It was a race of strategy and survival for our Kiwi drivers at the 2025 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, while Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood controlled the race to bring home Honda’s eighth victory in a row and his second of the season.
It was Andretti’s Colton Herta on pole, sharing the front row with AJ Foyt’s David Malukas, who put in a solid performance to tie his career-best start. Scott McLaughlin was the lead Kiwi, putting the Team Penske Chevrolet in seventh position, closely followed by fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong.
Scott Dixon qualified tenth but started sixteenth after an unapproved engine change at the start of this weekend.
It was an uncharacteristically quiet start to the race, with the green flag running for ten laps. With the top 9 on alternate tyres and the remaining eighteen on the primary, it was clear it was to be a race of strategy.
Herta got a good start but was quickly bombed by Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, but Kirkwood emerged as the leader soon after.
By lap 10, all Kiwi drivers had made small moves, with McLaughlin into 6th, Armstrong into 8th, and Dixon into 13th.
McLaughlin eventually cycled to the lead on lap 12 as the leaders pitted. After Armstrong’s teammate Felix Rosenqvist spun himself on Turn 8, the first Full Course Yellow of the race came out.
Veteran Graham Rahal showed fight early in the race but was halted by wheel nut issues early in the first stint, where he was stuck in the pit lane reeling a slow stop. He would later emerge two laps down.
The field soon closed up, and McLaughlin made his first pitstop soon after, where he emerged in the net lead after jumping Kirkwood and Herta. Dixon moved to fifth on the alternate strategy, while Armstrong’s pitstop put him down in 22nd.
Green flag running resumed on lap 18, where McLaughlin was involved in an incident with the #6 car of Nolan Siegel, sending him spinning on the start/finish straight. McLaughlin received a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact, sending him down to 24th and losing him the chance to fight for a potential victory.
“Pretty happy, pretty bummed at the same time,” McLaughlin told Fox Sports.
“Wasn’t a clean day by any means for all of us. The car had really good pace. I’m just disappointed. Obviously we were in front of Kirkwood there. That’s on me.”
When asked about the incident post-race, while he took initial responsibility, he then put blame on Siegel for braking too early.
“I went for the move. I feel like he moved under brakes and then basically stopped,” he explained.
“I was really committed to the move, but ultimately I can see why they [penalised me]. Normally, the car that makes contact behind, you’re in trouble. I feel like the kid was trying to move a little bit.
“It was probably ambition on my part, but it is what it is. I really don’t care.”
Devlin DeFrancesco’s runaway wheel soon brought out the second full course yellow of the day.
Dixon kept his head down and eyes forward as he climbed into the lead on lap 38 after extending his stint on the primary tyres.
Meanwhile, the net lead pack of Kirkwood, Penske’s Will Power and Herta formed a train to pull away from championship leader and freshly crowned Indy 500 winner Alex Palou. Dixon slotted into the double-laned pit on lap 40, emerging just behind compatriot Armstrong in 11th and slightly ahead of McLaughlin in 14th.
Split strategies meant a split field once again, with drivers piling into the pit lane before the halfway mark to switch compounds. McLaughlin joined many other drivers diving for the pitlane, emerging out in 21st.
Dixon and the #9 Chip Ganassi pit crew made no hesitation to commit to the three-stop race after making a pitstop on lap 50 to go to the end. At the front of the field, it was clear to be a four-horse race, with Kirkwood showing clear pace over Will Power, Colton Herta and Alex Palou to comfortably lead until his final pitstop on lap 57.
A clear message from his crew meant he was tasked with the job of managing tyre temps until the end of the race in a bid to take his second win of the season.
Drivers settled into a good rhythm until the third full course yellow of the day came out on lap 68 after Callum Ilott hit the wall after his pitstop – a loose front left wheel to blame.
The majority of the field made the decision to pit for fresh rubber while Santino Ferruci, Dixon’s teammate Kyffin Simpson and Armstrong stayed out to hold first, second and third, respectively. It was going to be a hard-fought battle to the end.
Green flag running did not last for long as championship leader Alex Palou got sent into the wall by David Malukas, forcing him to retire and end his ‘podium-perfect’ season thus far. He would end up being classified as finishing 25th, his worst result since Road America 2022.
Holding a strong pace, Kirkwood made no problem getting past Armstrong quickly as he battled with the net leaders and fell to sixth. Dixon and McLaughlin both held their own, standing strong in 11th and 13th. Kirkwood also quickly got past Simpson but made slight contact with his rear wheel, damaging his front wing.
The race was quickly bought to a halt after a tremendous crash at the end of the 180 mph straight. The #45 of Louis Foster suffered from a suspension failure heading into the braking zone and quickly became a passenger.
He ploughed into the back of Rosenqvist, narrowly missing McLaughlin. Both cars emerged in the tyre barriers as a short red flag period followed. Foster and Rosenqvist were seen and released from the medical centre shortly after.
Racing resumed with 12 laps to go, with it set to be a sprint to the finish. Even with the damage, Kirkwood showed no signs of stopping as he left Power, Ferrucci and Herta to fight between themselves. After a hard fought battle, Ferrucci emerged ahead of Herta and Power.
Kirkwood crossed the line to take a controlling victory over Santino Ferrucci in his best result thus far. Colton Herta crossed the line third.
Armstrong, Dixon and McLaughlin all had to fight for their results, with Armstrong bringing home a season best 6th place, his highest result with Meyer Shank so far.
Dixon kept it clean to move up five spots to 11th, while McLaughlin made a solid recovery to finish 12th after his drive through penalty.
After four huge weeks of racing action, the NTT INDYCAR Series has a break in action and will resume at Gateway Motorsports Park in Illinois on June 15 (NZT)
Words: Ryan Higgins
Header Image: Penske Entertainment – Joe Skibinski
