Kyle Kirkwood nearly secured the NTT P1 Award for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, but a costly error during qualifying on Saturday relegated him to start third. Driving the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda, Kirkwood made contact with the wall at Turn 3, damaging his car and preventing him from claiming pole position despite setting the fastest lap time of 1 minute, 0.7312 seconds.
The incident occurred during the decisive Firestone Fast Six session and caused a broken toe link that disrupted his qualifying pace. Although his lap time was among the quickest on the 1.645-mile downtown Detroit street circuit, this mishap forced him to start the 100-lap race on the second row.
Kirkwood Reflects on Close Miss and Team Dynamics
Kyle Kirkwood expressed deep frustration over missing out on the pole by a narrow margin, acknowledging the disappointment openly.
I’ve never been more disappointed with a third in my life,
he said.
I know I threw away a pole, without a doubt.
Despite this setback, Kirkwood found some comfort knowing his teammate, Colton Herta, secured the NTT P1 Award in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, granting Andretti Global the front spot on the grid.
I’m glad one of us got it because it would have been very disappointing if none of us got it,
Kirkwood added, showing his team-first attitude despite personal frustration.
Kirkwood’s Strength on Street Circuits Offers Optimism
Although Kirkwood fell short in qualifying, his track record on street courses suggests a strong race day performance. All three of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES victories have been earned on street circuits—twice at Long Beach in 2023 and 2025, and once in Nashville last year. At the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, he led 46 of 90 laps from the pole, demonstrating his skill on these tight, technical tracks.
His results at Detroit have shown steady improvement: he went from eighth place in 2023 to fourth last year. Kirkwood emphasized confidence in his race car’s capabilities going into Sunday’s event.
The car is fast,
he commented.
We’re really good for the race. We’re starting in a good spot.
Andretti Global Positioned as a Strong Contender Against Palou
Alex Palou, the dominant series leader in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, qualified sixth but will move up to fifth after Graham Rahal receives a six-spot penalty for an unapproved engine change. Palou enters Detroit on a hot streak, having won three consecutive races in May, including the prestigious Indianapolis 500.
Still, many competitors anticipate Palou’s winning streak will end soon, possibly as early as Sunday. Palou’s performance at Detroit last year, where he started second but fell to 16th, provides motivation for others. Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, third in points and starting fourth, reflected on Palou’s recent success by saying,
He can’t win them all,
highlighting the potential for others to challenge the leader.
Lundgaard’s consistent form includes an eighth-place finish at St. Petersburg and a podium at Long Beach this season. He faces stiff competition from Andretti Global, which is the only team to have beaten Palou so far, with Kirkwood’s victory at Long Beach standing out.
Andretti Global drivers believe their cars excel on street circuits and short oval tracks, which make up five of the next seven races, including the July 20 Toronto street race — where Herta and Kirkwood finished 1-2 in 2023.
Other upcoming tracks include World Wide Technology Raceway, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and a doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. Andretti also boasts recent oval success, as Herta’s season finale win at Nashville Superspeedway proved. Kirkwood, who started from pole and led the most laps at that race, remains a strong competitor on multiple circuit types.
Herta expressed confidence in their ability to challenge Palou this weekend:
I know we can beat him,
he said.
If we do the right stuff, we have a really good chance here to beat him. We should beat him if we do everything the right way.
He admitted the team made mistakes earlier in the year but believes focusing on their strengths will deliver results.
We do have the speed to win. I think we’ve made mistakes this year and it’s been disappointing, but I think if we focus on us and do what we need to do, we should be able to beat him.
Graham Rahal Seeks Breakthrough Result Amid Penalty
Rahal enters the Detroit race hoping to capitalize on recent improvements and end a long victory drought on the downtown street course. He won the 2017 Belle Isle doubleheader but has not stood atop the podium since, marking 131 races without a win. The No. 15 JJ Curran Crane Company Honda driver qualified fifth but faces a six-position grid penalty due to an engine change made after a mechanical failure on Carb Day at Indianapolis.
Starting in 11th place after the penalty, Rahal remains optimistic about his chances.
I feel pretty good even starting 11th,
he said.
The car has been really shocking to drive all weekend. I say shocking because we’ve not been good here at all.
His recent form contrasts with last year’s 15th-place finish and 25th place in 2023 at Detroit.
Rahal believes the current car setup enables him to attack the field aggressively despite the tight and bumpy circuit. He also highlighted progress within his team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), which showed promising results recently. At the Sonsio Grand Prix, all three RLL cars qualified for the Firestone Fast Six, with Rahal himself starting second. In the Indianapolis 500, every RLL entry finished in the top 17, including part-time driver Takuma Sato who led the most laps and finished ninth, and Devlin DeFrancesco who notched a career-best 11th place.
Rookie Louis Foster also impressed by finishing 12th at Indianapolis and practicing among the top five at Detroit, starting 14th after narrowly missing the Top 12 qualifiers. DeFrancesco starts 23rd despite a solid qualifying effort earlier Saturday.
Rahal remains confident in the team’s rise:
I feel like we are getting better, period,
he said.
I think we are a team on the rise. I know people don’t like to believe that, but I think it’s true. I feel like this is a sign because all of us, Louis and I, in particular, and even Dev, have been quite fast.
Rinus VeeKay Sees Positive Changes at Dale Coyne Racing
Rinus VeeKay noticed improvements in his No. 18 askROI Honda since Michael Cannon rejoined Dale Coyne Racing. Cannon, who engineered for the team from 2014 to 2019 and recently worked with Chip Ganassi Racing and AJ Foyt Racing, returned following the Indianapolis 500. VeeKay’s engineer role is filled by Cannon, who has become an influential presence on the pit wall.
VeeKay qualified a season-best seventh after opening practice in ninth, remarking on the car’s driveability:
The car was on rails out there,
he said.
I could really drive the car. The car wasn’t driving me this time. We’ve got the Albert Einstein (Cannon) of INDYCAR on the pit stand right now. The experience that Michael Cannon has right now is insane.
VeeKay is currently 12th in the points standings with three top-10 finishes this season. His previous best result at Detroit was 14th place last year.
Additional Notes and Observations from Detroit
Friday’s practice session featured a minor on-track incident involving Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood, but both drivers shared laughs afterward, confirming there is no hard feeling between them. Five drivers—Kirkwood, Lundgaard, Pato O’Ward, Palou, and Felix Rosenqvist—have completed every lap (630) this season, showcasing consistent durability and reliability.
Colton Herta earned his 15th career pole this weekend but has converted only five of his previous 14 poles into wins, including last July’s victory on the streets of Toronto. His qualifying success at Detroit contrasts with last year’s 18th-place finish from the pole.
Scott Dixon, the defending Detroit winner, qualified 10th but faces the same six-position penalty as Rahal due to an engine change before Indianapolis. Dixon will start 16th in the No. 9 Honda.
For the INDY NXT by Firestone race airing Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1, Tony Kanaan will serve as the guest analyst. Rookie teammates Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes, both from Andretti Global, share the front row for that event.
