Tony Kanaan not worried over slow start with Ganassi - MotorSportsTalk

Tony Kanaan’s first two races for Target Chip Ganassi Racing could have gone better, but the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion isn’t perturbed.

Kanaan overcame a fuel mixture issue to finish sixth in the season opener at St. Petersburg, but was one of several drivers collected in a multi-car crash at Long Beach.

As a result, the Brazilian sits 11th early on in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship, which makes its third stop of the season this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park (Sun., 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra).

Last night on Indianapolis’ 1070 The Fan, Kanaan told Indianapolis Star writer Curt Cavin that the slow start to 2014 isn’t because he’s still acclimating to the Ganassi camp.

“I’m not gonna sit here and say ‘Oh, I need to get used to the team, I need to learn this or learn that,'” he said on “Trackside.” “It’s just the series is extremely competitive – and when I signed up for this deal, I knew it was not going to be easy.

“If anybody thought we were gonna win every race, that’s not the case. That’s not gonna happen. [That mindset is] not counting the good guys we have against us right now.

“I’m not where I want to be in the championship right now to be honest with you, but the good thing is we have a race this weekend and we can change that.”

Still, Kanaan figured that he and the rest of the field will likely have to go through IndyCar points leader Will Power and his own TCGR teammate, Scott Dixon, at Barber.

The Aussie and the Kiwi are perennially strong in Alabama. Power has two wins at Barber (2011, 2012), while Dixon has claimed four consecutive runner-up finishes there.

Facing such stiff competition, Kanaan acknowledged that he needed to step it up in the weeks ahead, which also include the series’ first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and then preparations for the Indianapolis 500.

“To be honest, I think we definitely have to do a better job,” he said. “That’s why I’m here [in Indy] this week, working with the team.

“It won’t be the first time that we have to turn our situation around. I actually work better under pressure.”

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The NTT IndyCar Series will return to the Motor City for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix but with start times in a new location for 2023.

After a 30-year run on Belle Isle, the Detroit GP has moved a few miles south to the streets of downtown on a new nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit that runs along the Detroit River.

It’s the first time single-seater open-cockpit cars have raced on the streets of Detroit since a CART event on a 2.5-mile downtown layout from 1989-91. Formula One also raced in Detroit from 1982-88.

The reimagined Detroit Grand Prix also will play host to nightly concerts and bring in venders from across the region. Roger Penske predicts the new downtown locale will be bigger for Detroit than when the city played host to the 2006 Super Bowl.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend (all times are ET):

CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX INDYCAR START TIMES

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kevin Lee are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying.

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after Sunday’s race ends.

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 3:23 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 3:30 p.m. ET

PRACTICE: Friday, 3 p.m. (Peacock Premium); Saturday, 9:05 a.m. (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 10 a.m. (Peacock Premium)

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Combined

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 1:20 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Alex Palou captured the first street course pole of his IndyCar career; click here for where everyone will begin Sunday’s race

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 100 laps (170 miles) on a nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street course in downtown Detroit.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Rookie drivers are allowed one extra primary set for the first practice.

PUSH TO PASS: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation (Indy NXT: 150 seconds total, 15 seconds per). The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain.

ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 27 drivers racing Sunday at Detroit

INDY NXT RACES: Saturday, 12:05 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 12:50 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 19 drivers racing at Detroit