IndyCar: Power paces first Auto Club practice - MotorSportsTalk

FONTANA, Calif. – Team Penske teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves led the opening 75-minute practice session for the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway. Both drivers did qualifying simulations north of 221mph to go 1-2 in the field at the Verizon IndyCar Series season finale.

Power’s best practice lap of 221.389 mph and Castroneves’ 221.354 both eclipsed the 2013 pole speed of 220.775 mph, set by Power.

Those two led a Chevrolet top-six in the session. Ed Carpenter, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball were next, with Mikhail Aleshin the best Honda, P7 in the No. 7 SMP Racing Honda at 218.544 mph.

Just before the one-hour mark in the session, a yellow flag flew for a long track inspection (11 minutes, 15 seconds). The session went back to green with 15 minutes to go. Otherwise there were no incidents.

Simon Pagenaud only posted the 12th best overall speed (218.306 mph) but had the best five-lap average in the field at 214.88, ahead of Josef Newgarden, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Saavedra and Justin Wilson. Bourdais also has the best 10-lap average at 213.71 mph.

Here’s your times:

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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, 1.7-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)

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

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 100 laps (170 miles) on a nine-turn, 1.7-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