DETROIT – For the second straight weekend, choosing your team for the #INDYCAR Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone requires more deliberation and reasoning than a standard one-race event.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear Corporation will consist of a pair of 70-lap races on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Belle Isle Park temporary circuit.
I will be loosely utilizing three rules of thumb when choosing my squads for the seventh and eighth Verizon IndyCar Series races of the season. The rest of you have the luxury of being able to select your four-driver lineup for each of the races – as long as you do so before the green flag time each day on Saturday and Sunday. I’m going to present here some options that could cover both races.
The first variable to considering is a driver’s results on the previous street-course races this season at St. Petersburg and Long Beach. I also like to check a driver’s past Belle Isle results.
Finally, I’ll be considering a few wild cards. Mike Conway (2013) and Carlos Munoz (2015) were unexpected winners in the past in the Motor City, and a third of the winners in the last nine Detroit events started outside of the first five rows.
Graham Rahal ($30), with two wins at Detroit last year and a pair of top-five finishes on the first street-circuit races this season, checks both boxes. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing veteran has a total of four podiums on Belle Isle and will form the foundation of my team for Saturday and Sunday.
The driver who has scored the most points in the season’s first two street-course races, Alexander Rossi ($31), has also finished in the top 10 in three of four races on Belle Isle. The Andretti Autosport pilot will join my team for the Saturday’s opener.
With 14 podiums at their team owner’s home race, Team Penske drivers are the next place you should look to build your winning fantasy squad. Simon Pagenaud ($26), who has one win and four podiums in this event, is my Team Penske choice for Saturday.
Sunday’s Team Penske driver is a more difficult choice. Outside of fourth- and second-place finishes in last year’s doubleheader, reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden’s results at Detroit are middling at best. That leaves us with current points leader Will Power ($27), fresh off his Indianapolis 500 win. Power has two wins and four podiums in 12 previous Detroit races.
Choices of Rahal, Rossi and Pagenaud leaves me with $13 for my final Saturday choice. Thankfully, Jordan King ($12) is available, meaning my Saturday squad comes in with a value of $99 ($1 under the cap limit). The Ed Carpenter Racing rookie does not have the results on street circuits, but with the seventh-quickest race lap in the season opener and second-fastest lap at Long Beach, he has shown the pace that should turn into results.
Speaking of due, Robert Wickens ($27) was one of the fastest drivers in the two street-course races. Despite leading 69 laps in the season opener, the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie is still looking for his first street circuit podium. I’ll take the Canadian for Sunday’s second race.
My first three choices of Rahal, Wickens and Rossi for Sunday leaves me with $16 to spend. With that, I will choose speedy AJ Foyt Racing rookie Matheus Leist ($12), who started third in his first Verizon IndyCar Series street race at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and has improved every event.
Don’t forget to choose a squad for Saturday AND Sunday at fantasy.indycar.com. If you haven't’ joined the fun, do so. There are still great weekly prizes to be won.