Event statistics following the seventh race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, Race 1 of the Detroit Grand Prix at The Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.
Scott Dixon led 39 laps to score his first victory of the season and the 42nd IndyCar win of his career, tying him with Andretti Autosport team owner, Michael Andretti. Dixon bested Ryan Hunter-Reay by 1.8249 seconds. Polesitter Marco Andretti, who earlier in the day earned his first pole on a temporary street circuit, was third.
Detroit Grand Prix, Race 1
The Raceway at Belle Isle – Detroit, Michigan
- Winner (starting position): Scott Dixon (2nd)
- Podium: Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi
- Full Results: Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Marco Andretti, Takuma Sato, Ed Jones, Will Power, Robert Wickens, Josef Newgarden, Spencer Pigot, James Hinchcliffe, Zach Veach, Sebastien Bourdais, Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist, Jordan King, Simon Pagenaud, Gabby Chaves, Charlie Kimball, Max Chilton, Rene Binder, Santino Ferrucci, Graham Rahal
- Laps Completed: 70
- Race Leaders: 4
- Lead Changes: 6
- Laps Led: Scott Dixon (39), Marco Andretti (22), Ryan Hunter-Reay (7), Graham Rahal (2)
- Pole Position: Marco Andretti (113.024 mph; 74.8514 seconds)
- Fastest Race Lap: Ryan Hunter-Reay (111.602 mph; 75.8049 seconds)
- Hard Charger: Matheus Leist (+6; 21st to 15th)
- Margin of Victory: 1.8249 seconds
- Car Count: 23
- Cars Entered: 23
- Cars Running at Finish: 21 (of 23; or 91 percent of the field)
- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 20
- Cautions: 2 for 10 laps
- Average Speed: 99.285 mph
- Manufacturer Breakdown: Honda (12), Chevrolet (11)
- Time of Race: 1:39:24.6189
- Green Flag/Yellow Flag Laps: 60/10
- Total Passes: 96 (82 for position)
Notes of Interest – Race Recap (Detroit Grand Prix, Race 1)
- This is Scott Dixon’s first victory of the 2018 IndyCar Series season and the 42nd of his career (41 in IndyCar Series, 1 in CART). Dixon ties Michael Andretti for third all-time in IndyCar victories.
- This is Dixon’s second victory at The Raceway at Belle Isle. Dixon also won the 2012 race at the temporary street circuit.
- Dixon is the fifth driver to win a race this season. Josef Newgarden and Will Power each have two victories, while Sebastien Bourdais and Alexander Rossi each have one win apiece.
- Dixon has now won IndyCar races in each of the last 14 seasons, and in 16 of his 18 seasons (including one of two seasons in CART).
- Dixon is the fifth driver with multiple victories at Belle Isle, joining Helio Castroneves (three), Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal (two).
- Dixon leaped to second in the points standings, four points behind leader Alexander Rossi. It marked only the second time this season that the winner of a race did not assume the points lead.
- This is Dixon’s 41st victory with Chip Ganassi Racing, extending his all-time record for most IndyCar victories with a single team. It also marks Dixon’s 41st win in the No. 9 car (his only fulltime season in the IndyCar Series that he didn’t win, in 2004, he drove the No. 1 machine).
- This is Dixon’s eighth victory on a temporary street circuit. He has two wins each at Edmonton, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario; and Detroit; and one win at Houston, Texas, and Long Beach, California.
- Thirty of Dixon’s IndyCar victories have come in a Honda.
- Dixon now has three podiums this season, all in the last three races (he was second in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and third in the Indianapolis 500), and 99 career podiums (one short of 100).
- Dixon won from the second starting position, his 16th victory from the front row. It marks the first time a driver has won an IndyCar race from the second starting position since Josef Newgarden won the 2017 race at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. It is also the fifth consecutive race a front row starter has won an IndyCar race this season (Will Power started third, outside Row 1, in the Indianapolis 500).
- This is the eighth race at Belle Isle won by a driver that started from the front row. The average starting position by a race winner at Belle Isle, in 14 races in the IndyCar Series, is 6.57.
- Dixon now has an average finish of 4.71 this season, second behind Alexander Rossi’s average of 4.29.
- Dixon led 39 laps in the race, his first race led this season and the 135th of his career. Dixon was the second driver in Race 1 of the Detroit Grand Prix to lead a lap, after Marco Andretti, and the 20th driver to lead a race in the 2018 IndyCar Series. Dixon has now led 4,995 laps in his IndyCar Series career and 5,069 in an IndyCar (74 laps led in CART).
- Dixon’s win is the third straight for an Australian-born driver (Will Power won both races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month), though Dixon is a New Zealand native.
- This is the third consecutive race won by a driver 37 years of age (Will Power won both races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at age 37).
- This is the seventh IndyCar race at Belle Isle that Dixon has led, and the second most laps led in a race (he led 60 laps in his 2012 victory, a 60-lap race that was shortened due to multiple track repairs).
- Dixon averaged 99.285 mph, the first race at Belle Isle under 100 mph since Race 2 of the 2016 event. The race saw two cautions for 10 laps, both for incidents.
- Dixon now has three podiums and 11 top 10s in 14 races at Belle Isle, including one in each of the last four races at the track.
- This is Chip Ganassi Racing’s first victory of the season and the 104th win for Ganassi in IndyCar competition. Dixon extended Ganassi’s streak with at least one victory to 14 straight seasons (since 2004) and 15 of 16 (CGR’s last winless season was in 2003). It is Ganassi’s 80th victory with a Honda,
- This is Ganassi’s third victory at Belle Isle, with previous wins coming in 1998 (Alex Zanardi) and 2012 (Dixon).
- Ryan Hunter-Reay finished second, tying his season-best finish set at Barber Motorsports Park. It marks Hunter-Reay’s third podium at Belle Isle.
- Hunter-Reay now has five top fives in seven races this season, and an average finish of 8.14.
- Hunter-Reay led seven laps, one less than the eight laps he had led in four previous races this season. He has now led five races for 15 laps in 2018.
- Hunter-Reay set the fastest lap of the race, the seventh driver in as many races this season to set a race’s fastest lap.
- Alexander Rossi was third, earning his series-leading fourth podium of 2018 and sixth top five. Rossi owns an average finish of 4.27, the best of any driver this season.
- Rossi assumed the points lead for the second time this season; he led the points after winning the Long Beach Grand Prix.
- Rossi has now gained 39 positions from his starting position thru seven races this season, the second most behind Graham Rahal’s 46 positions gained.
- Rossi has eight podiums in his career (seven in the last 12 races) and 22 top 10s (11 in the last 13 races).
- Marco Andretti finished fourth, after leading the first 22 laps. It marked Andretti’s first race led since the 2017 race at Pocono Raceway, and his 22 laps were more than he led during the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons combined.
- Andretti earned his first top-five finish since the 2015 race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It marked Andretti’s fourth top-10 finish of 2018.
- Andretti earned the pole position, the fifth of his career and his first on a temporary street circuit. His previous four poles all came on ovals, most previously at Pocono Raceway in 2013 (nearly five years).
- Andretti’s fourth-place finish is his best result after earning a pole position; his previous best was eighth in 2012 at Auto Club Speedway.
- This is Andretti’s best finish at Belle Isle since he placed second in Race 1 of the 2015 event.
- With Andretti finishing fourth, it marked the first time this season three Andretti Autosport cars finished in the top five, and fifth time at least two cars finished in the top five.
- Takuma Sato was fifth, the fourth driver in the top five to earn a season-best effort in Race 1 of the Detroit Grand Prix.
- This is Sato’s first top-five finish since the 2017 race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, and his first top-five finish with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing since finishing second at the Edmonton City Centre Airport in Alberta in 2012.
- Ed Jones was sixth, his third top-10 finish in seven races this season. It also marked the first time this season both Chip Ganassi Racing cars finished in the top six.
- Jones was the sixth and final Honda driver, marking the second time this season that the top-six drivers at the finish were Honda drivers (Grand Prix of St. Petersburg).
- Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power was the highest-finishing Chevrolet driver, finishing seventh. It was his fifth top-10 finish of the season, and third in succession. It also ended Power’s two-race winning streak.
- Robert Wickens was eighth, earning his fifth top-10 result of 2018.
- Josef Newgarden was ninth, scoring his sixth top-10 finish of the season. He dropped to fourth in the points standings after entering the race in second.
- Spencer Pigot was a season-best 10th, the best finish for Ed Carpenter Racing.
- James Hinchcliffe was 11th, in his first race since the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
- Zach Veach was 12th, the second-best finish of his season.
- Sebastien Bourdais finished 13th, the third time he’s finished 13th in 2018.
- Tony Kanaan finished 14th, matching his average finish going into the race.
- Simon Pagenaud was 17th, ending a streak of three consecutive top-10 finishes.
- Santino Ferrucci was the only driver making his series debut; the Formula 2 regular finished 22nd after he was taken out by Charlie Kimball late in the race.
- Graham Rahal finished 23rd after an accident, ending a streak of 19 consecutive races of finishing (all on the same lap). He last failed to finish a race in 2017 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, when he was taken out in a first-lap incident.
- A total of 15 drivers improved on their starting position in the race.
- A total of 20 drivers finished on the lead lap. All five races on temporary street circuits or permanent road courses this season have seen at least 14 drivers finish on the lead lap.
- The next race will be Sunday, June 3, with Race 2 of the Detroit Grand Prix.
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