Chaos and Emotions

This weekend the NTT IndyCar series raced on the streets of Detroit in the Detroit Grand Prix. Some drivers were competitively pushing there cars during practice and qualifying, while some were rubbing the walls and crashing. There was one driver in particular who was causing a bit of drama on and off the racing surface. Santino Ferucci has been a hot topic this year, maybe you can say for his aggressive driving style.

This weekend Romain Grosjean, Kyle Kirkwood, Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, and Helio Castroneves have had a run in with Ferucci. The conflict between Kirkwood and Ferucci was even handsy! The two later texted eachother Saturday night talking about their issues and the situation and put the differences to the side. Indycar has a huge following and some fans have taken the driver (Ferucci) to Indycar's Instagram saying "He needs to be parked." and "He needs to be suspended and or dropped." There is still a lot more to be explained which will be at a later date.

Moving on to the drop of the green flag of the Detroit GP, we all know in racing that cautions breed cautions. Who knew we would see a total of 8 cautions? A total of 47 laps under yellow. That's almost half of the 100 lap race! The start of the race had a 7 car pileup. Will Power spun on Lap 1 and would ultimately spin later in the race. Turn 3 was a problem for a lot of the race with drivers diving in to block and getting turned. Christian Rasmussen suffered a failing engine causing him to retire from the race. Rosenqvist and Vautier among the 7 drivers that needed to pit due to punctured tires. Alex Palou fought his car very early in the race which showed as he went from P2-P8 in a single lap. The reasoning was the team thought it was a good strategy to start off on used alternate tires because they have already been worn in but that was not the case. Palou later would crash into Newgarden both causing a FCY in the infamous Turn 3. Ferucci was given a drive through penalty for an avoidable crash causing Kyffin Simpson and Helio Castroneves to crash into eachother.

Scott Dixon was in mid pack for about half of the race and then started charging towards the front past halfway. He started tire saving and fuel saving which we all know he is the king of fuel saving strategies. Dixon won the caution filled raced and is already focusing on Road America next week June 9. Scott Dixon has taken over the Championship points standings by 18 points.

Louis Foster Dominates at Detroit Grand Prix

Louis Foster was fast all weekend long here in Detroit, Michigan. Foster qualified P1 for Sundays race. At the drop of the green flag there was an issues going on Nolan Siegel. Siegel did not start the race until lap four suffering a half shaft issue which caused it to be replaced. With Foster already getting comfortable and being in a reserved status, the first FCY (full course yellow) happened on lap four with Bryce Aron hard into the wall ending his day early.

As racing continues and the track goes back to green flag conditions Ricardo Escotto (R) receives a blocking penalty from Race Control and would have to give up three positions. As this happens Jack Miller is making moves to make his way up the leaderboard charging from P8 to P6 with a fierce defensive battle with Callum Hedge (R). Miller was having a great drive playing defense and overruns the turn and is in the track runoff.

Jacob Abel started the race P2 and was trying to maintain the position but was playing defense with Michael D'Orlando (R). The drivers were heading into Turn 3 and they run wide and Abel makes contact causing D'Orlando to spin and Abel makes contact with the front wing with his left rear. Abel did not result any damage from this incident but D'Orlando had a broken wing that was hanging on for the remainder of the race. As this plays out, this incident allows Hedge and Chadwick to gain ground on Abel.

One driver that has been reserved all day has been Caio Collet. He played defense a lot of the race and tried to push ahead when needed to, but still resulted in a P2 finish. Around lap twenty-five issues aroused from driver to driver. Lindsay Brewer had to head into her pit due to shifting issues, and Jack Miller heading into the runoff area again resulting in a FCY.

Things started to get tense after this FCY and drivers started pushing a lot more harder and trying to gain positions. As the green flag drops heading into Turn 3 Jamie Chadwick and Yuven Sundaramoorthy make contact resulting in a broken front wing for Yuven and a right rear flat for Chadwick. With all this going on, fierce driving and blocking was taking place. Escotto was given a drive through penalty for blocking. His team was radioing him to "Box this lap." Escotto was still racing very hard and passed the pit lane entrance twice! Race Control then intervened and disqualified Escotto ending his day early. Ricardo later interviewed said "I didn't have any radio..."

With three to go, a massive pileup of James Roe, Niels Koolen (R), Nolan Allaer (R), and Christian Bogle happens bringing out the last and final FCY. The race was 45 laps or 55 minutes. Unfortunately due to the last FCY drivers were finishing the race under yellow flag conditions. The top 10 finishing drivers were P1 Foster, P2 Collet, P3 Hedge, P4 Rowe, P5 Abel, P6 Gold, P7 De Alba Jr, P8 Pierson, P9 Browne, P10 D'Orlando.

USF2000 Driver Interview: Ayrton Houk

MD: After your first race of the USF2000 series what are your thoughts on the level of competition throughout the field?

AH: After my first event with the USF Pro Championships presented by Continental Tire, I was very happy with our results and how the weekend went. Heading into the weekend we were shooting for a top ten and the ability to finish every session. We accomplished that goal for the most part, only missing out on 2 laps of race 2 due to a mechanical issue. The competition level in this series in unmatched in American open-wheel racing. This is the place to be to develop a skillset for victories as a driver moves up the ranks of racing.

MD: With St. Pete having been your first street course, what were your thoughts of St. Pete as a whole and what are you able to take away from the track that you can possibly take to other street courses or tracks?

AH: St. Pete was amazing, I had been to spectate many times before, but being a part of the show was a whole new experience for me! It was a great time and a ton of fun all around. The track was very technical and tight and really rewarded using every last inch up to the walls. I was able to gain a lot of confidence in the car throughout the weekend, and I look forward to pushing the boundaries of the car on a track that is more forgiving and really finding the limits of it.

MD: Obviously your goal this season is to get wins, podiums, and experience, what are some goals that you yourself have for the season.

AH: This season our goal is to finish every session and learn. We are looking at this season as development. My first time racing in a series like this and my first time at a lot of these tracks, I want to develop myself as a driver while also chasing results. A rookie of the year would be an amazing achievement to clinch as well.

MD: What track are you most excited about this year?

AH: I can't wait for the Oval! As you know, we met when I was just beginning my auto-racing career at an oval track. Having an oval championship under my belt and tons of experience turning left, I am stoked to get one of these USF cars around IRP!

You guys can follow Ayrton's racing journey online at Ayrton Houk Racing on Facebook! You can also check out usf2000.com to check out race results, points standings, and the schedule. Give him a like and follow and continue to watch his journey progress!