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DETROIT — The NTT IndyCar Series has come down from the high of an exceptional ending to the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 two weeks ago.

It’s onward and upward this weekend on the streets of Detroit for a doubleheader weekend at Belle Isle. Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves will not be racing this weekend but he does have five more races planned in a second part-time entry with Meyer Shank Racing.

So far this season there have been six races with six different winners, putting an even greater premium on wins with the series championship up for grabs for anyone sitting in the top five spots.

Alex Palou is the championship leader entering the weekend. But, his weekend will not be without some adversity. Following a post-race penalty levied on the No. 10 team for Chip Ganassi Racing for an unauthorized engine change before the Indy 500, Palou has been given a six-spot grid penalty for Race 1 on Saturday.

Palou says he has been undeterred by the penalty in his preparation for the second street course race of the season.

“I’ve been preparing a lot on the sim – just for myself, not setup-related,” Palou said. “I’ve been doing it at home just because it’s super important on a street course to really know the bumps, to really get some references.”

His teammate Scott Dixon is now second in the standings holding just a one-point lead over third-place Pato O’Ward.

Among the drivers that are in need of a win this weekend is Josef Newgarden. He sits sixth in the points and dropped a few places after a mediocre finish at Indy. His Penske teammate in Simon Pagenaud is looking to build on the momentum he captured in a 3rd-place result in the “500”. Pagenaud is the highest driver in the point standings to not have recorded a win in fourth.

One of the Andretti Autosport drivers that appears to be under some pressure for a win is Ryan Hunter-Reay, who is in a contract year with Andretti and last won at Sonoma in 2018.

“I know the potential is there, we just need to execute,” said Hunter-Reay, who has finished on the podium four times in the event. “We need to come out swinging right from the start, roll the car off the truck within the neighborhood on the setup that we think we like.”

The weekend will see the return of Romain Grosjean and Jimmie Johnson to the entry list after having sat out the Indy 500. After a good showing in the “500” Santino Ferrucci will pilot a third Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan entry.

Race 1 starts a 2:05 EDT Saturday afternoon. Qualifying on Saturday before the race will feature only two segments. The first segment divided into two groups of twelve. The fastest six cars from each group will compete for the top twelve positions in segment two.

The same process will happen before Sunday’s race as well. Green flag for Race 2 drops at 12:50 p.m. EDT.

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