started three more races than Claman De Melo, Chilton is only one position and 31 points ahead of the Canadian in the championship. This is the first time Chilton has started dead last in his IndyCar career.

NBCSN's coverage of the DXC Technology 600 starts at 8:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 8:45 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 248 laps.

Track Walk: Texas 2018

Texas marks the halfway point of the season

The ninth race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season takes place at Texas Motor Speedway for the DXC Technology 600. Will Power lost the championship lead and took it back at Belle Isle after the Australian finished seventh and second. He enters on 309 points and has a five-point championship lead over New Zealander Scott Dixon. Alexander Rossi was leading the championship after race one but a lockup while leading and a left tire puncture with seven laps to go dropped him to third in the championship, 11 points behind Power. Ryan Hunter-Reay got his first victory in 42 starts in the second Belle Isle race and he is 31 points outside the championship lead. Defending champion Josef Newgarden rounds out the top five trailing his teammate by 39 points.

Coverage:
Time: Coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday June 8th with green flag scheduled for 8:45 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Friday:
First Practice: 12:30 p.m. ET (90-minute session)
Qualifying: 4:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN will have live coverage of this session)
Second Practice: 7:15 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Saturday:
Race: 8:45 p.m. ET (248 laps)

How Will the Race Play Out?
Last year saw a repave and reconfiguration to Texas Motor Speedway that increased speeds and also caused havoc for Firestone. The race saw 23 lead changes, the most for a Texas race since the autumn 2001 race but it also had nine cautions, the most for a Texas race and 66 caution laps, the third-most at the track.

Despite the abundance of lead changes, Will Power led 180 of 248 laps on his way to victory and passing was much more difficult than prior Texas races during the DW12-era despite the cars being bunched closer together. The bottom groove had a major advantage to the top line where it was difficult for a car to get a run and complete the pass on the outside.

Two big accidents left only six cars finishing on the lead lap and since the introduction of the DW12 chassis in 2012 every Texas race has either had five cars or six cars finish on the lead lap. The number of cautions made last year's race the fourth-slowest Texas race out of 29 IndyCar races held at the venue since 1997. The last two Texas races have averaged under 145 MPH after 22 consecutive races average over 150 MPH and six consecutive averaging over 160 MPH including the two fastest IndyCar races held at Texas Motor Speedway. Five of six Texas races during the DW12-era have had a driver lead over 100 laps with the one exception being 2015 where race winner Scott Dixon led 97 laps. In the DW12-era, the best starting position for a Texas winner is fifth in 2014 by Ed Carpenter.

IndyCar and Firestone had scheduled a tire test at Texas in March but that was hampered by high winds. An extra set of tires will be provided to the teams for this weekend. The teams will also be allowed to run a maximum rear wing angle of negative six degrees after only being allowed to run negative three degrees at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Will Chevrolet Hold Serve?
Honda's sweep at Belle Isle has the Japanese manufacture unbeaten on street courses but Chevrolet has won the two oval and two road course races held this season. Chevrolet has won six consecutive oval races with Honda's most recent oval victory being the 101st Indianapolis 500 with Takuma Sato.

Team Penske is responsible for all six of Chevrolet's oval victories dating back to last year with Will Power responsible for three of those victories and Josef Newgarden accounting for two of those victories. The other victory was at the hands of Hélio Castroneves at Iowa. Power has two victories at Texas, four top five finishes and seven top ten finishes in ten starts with three pole positions. He has an average finish of seventh and he has led 432 laps at Texas, the third-most all-time at Texas. If Power leads 75 laps on Saturday night he will be the all-time IndyCar lap leader at Texas Motor Speedway.

While Newgarden has won on the short ovals of Gateway and Phoenix in the last year, Texas has not be friendly to the defending champion. In six starts, Newgarden has never finished on the lead lap and his only top ten finish was eighth in 2013. Newgarden has retired from the last three Texas races including the last two years because of accidents. His 2016 accident with Conor Daly left him with injuries to his right hand and right shoulder.

Texas might be one of Newgarden's worst tracks but Simon Pagenaud has done excellent at the mile-and-a-half-ish oval. The Frenchman has three top five finishes and four top ten finishes in six starts and he has completed 1,444 of a possible 1,448 laps. However, Pagenaud's only laps led came in 2015 when he led 59 laps after starting second but he faded and finished two laps down in 11th. Pagenaud needs to get off the snide as the Frenchman does not have a top five finish through the first eight races and he sits tenth in the championship.

Team Penske is Chevrolet's flagship team but Ed Carpenter Racing has put together a strong fight when it comes to the ovals and to no one's surprise Ed Carpenter is leading the charge. The American's runner-up finish to Power in the Indianapolis 500 was his first top five finish since a third at Fontana in 2014. He led a race-high 65 laps at the Indianapolis 500 but since his Texas victory in 2014 outside of Indianapolis Carpenter has only led eight laps. He won the 2014 Texas race but has finished outside the top ten the last three years and his average finish is 14.4.

Spencer Pigot qualified sixth for the Indianapolis 500, his career-best starting position but a pit lane speeding penalty cost him any shot of a top ten finish. Pigot will make his Texas debut this weekend and it will only be his second oval start at a track that wasn't Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pigot finished 14th at Phoenix in April and that is his career-best oval finish.

As crazy as it may sound, A.J. Foyt Racing has been the second-best Chevrolet team this season. Tony Kanaan has three top ten finishes, including a seventh in the second Belle Isle race after starting 22nd. Matheus Leist might not have a top ten finish this season but the rookie has six consecutive lead lap finish. Statistically, Kanaan is the best driver in IndyCar at Texas with at least three starts. He has an average finish of 5.2 with 11 top five finishes, including three consecutive podium finishes and 15 top ten finishes but surprisingly he has only one victory at the track, which came in his third Texas start in June 2004. Kanaan has been running at the finish of all 18 of his Texas starts and he has completed 3,780 of 3,783 laps.

Carlin and Harding Racing are the unlikely Chevrolet teams to get a victory but both teams will be in the field. Gabby Chaves finished fifth last year at Texas in Harding Racing's second race as a team but the team's best finish since that night is 14th on two separate occasions. Charlie Kimball started on pole position last year at Texas but an oil leak ended his night after the first pit stop. Kimball had three consecutive top ten finishes at Texas entering last year's race. Max Chilton finished 8th at Texas last year despite finishing three laps down after being a part of the final caution of the night.

Who Can Breakthrough?
With only one street course race remaining on the schedule if any of the Honda teams want to win the championship they will have to breakthrough on the four remaining ovals and four remaining road courses. Entering Texas, Honda drivers take up seven of the top ten in the championship representing five different teams.

Scott Dixon picked up a ninth place finish last year despite late contact with Takuma Sato while the two drivers were trying to pass Will Power. While he has won at Texas in recent years, Dixon has been hit-or-miss in the DW12-era at this track. He led 133 laps in the 2012 race before a spin all on his own took him out of contention. The year after that, an oil line failure ended his race before the quarter-post. Dixon has four retirements in his last six Texas starts.

Andretti Autosport has three drivers in the top ten and none of them have great Texas track records. Alexander Rossi has not scored a top ten in either of his first two starts and a tire failure ended his race prematurely last year. The Texas-born Ryan Hunter-Reay has an average finish of 14.8 and an average starting position of 13.7 at this track and he has finished 19th or worse in six of 11 starts. He has finished outside the top ten in four consecutive Texas races. Since 2010, Marco Andretti has alternated between top ten finish and non-top ten finish in every other Texas start and he finished sixth last year. Andretti Autosport's only Texas victory was with Tony Kanaan in June 2004.

Robert Wickens will make his third oval start this weekend and so far he has done well with a runner-up finish at Phoenix and ninth in the Indianapolis 500. He has started inside the top ten for all but one race this season and in every race he was running at the finish of he finished on the lead lap. His teammate James Hinchcliffe finished second and led 188 laps two years at Texas. After finishing in the top ten in the first five races of the season Hinchcliffe did not qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and finished outside the top ten in both Belle Isle races.

Graham Rahal has finished in the top ten of seven of the first eight races and he is coming off two consecutive top five finishes at Texas after he won in 2016 and finished fourth last year. Rahal has finished in the top ten in both oval races this season and a top ten finish at Texas would be the first time Rahal has finished in the top ten in the first three oval races of a season.

Sébastien Bourdais fell to ninth in the championship after entering the Indianapolis 500 in third. He has finished outside the top ten in the last three races with two of those results being finishes outside the top twenty. This is the first time Bourdais has not had a top ten finish in three consecutive races since he had four consecutive finishes outside the top ten spread over the final three races of 2015 and the 2016 season opener. Bourdais picked up his first career top ten finish at Texas in 2016 when he finished tenth but Bourdais has started 18th in three consecutive Texas starts and his career-best starting position at this track is 15th.

Who Is Out?
We are through eight races and Texas marks the halfway point of the season. The championship picture is becoming clearer. We are seeing who the contenders are and we know who is already racing for pride but a few drivers lay in the middle and this weekend is where they have to decide what camp they fall in.

After Barber, I pronounced dead the championship hopes for five drivers and I think it is time to add a few more tombstones to the graveyard.

Since 1946, no champion has failed to score a podium finish within the first six races of the season and the only new podium finisher between race five and race six was Ed Carpenter, who is not competing full-time. Of the drivers who remained on life support after Barber those still without a podium finish are Andretti, Pagenaud, Kanaan, Sato and Veach. Andretti and Pagenaud are the only two of those drivers in the top ten of championship.

It is nothing personal but Kanaan, Sato and Veach are not going to win the championship this year. I will leave the door open for Andretti and Pagenaud but both drivers need a massive performance this weekend.

With eight drivers eliminated and two on deathbeds that leaves ten drivers kicking but there are two we should look at, both outside the top ten of the championship. Hinchcliffe and Jones both have podium finishes this season with Jones picking up his second podium finish of the season at Belle Isle. Hinchcliffe's rotten three weeks have been well documented and missing a double points event is a massive blow but there are nine races remaining and if he were to go nine-for-nine he would probably win the championship. Missing the Indianapolis 500 doesn't kill your championship hopes but it makes it very clear the only way back in is through winning each week out. Jones has four top ten finishes through eight races but all on street circuits and his other four finishes are 20th or worse.

I will keep Hinchcliffe and Jones alive for now but like Andretti and Pagenaud both need a great night at Texas and we will have a better idea of the title hopes for these two drivers after Road America.

Of the eight drivers we can say are still kicking, Wickens and Rahal are the only two without a victory. There have been a few champions that have waited longer than this to get their first victory of the season but it is rare. Since 1946, four champions won their first race after the eighth race of the season. Those champions are Joe Leonard in 1971, who won in his tenth race; Al Unser in 1985, who won in the 14th race; Gil de Ferran in 2001, who won in the 17th race; and Scott Dixon in 2013, who won in the 11th race.

There have also been three winless champions, Tony Bettenhausen in 1958, Tom Sneva in 1978 and Scott Sharp in the inaugural IRL season in 1996. It isn't unprecedented but it is highly unlikely this year's champion will do it without a victory.

Fast Facts
This will be the 16th IndyCar race to take place on June 9th. The most recent race was in 2012 at Texas where Justin Wilson took the victory.

This will be the 30th IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway.

There has never been a repeat winner at Texas.

Four different teams have won the last four Texas races.

Six different drivers have won the six Texas races during the DW12-era.

Three drivers have picked up their first career IndyCar victory at Texas. Those drivers are Billy Boat, Mark Dismore and Jeff Ward. It was the only IndyCar victory for those three drivers.

Only one Texas race has not reach full distance. That was the autumn 2003 race where Gil de Ferran took the victory after the Kenny Bräck-Tomas Scheckter accident ended the race five laps early.

Five nationalities have won the last 13 Texas races. Those nationalities are American, Australian Brazilian, British and New Zealander.

Honda has won ten Texas races while Chevrolet has won seven Texas races.

Oldsmobile has the second-most Texas victories for engine manufactures with nine.

Ryan Hunter-Reay set fastest lap in both Belle Isle races. The last driver to set fastest lap in three consecutive races was Sébastien Bourdais in 2007 when he set fastest lap in six consecutive races. Those races were Houston, Portland, Cleveland, Mont-Tremblant, Toronto and Edmonton.

Despite not finishing last year's race, Takuma Sato picked up his second career top ten finish at Texas with a tenth place finish.

Five drivers make their first career start at Texas. Those drivers are Matheus Leist, Robert Wickens, Zachary Claman De Melo, Spencer Pigot and Zach Veach. The only driver to win in their first Texas start was Arie Luyendyk in the inaugural Texas race in 1997.

Only twice has a driver won the race prior to Texas and a Texas race. The first was Luyendyk in 1997, who won the Indianapolis 500 and then the inaugural Texas race. The other was Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2002, who won at Chicagoland and then won the season finale at Texas.

The average starting position for a Texas winner is 5.172 with a median of three.

Twelve Texas races have been won from the front row but not since the first race of the 2011 doubleheader when Dario Franchitti won from second. Seventeen Texas races have been won from one of the first two rows but not since Will Power won from third in the second race of the 2011 doubleheader.

The pole-sitter has not won at Texas since Ryan Briscoe in 2010.

The average number of lead changes at Texas is 14.31 with a median of 14.

The average number of cautions at Texas is 4.48 with a median of four. The average number of caution laps is 35.379 with a median of 32.

Possible Milestones:
If Scott Dixon finishes on the podium it will be his 100th podium finishes and put him in a tie with Michael Andretti for third all-time.

Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead 145 laps to reach the 1,500 laps led milestone.

Simon Pagenaud needs to lead 91 laps to reach the 1,000 laps led milestone.

James Hinchcliffe needs to lead 89 laps to reach the 800 laps led milestone.

Takuma Sato needs to lead 33 laps to reach the 500 laps led milestone.

Graham Rahal needs to lead 26 laps to reach the 400 laps led milestone.

Predictions
Tony Kanaan stuns nobody and wins at Texas with another Chevrolet and one Honda on the podium. There will not be an accident that takes out more than five cars. There will be fewer lead changes than last year but more than a dozen. At least seven cars finish on the lead lap. At least two of the drivers in the top five of the championship finish outside the top fifteen. Spencer Pigot finishes in the top ten but behind Ed Carpenter. Only one rookie finishes in the top ten. The pole-sitter does not lead the most laps. Sleeper: Tony Kanaan.

Musings From the Weekend: The Unknown

Scott Dixon climbed another step forward in the history book, Ryan Hunter-Reay got off the snide but the most talked about thing from the IndyCar weekend in Detroit was a GM executive wrecking the pace car almost immediately after exiting the pit lane for the pace lap. In other news from Detroit, a few squirrels had a staring contest with death and lived to tell the tale. The Iberian Peninsula kept Italians from a joyous weekend at Mugello. Michael Shank is having a difficult time justifying not running two cars full-time in IMSA. DTM had a nightmare of a Sunday in Hungary. NASCAR had a pretty good race at Pocono. Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima led the Le Mans test day for Toyota. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.

The Unknown
Congratulations IndyCar fans! The divorce is final. ABC is gone. No more headaches from poor pre-race packages, no more hastily put together pre-race and post-race shows, no more catchphrases from Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear. It is time to move in with NBC. I hope you are ready and I hope you are prepared.

NBC Sports has been a great partner to IndyCar dating back to the days of Versus. It was an odd partnership and one that did not receive a lot of fanfare when it was first announced. The series became harder to find and it was a set back as many fans did not have the ability to follow the series. Nearly a decade later it is the place every IndyCar fan wanted to be. It just goes to show what a little bit of care can do.

The Versus days were promising but still rough because of how hidden IndyCar was within cable television. However, it was a year-by-year development that turned what is now NBC Sports' coverage of IndyCar into what it is today. The only remaining member of the original Versus broadcast team is Jon Beekhuis. The booth experienced a few shake-ups. The pit lane reporters experienced a few shake-ups. It took a few years to get it to click and get the right combination of people.

It is an odd deal. IndyCar has a new home but it has been living there for quite a while. All the pieces are in place for IndyCar. NBC Sports doesn't have to hire anybody. The booth is set, pit lane reporters are set and there are a few questions over who will fill auxiliary roles such as Indianapolis 500 broadcast host but that is a minor thing though for a major race. The full-time crew is set. It is a good thing but familiarity can get boring.

For a long time, majority of IndyCar fans have shared the displeasure with the ABC broadcast team but they are gone. The overused clichés are gone. IndyCar no longer has a disconnected booth of three minds working against one another. But just because IndyCar has a stable booth doesn't mean it will not be picked apart because that is what fans do. Even if it is something in its best form it is open for dissection and that can lead people to quickly get disenchanted with what they have and want something different because they think it is better.

Along with broadcasters, style is something to keep an eye on. NBC might want to try a few different things in the broadcast to keep it fresh and other NBC Sports personalities will likely be at some of the races, most notably the Indianapolis 500. For as big as the Indianapolis 500 is as a sporting event it has never been given that top tier broadcast we have come to expect in the 21st century. ABC had it stuck in the early-1990s. NBC is going to give it a modern take and while that sounds great I bet most IndyCar fans might not like what that will actually look like because it will go beyond the race. Let's say the race gets a two-hour pre-race show. That isn't going to be all about the drivers. It is going to talk about the Snake Pit and other cultural aspects of the race. Bob Costas and/or Mike Tirico will likely host that race. Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir might be there. The Today Show will likely be there. You may even get NASCAR personalities such as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Rutledge Wood at the race and all of a sudden the IndyCar bubble will feel infiltrated by outsiders and reject the attention it so badly craved for years.

I do not think IndyCar's fan base is ready for what is about to happen. Some are but knowing this fan base it may get a shock in 2019, especially when it comes to the Indianapolis 500 and worse of all, if all the glitz and glamour is spent on the Indianapolis 500 the moment we return to the normal pomp and circumstance for Belle Isle, Texas and every other race on the IndyCar schedule people will say NBC Sports is not committed to the series. IndyCar fans, like all motorsports fans, are fickle and nothing is ever good enough but I am hopefully the changes are not met with backlash because they will be good for the series.

Don't think the rough patches are behind IndyCar. There will still be conflicts. There will still be hard outs when a race is preceding another major sporting event on network. There will still likely be sessions on CNBC. NBC Sports is still a crowded neighborhood and everyone needs to be pleased. IndyCar isn't going to run the neighborhood. The series will take a backseat to events you might not agree with. It is part of sports broadcasting. There are many major events and NBC's time is scarce. IndyCar will not always be priority.

Just like how no one driver is going to lift IndyCar to the heavens the switch to full-time coverage on NBC Sports isn't going to be the magic solution to get IndyCar back into the national sports discussion. We are all hopeful it will benefit the series, increase ratings and make the series more desirable to sponsors and in turn help out teams currently on the grid while also attracting a few more to the series but none of those are a guarantee especially in these changing times when it comes to viewing habits.

For a decade we knew what IndyCar was getting into. Now we have reached a black tunnel and we have no choice but to enter not knowing what is inside.

Winners From the Weekend
You know about Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay but did you know...

Jorge Lorenzo won MotoGP's Italian Grand Prix from Mugello, his first victory with Ducati. Miguel Oliveira won the Moto2 race. Jorge Martin won the Moto3 race, his third victory of the season.

Martin Truex, Jr. won the NASCAR Cup race from Pocono. Kyle Busch won the Grand National Series race.

The #31 Cadillac of Felipe Nasr and Eric Curran won the IMSA race from Belle Isle. The #86 Acura of Katherine Legge and Mario Farnbacher won in GTD.

Paul di Resta and Marco Wittmann split the DTM races from the Hungaroring.

The #14 Emil Frey Lexus Racing Lexus of Albert Costa, Christian Klien and Marco Seefried won the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km.

Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has another night race as it reaches the midpoint of the season at Texas.
Formula One returns to Canada.
Switzerland has its first major motorsport race since 1954 with Formula E racing in the streets of Zürich.
NASCAR will be at Michigan.
World Superbike will be at Brno.
The World Rally Championship will be on the island of Sardinia.

First Impressions: Belle Isle 2018 Race Two

1. It was about damn time for Ryan Hunter-Reay to get a victory and he got it with hustle. He knew from tenth on the grid he had to use the three-stop strategy and yesterday it worked for him, only he didn't get the victory. He did it again and everything fell in place. He set fastest lap after fastest lap and avoided getting caught in slower traffic. He erased an eight-second gap to Rossi before you knew it and Hunter-Reay was going to win this race even before Rossi out-braked himself going into turn three.

Hunter-Reay showed what is capable when you use the three-stop strategy and after his performance the last two days and Simon Pagenaud at Sonoma last year you have to wonder if this could be the new norm. Forget trying to make as few stops as you can; go like hell and open the gap. When you start up front it makes sense to try and make as few stops as possible and I doubt we will see things change but wouldn't it make as much sense to just set qualifying lap after qualifying lap and open a gap to the rest of the field and make the field match your pace? I know the fear of a caution negating the strategy looms but we have seen in IndyCar the last few seasons not many cautions flip a race. They still happen but it seems not as much as they once did.

Today was a great race because multiple strategies worked and the alternate tires could not last. You would get a few good laps but within the halfway point of a stint a driver was dying to get new tires and that is what we want. Hunter-Reay and his crew knew how it could win this race today and sure enough it worked. 

I don't know if Hunter-Reay can be a championship contender. He seems to have thinks bite him out of nowhere and he hasn't been immune this season but through eight races he has a victory, three podium finishes and six top ten finishes. This is the best he has looked since 2012-2014. 

2. It wasn't a great day for Will Power, it wasn't a great weekend, but he finished second today and exits Belle Isle with the championship lead after it appeared he wasn't going to have that honor. These are the days championships are built on. Power kept the nose clean, ran his race and got the result. Power has developed into this driver where he isn't reaching for a result. Today wasn't going to be his day but he didn't chase it and over step the line. Another driver overstepping the line is what got Power the championship lead today.

3. This was a solid weekend for Ed Jones as he picked up his third career podium finish. He wasn't mentioned much today but he didn't fade after qualifying fourth. He held off Scott Dixon today. It hasn't been a great year for Jones. He has had plenty of poor results, some of his own making. Jones has done well on street circuits and he has finished in the top ten in all four street course races this season. He is going to have to transfer this success over to road courses and ovals soon if he wants to take that next step forward.

4. Fourth isn't a bad day for Scott Dixon but his 100th podium finish will have to wait at least another six days. Dixon is five points out of the championship lead and he is in prime position. His worst finish is 11th and that was because of something that was out of his control. He has seven top ten finishes this season. He is going to be in the hunt all summer. 

5. Graham Rahal recovered after an accident on Saturday to finish fifth today. He was quick once again but he wasn't close to Hunter-Reay and Rossi. The good news is you can afford one bad race but a second could be a much bigger blow to his championship hopes and he is going to need to start winning races.

6. Robert Wickens faded on the three-stop strategy. He started strong but he just lost a bit over the final two stints. It still got him a sixth place finish and he continues to runaway with Rookie of the Year, as he holds a 99-point gap over the next closest newbie. I think Wickens will win a race this season. He hasn't put a wheel wrong through eight races. 

7. Tony Kanaan went from 22nd to seventh and was barely mentioned. I am not sure how he did it other than he went to the three-stop strategy early but good for him. It is a shame he was out of qualifying before he could set a lap but I do not think he would have started better than 14th or 15th and starting this far back forced his strategy and it was probably beneficial for him in a crazy way.

8. Charlie Kimball went from 21st to eighth and was barely mentioned. The good thing is he didn't run into any one today. I am glad Kimball is getting Carlin's result even though they are not coming easy. The team is building and these results will go a long way.

9. Marco Andretti was quick at the start and made up quite a bit of ground early but the two-stop strategy might not have been the right choice for him considering he started behind Hunter-Reay. I think if he had done that he might have gotten into the top five. This has been a good season for Andretti and it was a respectable weekend.

10. Simon Pagenaud finished tenth and through eight races this season he does not have a top five finish, which is on to say and for some reason worrying to me. It doesn't seem right that Pagenaud has not had a good day this year. 

11. Shout out to Max Chilton who finished 11th today, his best finish of the season. He is still behind Ed Carpenter in the championship but it is baby steps with this new team. 

12. And now onto Alexander Rossi. He was a sitting duck and locked up the left front on two consecutive laps into turn three. The second time it not only cost him the lead but he rejoined in fourth but the tire blew and he had to stop. He was able to get 12th out of today. 

However, this is why team orders aren't a bad thing. Instead of being coy and saying "think big picture" the team has to be tough on the radio and lay it out for him by saying, "Hunter-Reay is nearly two seconds faster than you, on fresher tires and with less fuel. Let him got, sacrifice ten points but leave with 43 points and extend you championship lead." Tell him what is on the table. Don't bullshit him. Lose the battle but go for the war. Instead of sacrificing ten points he went coughed away 22 additional points and went from championship leader with a 16-point lead to third in the championship and trailing by 11 points. 

He is still solidly in the conversation but the IndyCar season is a quick one and when you have a shot to extend the championship lead you better make you execute. Power and Dixon aren't going to cough up 22 points. Rossi now has to work from behind. 

13. Zach Veach did well but really settled into the mid-pack and finished 13th and kind of gave Rossi 12th on the final lap. Matheus Leist had another good day, finished 14th and on the lead lap but I want to see if Leist can have a great day and he hasn't seemed close to it yet. 

14. Josef Newgarden just didn't have things go his way today. This is the first time I remember him have a rough day from start to finish with Team Penske. He will bounce back but it was an uncharacteristic day for him. 

15. Quickly through the rest of the field: James Hinchcliffe was not heard from the entire race. Neither was Takuma Sato. Jordan King finished 18th. Gabby Chaves continues to struggle but not struggle. It is weird. I don't have high expectations for a single-car team in year one but Chaves hasn't had even one inspiring day yet this season. Santino Ferrucci coughed up a possible top ten finish when he spun on cold tires exiting the pit lane but good on him for keeping the car running and nursing it home with a front wing dragging along. I like what I saw from Ferrucci even though the results weren't there. Sébastien Bourdais was going to finish in the top ten and maybe the top five had he not spun in turn one after a suspension issue with his left rear. René Binder's car broke on him after the pace car crashed and he finished four laps down. Spencer Pigot spun on his own on lap one, broke his suspension and he could never recover.

16. Let's get the pace car crash out of the way because it was ridiculous. It wasn't IndyCar's fault either. It was bad enough that Mark Reuss, Executive Vice President of Global Production Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain for General Motors spun the car literally 100 yards after exiting the pit lane for the first pace lap. It is even worse Chevrolet released a statement saying it was because of track conditions and weather! No, you bozo, you were too damn cocky with the gas pedal in a Corvette. At least IndyCar will get on SportsCenter. It takes wrecking the pace car and James Hinchcliffe pissing himself, not Ryan Hunter-Reay running qualifying laps for an hour and a half.

17. I want to give IndyCar kudos for letting this race play out when Ferrucci and Bourdais spun. In previous years I think we would have seen a caution and this race get jumbled up and strategies negated. There were two incidents, race control let the driver try and correct it because not many other drivers were endangered and the race was able to continue undisrupted and that is what we should want. We should want green flag racing and speed decide the race.

18. I am not going to shit on ABC as it heads out the door. I will say I was a bit sad with how the broadcast ended. ABC was IndyCar's home for decades and all we got was a quick goodbye, a simple "This is it for us." I hoped we would have had a passionate goodbye because a lot of great IndyCar moments happened on ABC and ESPN. So much of what we love and cherish is because of ABC and ESPN. Paul Page, Bobby Unser, Bob Jenkins, Delta Force, Side-by-Side, different on-board angles and other race introductions. ABC gave IndyCar its first prime time network broadcast! It wasn't pretty, especially at the end but ABC did a lot for IndyCar. 

I guess you could say ABC said goodbye at the Indianapolis 500 with the feature narrated by Paul Page and in some ways that sums up ABC's relationship with IndyCar: It was all about the Indianapolis 500. And that is a shame because a lot of great IndyCar moments haven't occurred in the Indianapolis 500 and in some ways glossing over those and only focusing on what happened each Memorial Day weekend has held the series back. 

My hope is this new voyage for IndyCar will allow the entire series, every race and championship battle to get the exposure it deserves as well as what happens in that great race that is oh so far away from occurring again. 

19. On to Texas and it will be interesting to see if Chevrolet's big oval advantage carries over or if Honda's lack of pace was only at Indianapolis. It will also be interesting to see how the racing differs from last year and the early years of the DW12-era.

Morning Warm-Up: Belle Isle 2018 Race Two

Can Scott Dixon make history for a second consecutive day?

Scott Dixon heads into the second race of the Belle Isle in Michael Andretti's pocket. The New Zealander tied the second-generation driver in IndyCar victories yesterday when Dixon led 39 laps on his way to his 42nd victory. While Dixon could move into sole possession of third all-time in victories today, he could equal Michael Andretti for fourth-most podium finishes in IndyCar history as Dixon sits on 99 career podium finishes. Dixon has swept a doubleheader before. He won both races at Toronto in 2013. Dixon has three consecutive podium finishes and it is the first time he has three consecutive podium finishes since he won three consecutive races in 2013 at Pocono and the Toronto doubleheader. He has not had four consecutive podium finishes since he finished on the podium in the final two races of 2011 and first two races of 2012.

While Dixon is looking to breath thinner air, Ryan Hunter-Reay has been stuck on 16 career victories for nearly three years. Since he last stood on the top step of the podium, Hunter-Reay has nine podium finishes, four on natural-terrain road courses, three on street courses and two on ovals. Yesterday was Hunter-Reay's third runner-up finish since he last won at Pocono in 2015. Hunter-Reay has led a lap in five races this season but yesterday's seven laps led were the most he has led in a race this season. Alexander Rossi made it two Andretti Autosport cars on the podium and he has taken the championship lead with 276 points. He has four podium finishes, six top five finishes and his worst finish through seven races is 11th. Rossi holds a four-point lead over Dixon heading into race two. Marco Andretti picked up his best finish of the season yesterday when he finished fourth after he started on pole position and led 19 laps. It was the first time Andretti finished in the top five after starting on pole position.

Takuma Sato finished fifth in race one and it is his second consecutive top five finish at Belle Isle and fourth consecutive top ten finish. Sato has not had consecutive top five finishes since he won at Long Beach in 2013 and finished second in the following race in São Paulo. He has finished in the top ten in three consecutive Sunday races at Belle Isle. Ed Jones was sixth on Saturday and it was his eighth career top ten finish. Five of Jones' eight top ten finishes have come on street courses. Jones jumped from 18th to 13th in the championship after yesterday's result. Will Power finished seventh after starting sixth, ending a streak of seven consecutive races starting in the top three. Power has finished in the top five of four consecutive Sunday races at Belle Isle and he has three podium finishes in that time frame. Robert Wickens picked up another top ten finish as the Canadian rookie has five top ten finishes from seven career starts.

Josef Newgarden was ninth on Saturday and he dropped to fourth in the championship but he is only 11 points out of the championship lead. Yesterday's ninth place finish was Newgarden's worst street course result since he joined Team Penske last season. If Newgarden does not finish on the podium in this race it will be his third consecutive race without a podium finish and match his longest drought since joining Team Penske. Spencer Pigot rounded out the top ten yesterday and he will be looking for consecutive top ten finishes for the first time in his career. He has three top finishes on road courses and three top ten finishes on street courses. James Hinchcliffe missed out on a top ten finish yesterday in 11th and it was the fifth time in six Belle Isle starts with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports he did not finish in the top ten. Zach Veach was 12th in his first Belle Isle start. Veach is the only rookie to be running at the finish of every race this season.

Sébastien Bourdais had led a lap in every race this season prior to yesterday when the best the Frenchman could manage was 13th. It was the third time Bourdais finished 13th this season. Prior to the 2018 season, Bourdais had finished 13th three times in his prior 171 starts. Tony Kanaan's 350th start saw him finish 14th in the #14 Chevrolet. Kanaan has finished 14th twice this season after not having finished 14th since Iowa in 2009. Matheus Leist followed up his teammate in 15th in what was the Brazilian's fifth consecutive lead lap finish and he has finished in the top fifteen in four of the last five races. Jordan King finished 16th in race one and it was King's second-best finish of his career and his second career lead lap finish. Simon Pagenaud's 17th place finish yesterday means the Frenchman has not had a top five finish in the first seven races of the season for the first time in his career and it currently matches his career longest drought without a top five finish.

Gabby Chaves has not finished better than 14th this season but he has finished every race and he has completed 877 of 882 laps. Since starting eighth at the season opener at St. Petersburg, Chaves' best starting position has been 19th. Charlie Kimball has dropped to 20th in the championship and his average starting position this season is 20th. Max Chilton finished 20th yesterday after starting tenth. It was his first top ten starting position since Pocono last year and he has not finished in the top ten since last year at Watkins Glen. René Binder finished 21st yesterday, three laps down. Santino Ferrucci and Graham Rahal will look to rebound after accidents both end their respective days early. Yesterday was the first time Rahal was classified outside the top twenty since Phoenix last year. Rahal has led a lap in three consecutive races.

Rain is forecasted for tomorrow with a 90% chance of precipitation. However, the rain is forecasted for 9:00 a.m. ET to 1:00 p.m. ET. Qualifying is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. ET and an update will be provided after that session.

ABC's coverage of race two of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit begins at 3:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 70 laps.

Qualifying Update
Alexander Rossi picked up his second pole position of the season with a lap of 93.3143 seconds in what was a wet qualifying session for the second race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit. Rossi is the first repeat pole winner this season. He won from pole position at Long Beach in April and he led 71 of 85 laps in that race. Rossi took the championship lead yesterday with a third place finish in race one. Rossi has four podium finishes this season, matching his career total prior to the start of the 2018 season. Robert Wickens joins Rossi on the front row and it is Wickens third career front row start. Wickens has started in the top ten in seven races this season. He enters with four consecutive top ten finishes. Yesterday's race was won from second on the grid and since Belle Isle became a doubleheader in 2013 the same starting position has not produced the winner in both races.

Will Power is the top Chevrolet on grid and he will roll off from third position after qualifying 0.5152 seconds behind Rossi. Power has started in the top three in seven of eight races and he won from third on the grid in the Indianapolis 500 last week. Next to Power is Ed Jones, who will start fourth, a career-best starting position for the Emirati driver. It is only the second top ten start for Jones in his career. He started eighth at Iowa last season. Scott Dixon will have to try and sweep the weekend from fifth on the grid. Dixon has won from fifth position four times in his career. He did it at Sonoma in 2007, Nashville in 2008, the first Toronto race in 2013 and Road America in 2017. James Hinchcliffe joins Dixon on row six. Hinchcliffe has started in the top ten for every race he has qualified for this season.

Zach Veach gets his first career top ten starting position, as the Ohioan will roll off from seventh position. His previously career-best starting position was 11th at Barber. Simon Pagenaud will start next to Veach on row four. Pagenaud has never won an IndyCar race from outside the first three rows of the grid and the furthest back he has won from was sixth in the second Belle Isle race in 2013, his first career victory. Graham Rahal will start ninth, his third top ten start of the season. Rahal's first career victory came from ninth on the grid at St. Petersburg in 2008. Ryan Hunter-Reay rounds out the top ten. Hunter-Reay has won once from tenth on the grid, that was at Baltimore in 2012. Jordan King and Marco Andretti will start on row six.

Santino Ferrucci will start the second race of his IndyCar career from 13th, next to Gabby Chaves. This is only the second time Chaves has started in the top fifteen this season. Spencer Pigot and Sébastien Bourdais will be on row eight. Pigot has finished 15th in four of seven races this season. Bourdais' last four victories have come from starting positions outside the top ten. Max Chilton will start 17th with Matheus Leist in 18th.

Josef Newgarden ended up in the tire barrier and caused a red flag to end the qualifying session. He lost his fastest two laps and will be forced to start from row ten next to Takuma Sato. The furthest back a Belle Isle winner has started was 20th when Carlos Muñoz won the rain-shortened first race of the 2015 doubleheader. Charlie Kimball starts 21st. It is Kimball's sixth time starting outside the top twenty this season. Tony Kanaan caused a red flag before ever setting a lap and he will start 22nd. René Binder did not participate in his qualifying group and he will start 23rd for the second consecutive race.

ABC's coverage of race two of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit begins at 3:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 70 laps.

First Impressions: Belle Isle 2018 Race One

1. Nobody was really that concern about Scott Dixon, were they? Winless through the first six races, had not led a lap through the first six races, he had done that before and still ended the season as champion. That is the amazing thing about Scott Dixon. There is very little he hasn't done. He won from 22nd at Mid-Ohio. If he can do that then there is no reason to have any concerns when he sits fourth in the championship despite a lack of victories. Dixon finds away to the top and today was the same.

From the moment he settled into second behind Marco Andretti at the start I knew he was going to win this race. He didn't fall much more than a second and a quarter behind Andretti and at that point he was stalking his prey. He knew he could go a lap longer than Andretti, run a faster in-lap than Andretti, run a faster out-lap than Andretti and on top of it have a faster pit stop than Andretti and that point it was game over and sure enough Dixon came out ahead of Andretti and pulled away.

Now Dixon is tied with Andretti's father for third all-time on 42 victories. He has 99 podium finishes, one behind Michael Andretti for third all-time. A week after we started taking Will Power into serious consideration for best driver of this generation Dixon reminded us he is still kicking (Though I am sure there is a certain Scotsman quietly chuckling in the dark corner of the room).

2. Ryan Hunter-Reay had another impressive day and once again it wasn't enough and it wasn't Hunter-Reay's fault. He had played the three-stop strategy to perfection and got out ahead of his teammates Andretti and Alexander Rossi, both on the two-stop strategy after Hunter-Reay had made his second stop. He was flying and got caught behind Graham Rahal on the alternate tires and the lapped car of Simon Pagenaud (you don't say that often). Unfortunately for Hunter-Reay and I think all of his the local yellow for René Binder's stalled car in the turn seven run-off forced everyone's hand and he couldn't run the three-stop strategy the way he would have had that threat of a full-course yellow not been looming.

I would have loved to see this race stay green and see if Hunter-Reay could make that third stop and then chase down Dixon because I think he could have done it. Unfortunately, when everything was neutralized Hunter-Reay could keep up with Dixon but could not surpass him. He is knocking on the door. He has been knocking on the door. This is his ninth podium finish since his most recent victory at Pocono in 2015. How much closer can he get?

3. With a third place finish, his fourth podium finish of the season, Alexander Rossi will be the championship lead for at least 22 hours before the start of race two from Belle Isle and Rossi flat out deserves it. He has been the best driver this season and he could have opened the season with three consecutive victories. The problem is he didn't do that and he has one victory, a four-point championship lead heading into tomorrow and he needs to start converting these great races and great cars into victories. Dixon likely isn't done this season winning races. Will Power likely isn't done this season winning races. Josef Newgarden likely isn't done this season winning races. The championship lead gives Rossi has a head start on the second half of the season. Now is the time for Rossi to take it and run away from those three championship-caliber drivers.

4. A solid day for Marco Andretti and I am sure he is a bit upset he did not turn his pole position into a victory and is probably a bit peeved he lost the podium late to his teammate but fourth is a really good showing and he honestly had probably the fourth or fifth best car today. He didn't luck into this. He didn't make a timely pit stop and just happened to be at the front with the leaders. This was a solid performance start-to-finish for Andretti. Are there things he could have done better? Yeah, probably. Was a bit off from the top three finishers? Yeah, those guys were hooked up but this is a great spot to build off of from tomorrow.

5. Who had Takuma Sato finishing fifth? He was quiet all day but after his teammate Graham Rahal unfortunately clipped the curbs and slammed into the wall exiting turn 12, Sato was there and he made a few bold moves to get into the top five.

6. Ed Jones had the cautions benefit him but he was in the top ten for a good part of this day. He still has some work to do this season and tomorrow is a great opportunity for him.

7. From Indianapolis 500 winner and championship leader to seventh at Belle Isle and down to third in the championship but only seven points behind Rossi. None of the Chevrolets were close today. Power was the best of the Chevrolets all race and at no point did I think Will Power was going to finish in the top five let alone win this race.

8. Robert Wickens did not have a good second stint and he lost a fair bit of time. The good news is he made that ground up and still finished eighth. I think he will be happy with what he gets and he now has five top ten finishes through seven races in his IndyCar career. He is sixth in the championship and 86 points clear of the next closest rookie. This is a fine result for Wickens.

9. Josef Newgarden was one of the first to go to the three-stop strategy and it worked a bit. If the race had stayed green I think he would have done better than ninth. He had a good run but he wasn't going to be able to take the three-stop strategy and have it work to his favor the way Hunter-Reay did. But, a top ten finish is a top ten finish and he is fourth in the championship, 11 points behind Rossi. You see why it is crucial Rossi starts winning races? The top four are covered by nothing and come tomorrow Newgarden could be leading the championship and Rossi could be down to fourth.

10. Spencer Pigot gets his first top ten finish in 364 days and boy did he deserve it. He was keeping up with Wickens and Newgarden in this one. Ed Carpenter Racing needed this result today and the good news for Pigot is he is now three points ahead of his team owner in the championship despite running five more races than Carpenter! It is a good day but Pigot needs more days like these and more for the rest of the season.

11. James Hinchcliffe finished 11th and that seems about right for him today. He was on the edge of the top ten but other than Jones I am not sure Hinchcliffe should have finished ahead of any of the other cars in the top ten. This is the start of the rebuild after last month.

12. Zach Veach had a mid-pack car all race and he finished 12th. Most years for a rookie that would be great and it is still good for Veach because he was running with some veterans and holding them off but everything Veach does this season is squished by Wickens.

13. Quickly through the rest of the field. Sébastien Bourdais just didn't have it today and finished 13th. Tony Kanaan made some good moves but that Binder caution caught him out and instead of maybe pulling off a top ten finish in his 350th start, he finished 14th ahead of his teammate Matheus Leist, who I do not think was mentioned once on the broadcast. Jordan King was at the back all day. Simon Pagenaud got the strategy wrong today and he seems to have at least one off day at Belle Isle but always seems to have a good day cancel it out. Gabby Chaves was quiet and finished 18th.

14. Let's talk Carlin because this was a promising day with Max Chilton starting tenth but he was down to 18th within the first five laps in this one. Charlie Kimball looked good and I don't think he would have finished in the top ten but maybe he could have finished 12th. He got caught out by the Binder caution and then ran into the back of Kimball. I like Kimball. He is a fan-friendly driver and signs a ton of autographs and at the racetrack fans gravity toward him but boy does he make it easy to dislike him. He flat ran into the back of Santino Ferrucci today. Kimball is the villain perfect for IndyCar but unfortunately for IndyCar Kimball isn't competing for race victories. He is a mid-pack driver and that is ok. Somebody has to be a mid-pack driver but when you are a mid-pack driver and irk as many people as Kimball does, you are not a villain, you are a pest. If he was winning races or constantly at the front he would be the Draymond Green of IndyCar but instead he is the Lance Stephenson of the series.

15. Let's talk René Binder because I think it is important we talk about IndyCar standards. IndyCar has been fortunate during the DW12-era not to have many if any drivers that are ridiculously off pace and a hazard to other drivers on track. The 105%-rule has kind of been forgotten in recent years as we don't have Milka Duno and Marty Roth on the entry list nor do we have Lotus entries that are woefully behind in terms of development. But Binder was not within 105% of the fastest time on Friday and he was not within 105% of the pole position time today and he still raced.

Binder hasn't been a hazard. He hasn't been foolish. Has he made mistakes? Yes but he hasn't put other drivers in jeopardy or been erratic when cars on the lead lap are passing him. He has given lead lap cars courtesy, which is something Duno and Roth were not known for. However, what is the point of having the 105%-rule if it is not going to be enforced? He might have been smart with his driving but he is not within the standard set.

I understand Juncos Racing is piecing together a season and hopes to be full-time soon and I understand Binder brings money and he will be in the car for two races after this but there has to be line drawn. It is nothing against Juncos Racing and it is nothing against Binder. I have no problem with Binder bringing money and he should be on the grid but Binder should be on the grid if he meets the performance standard set.

Telling Juncos Racing its car cannot compete because Binder was a few tenths outside of 105% is hard but the series needs to hold itself to a certain standard. Binder will be back for tomorrow and two races later this season. Just because he was not within 105% today doesn't mean he will not be within 105% tomorrow nor does it mean he will not be within 105% at Toronto and Mid-Ohio. However, I think the performance standard should be enforced and it is unfortunate if a driver doesn't meet it but life isn't fair.

16. I want to talk about the two drivers that had accidents. Santino Ferrucci did really well today. He wasn't going to finish in the top ten but he was keeping up with his teammate Sébastien Bourdais and likely would have had a top fifteen finish. I was impressed. Graham Rahal might have been on the podium, if not he would have at least been in the top five had he not clipped the curbs. We do not see many accidents like that but Rahal was pushing it with a potential full-course caution pending for Binder and he had to make up as much ground as he could. Unfortunately, he ended up being the full-course caution.

17. Let's do it again tomorrow, though it appears rain is very likely. Let's see how those new Firestone wet weather tires perform.

Morning Warm-Up: Belle Isle 2018 Race One

Hunter-Reay tries to end drought in Detroit

After Chevrolet dominated the Indianapolis 500 and has won three consecutive races, Honda opened the Friday from the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit with the fastest three times on the day and nine of the top eleven. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the fastest overall at 76.3598 seconds. Hunter-Reay has started on the front row in the second Belle Isle race the last two years but he has only started in the top ten once for the first race of the Belle Isle doubleheader since the event expanded in 2013. The only 20 laps Hunter-Reay has led a Belle Isle all came in the first race of the 2013 doubleheader when Hunter-Reay started fourth and finished second to Mike Conway. Hunter-Reay has not won a pole position since Long Beach in 2014. In six career pole positions he has two victories, four top ten finishes and two finishes outside the top ten. Scott Dixon was second fastest on Friday, 0.0069 seconds behind Hunter-Reay. Dixon has started in the top ten in for six consecutive Belle Isle races. Dixon enters the weekend on 98 career podium finishes and if he were to finish on the podium in both races he would be the fourth driver in IndyCar history to have at least 100 podium finishes joining Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Michael Andretti and he would tie Michael Andretti for third all-time.

James Hinchcliffe was third fastest on Friday in his first on-track action after failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Hinchcliffe was 0.1241 seconds slower than Hunter-Reay. The Canadian could become the first driver to win the race following the Indianapolis 500 after failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 since Mike Nazaruk at Milwaukee in 1952. Josef Newgarden was the top Chevrolet on Friday as the defending champion was fourth fastest. Newgarden has three consecutive top five finishes at Belle Isle after having not picked up a top five finish in his first eight Belle Isle starts and his best finish being seventh. Marco Andretti rounded out the top five. Andretti has never started in the top five at Belle Isle with his best starting position being sixth in the 2007 race. Since Belle Isle returned to the schedule in 2012 Andretti has been running at the finish of every Belle Isle race. Graham Rahal was sixth quickest and Rahal looks for his third consecutive victory at Belle Isle. Rahal could tie Hélio Castroneves for most Belle Isle victories and he could be the first driver to win three consecutive victories at one track since Will Power at São Paulo from 2009-2011.

Simon Pagenaud was seventh fastest on Friday. Pagenaud has a great track record at Belle Isle with the Frenchman having finished on the lead lap in ten of 11 starts with the one exception being in the first race in 2014 when an accident ended his day after four laps. Despite his track record, Pagenaud has only scored consecutive top ten finishes once in his career at Belle Isle. Alexander Rossi followed Pagenaud on the timesheet. Rossi has finished on the lead lap in all four Belle Isle starts but he has only started in the top ten once and he has only led one lap. Robert Wickens was ninth on Friday ahead of fellow rookie Zach Veach, who made it perfect attendance for Andretti Autosport in the top ten. Wickens has been the top finishing rookie in four of six races this season with Veach being the top finisher in the other two, both being street course races and both being races where Wickens did not take the checkered flag.

Sébastien Bourdais was 11th fastest on the day but he did top the first Friday session. Despite having won twice at Belle Isle, Bourdais' best starting position at the track is seventh. He has three consecutive top five finishes at this track. Championship leader Will Power heads to Detroit looking for his third consecutive victory and the Australian was 12th quickest. Power is attempting to win three consecutive races for the third time in his career but it would be the first time he would win three consecutive races on each course type on the IndyCar schedule with his prior two victories having come on a road course and an oval. Takuma Sato found himself 13th fastest on Friday ahead of Carlin's Max Chilton. Since 2015, Sato has four top ten finishes at Belle Isle with his worst finish being 11th. In his five Belle Isle starts prior to 2015 Sato's best finish was 18th. In four Belle Isle starts Chilton has one lead lap finish and his best finish was 11th.

Tony Kanaan is on the verge of becoming the third driver in IndyCar history to make 350 starts but the Brazilian was 15th fastest on Friday. He has eight top ten finishes in 15 Belle Isle starts but he has not had a top five finish since the first race of the 2014 doubleheader and his best starting position at this track was fourth back in 2007, which coincidently is Kanaan's only street course victory. Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt are the only other drivers to have made 350 IndyCar starts. Foyt did it in 1990 on the Renaissance Center street circuit in Detroit and he finished 17th after retiring for broken suspension. The following year, Andretti made his 350th start at Portland and finished fifth from seventh on the grid.

Spencer Pigot was 16th quickest and through six races this season Pigot's finishes have been 15th, 14th, 15th, 15th, 15th and 20th. Saturday's race occurs 364 days after Pigot's most recent top ten finish, a tenth place finish in the first race of last year's Belle Isle doubleheader. Ed Jones was 17th fastest. His only two top ten finishes this season have been on the street course races with Jones picking up an eighth at St. Petersburg and third at Long Beach. Debutant Santino Ferrucci was 19th fastest on Friday but he was sixth at the end of the first session of the day. Ferrucci's debut comes two days after his 20th birthday. Last year, Dale Coyne Racing gave Esteban Gutiérrez his IndyCar debut at Belle Isle and he finished 19th and 14th. Gabby Chaves is making his first appearance at Belle Isle since 2016. Chaves' first career top ten finish and so far only top ten finish on a street course came at Belle Isle when he finished ninth in the second race in 2015. Charlie Kimball rounded out the top twenty. After picking up four top ten finishes in his first five Belle Isle starts with an average finish of 8.2, Kimball has only two top ten finishes in his last six Belle Isle starts with an average finish of 14.333.

Matheus Leist was 21st fastest on Friday in what is his first Belle Isle appearance. After a rough start to his IndyCar career with two consecutive retirements to start the season Leist has finished on the lead lap in four consecutive races. Jordan King was 22nd fastest after his second practice session was cut short after a hard accident. King has had an accident in all five race weekends he has been a part of but he has started in the top five twice this season. René Binder was the slowest on Friday and he was not within the 105% of Hunter-Reay's fastest time of the day. The 105% limit of Hunter-Reay's lap is 80.17779 seconds and Binder's best time was 0.27991 seconds slower than that time.

Through the first six races of the season, there have been six different pole winners representing five different teams. An update will be provided after the qualifying session scheduled for 10:55 a.m. ET.

ABC's coverage of the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 70 laps.

Qualifying Update
Marco Andretti picked up his first pole position since 2013 and his first career street course pole position with a lap of 74.8514 seconds. Andretti was the fastest car in his qualifying group by 0.4753 seconds. Andretti has one podium finish at Belle Isle, a second in the first race of the 2015 doubleheader. He has not led at this track since he led 23 laps that day before finishing second to teammate Carlos Muñoz. Scott Dixon joins Andretti on the front row after Dixon was the fastest car in group one of qualifying. It is Dixon's first front row start at Belle Isle since he won pole position in 2012.

Robert Wickens will start third after finishing second in group two's qualifying session. Wickens has started in the top three in four of seven races this season. Alexander Rossi sits next to Wickens on row two. This matches Rossi's best starting position at Belle Isle. He started fourth in the first race last year and finished fifth that day. Will Power was the top Chevrolet in qualifying in sixth. This is the fifth consecutive Belle Isle race where Power has started outside the top five.

Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal make it an all-Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing row four. This is the first time Sato has started in the top ten since he started fifth at St. Petersburg and this is Rahal's first top ten start since he started fifth at Long Beach. Rahal is the only driver to finish in the top ten in all six races this season. James Hinchcliffe's IndyCar return has him ninth on the grid, his seventh top ten start in ten Belle Isle races but he has only three top ten finishes at the track. Max Chilton rounds out the top ten in what is Carlin's first top ten start in an IndyCar race. This is Chilton's first top ten start since last year at Pocono. Ed Jones and Spencer Pigot start on row six with Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden making it an all-Penske row seven.

Tony Kanaan's 350th start will come from 15th on the grid with rookie Zach Veach next to him in 16th. Sébastien Bourdais and Santino Ferrucci will start on an all-Dale Coyne Racing row nine. This is Bourdais' worst starting position of the season. Gabby Chaves and Jordan King will start on row ten with Matheus Leist and Charlie Kimball on row eleven. René Binder was the slowest qualifier and will start 23rd, however, Binder was not within 105% of Andretti's pole position lap and he could be disallowed from participating in today's race, as he is not within compliance with rule 7.9.1.

ABC's coverage of the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 70 laps.