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There are some notable pit box choices for the unique dual pit lane at this weekend’s Detroit IndyCar event.
The Detroit Grand Prix has moved back into the CBD from Belle Isle this year, on a circuit which borrows elements from the original which hosted Formula 1.
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 has been deliberately incorporated as a backdrop.
Such is the length of the Franklin Street section, crews will set up their pit box (or ‘stall’) on either of two sides, with a merge near pit exit.
On the eve of practice in Motor City, pit stall selections are now in, with crews making their picks in order of how they qualified for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, per Rule 7.5.1.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard scored pole position that Friday at The Brickyard and his #45 crew has chosen the first box on drivers’ left (officially, Box 14, with boxes one to 13 on the right-hand side, per diagram below).
Indeed, it is the left-hand side which is thought the better one, based on the picks from the next two-fastest qualifiers at Indianapolis.
Felix Rosenqvist’s (#6 McLaren IndyCar Team) pit crew will set up adjacent to Lundgaard’s, and Alex Palou’s (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing) next to Rosenqvist’s, after they scored second and third on the grid.
Fourth pick was Jack Harvey’s, and the #30 RLLR crew chose the first box on drivers’ right, before Pato O’Ward’s #5 McLaren crew decided to take the fourth on left.
Kyle Kirkwood/#27 Andretti Autosport moves things back to the right, but Box 4 rather than Box 2, given the former is located directly after a break in the wall and hence makes for an easier entry.
Similarly, the #8 Ganassi crew of seventh-fastest Indy GP qualifier Marcus Ericsson has gone for Box 5, on the other side of that break.
Looking at the other end of the pits and it would appear that the left-hand side is generally an easier manoeuvre, which stands to reason given pit entry is a right-hand turn off St Antoine.
The #78 Juncos Hollinger Racing crew (Agustin Canapino) has picked the last box on drivers’ left, leaving the #06 Meyer Shank Racing (Helio Castroneves) and #14 AJ Foyt Racing (Santino Ferrucci) crews to take the last two on the right.
Practice starts on Friday at 15:00 ET/Saturday at 05:00 AEST, with final practice, qualifying, and the race itself streaming live and ad-free on Stan Sport in Australia.
Detroit IndyCar pit box assignment
