Kirkwood Dominates First Detroit Practice, Sets Fastest Lap Time
Kyle Kirkwood and the Andretti Global team showed grit and skill during the first practice for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. After a rough Indianapolis 500, Kirkwood’s run in Detroit really proved the team could bounce back.
Kirkwood clocked a blistering lap of 1m01.751s in the No. 27 Honda. He outpaced Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin by 0.279s in the No. 3 Chevy.
This session had its share of highlights, incidents, and some standout drives. Let’s dig into what went down.
Impressive Performance by Kyle Kirkwood
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Kirkwood really lit up the timing sheets in practice. Piloting the No. 27 Honda, he pulled off the fastest lap, leaving everyone else scrambling to catch up.
Given the team’s recent setbacks at Indy, this was a big deal. It’s the kind of comeback that makes you pay attention.
Top Contenders in the First Practice Session
Several drivers put on strong performances:
- Scott McLaughlin: Second place, 1m02.030s in the No. 3 Chevy.
- Will Power: Even after a weird on-track run-in with Kirkwood, he grabbed third with a 1m02.386s in the No. 12 Chevy.
- Josef Newgarden: Fourth, clocking a 1m02.445s in the No. 2 Chevy.
- Christian Lundgaard: Fifth in the No. 7 Chevy, 1m02.605s.
- Colton Herta: Rounded out the top six, No. 26 Honda, 1m02.614s.
On-Track Drama and Incidents
Of course, it wouldn’t be a street course practice without some drama. One of the biggest talking points? Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood’s clash.
Power drove into the back of Kirkwood’s car and kept pushing him through a few corners, messing up Kirkwood’s underwing and diffuser. Kirkwood wasn’t thrilled—who would be?
Responses from the Drivers
Kirkwood stayed pretty level-headed about it. He said, *Everyone’s going slow around here; the track’s not big enough to fit all the cars, and he got frustrated. I mean, whatever, I guess. Does it give him the right to push my car through a couple corners and almost cause a wreck? I don’t think so.*
Power, on the other hand, seemed to laugh it off. He explained, *I came around and he slowed up in the middle and made contact. So I thought, ‘Well, I may as well get a gap now’ so I just pushed him past the car in front, just moved him out of the way and got a really nice gap.*
Practice Session Breakdown
The session split into two parts. First, a 40-minute full-field run where teams did installation checks and exploratory laps.
After that, there was a shorter 10-minute segment with 13 of the 27 drivers on track. Not exactly your typical routine, but it kept things interesting.
Key Moments from the Session
Plenty happened during that first part. Drivers shuffled at the top of the leaderboard as the track evolved:
- Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson: Got their laps in during the early installation phase.
- Sting Ray Robb: Brought out the first red flag after finding the Turn 1 tire barriers.
- Rinus VeeKay: Sat fastest midway through with a 1m03.493s.
- Alex Palou: Jumped ahead with a 1m03.038s with 17 minutes left.
- David Malukas: Ended up topping the session with a 1m02.812s.
Final Standings and Observations
When the dust settled, David Malukas led the pack. Marcus Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, and Christian Lundgaard filled out the rest of the top six.
Despite a handful of brake lockups, spins, and minor bumps, the session stayed pretty clean by Detroit standards. Not bad for a Friday.
Looking Ahead
The next practice session kicks off Saturday morning at 9 am ET on FOX Sports 1. Fans are probably wondering if Kirkwood and the Andretti Global crew can keep their momentum going.
There’s also the question of whether officials will hand out any penalties for those on-track incidents.
If you’re after more details on the practice session, check out the full article on RACER.
