Detroit GP boss predicts dual pit lane will be ‘amazing’ spectacle

Detroit Grand Prix boss Bud Denker believes that the dual pit lane at IndyCar’s newest circuit will be an “amazing” spectacle, including for those in attendance.

Motor City’s IndyCar event moves from Belle Isle back into the CBD next year, with a layout which takes in parts of the original, Formula 1 circuit of the 1980s.

Pit straight will be located on Franklin Street, and the lane itself in a car park two blocks east of the GM Renaissance Center which will be the centrepiece of the circuit.

However, it will in fact be two lanes running parallel to each other, said to be a first.

“The dual pit lane is first of its kind,” Denker, President of the Penske Corp which promotes the event, told IndyCar’s official website following a recent briefing to partners.

“So, imagine these cars coming down pit lane, some going left, some going right, merging at the end of pit lane into a single file to get back out of the street to merge into traffic,” he added.

“The visual of that with the suites behind is amazing because now, if you’re a suite holder, you don’t have to turn your head for a thousand feet down to the left of the right seat pit lane; it’s all in front of you.

“All the cars are in front of you. The view of it is just going to be amazing.”

While pit lane order is performance-based, it is in fact a strategic element of IndyCar’s sporting regulations, and hence the unique Detroit set-up could well become a talking point.

Rather than being assigned automatically, pit boxes everywhere other than the Indianapolis 500 are selected by each ‘entrant’ (individual car) with first preference going to the pole-sitter at the preceding non-Indy 500 event, then the next-best qualifier and so on.

In general, the closer to pit exit, the better, but teams sometimes opt for other boxes depending on characteristics of the lane, such as bends and the location of the timing and scoring line.

This year at Mid-Ohio, for example, the #27 Andretti Autosport crew used first pick on Box 4 because it was an easier entry due to a break in the wall and hence a gap to Box 5.

It will thus be interesting to see which side the Indianapolis Grand Prix pole-sitter picks at Detroit, and whether the other front row qualifier at the first of the Brickyard races of the year opts for the first box on the opposite side or the second box on the same side.

Said Indianapolis race takes place on Saturday, May 13, then the 500 on Sunday, May 28, and the Detroit encounter a week later on June 4.