Favorites and Sleepers: Detroit

Note: Eric Smith of INDYCAR.com takes a fun look before each NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at drivers who enter the weekend with an inside line to victory lane and drivers who could surprise with a strong result.

Points leader Alex Palou enters Detroit on the heels of a fifth-place finish in the May 9 Sonsio Grand Prix and seventh in the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 24. Palou started on the pole for both races.

The three-time defending and four-time overall series champion also owns two street course wins this season in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1 and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 19. Palou finished second to Kyle Kirkwood (photo, top) in the March 15 Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, giving him an average finish of 1.3 on street courses this season.

David Malukas finished second in both Indianapolis races and climbed to second in points, 37 back entering Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.

Honda though has won all three street races this season and is 3-for-3 on the downtown Detroit streets since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the 1.645-mile track in 2023 with wins by Palou, Scott Dixon and Kirkwood.

Who reaches Victory Lane in Sunday’s 100 lap race in Motown (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls)?

Favorites

Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Clarience Technologies Team Penske Chevrolet)

McLaughlin qualified second, fourth and seventh in three Detroit starts but finished seventh, 20th and 12th. He won the NTT P1 Award for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and finished second. McLaughlin also finished 11th on the streets of Arlington and sixth at Long Beach. He owns two top-six finishes in the last three races this season.

Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Dixon won this race in 2024 after finishing fourth in 2023. He started fourth and fifth in those races. Dixon climbed from 16th to 11th last year. This season, he finished 23rd at St. Petersburg, eighth at Arlington and third at Long Beach. He also has five top-10 finishes in his last six starts overall.

Alex Palou (No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Palou crashed and finished 25th last year and 16th in 2024 but won from the pole in 2023. He has also never started worse than fifth on this circuit.

Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Honda)

Power owns three top-six finishes in downtown Detroit. He finished second in 2023, sixth in 2024 and fourth last year – all with Team Penske. In his first season with Andretti Global, Power on street courses finished 22nd at St. Petersburg, third at Arlington and 19th at Long Beach.

Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda)

Five of Kirkwood’s six career victories have come on street circuits, including this race last year. He also finished sixth in 2023 and fourth in 2024 at Detroit. This season, Kirkwood finished fourth at St. Petersburg and Long Beach in addition to his win at Arlington.

Sleepers

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

O’Ward finished seventh the last two years in Detroit and has placed fifth in all three street races this season. He also won the 2025 Toronto street race and owns four top-seven finishes in his last five street course starts.

David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)

Malukas enters Detroit with consecutive runner-up finishes and top-seven results in all but one race this season, his first with Team Penske. That finish was a 13th-place effort in St. Petersburg. He started second in Detroit last year with AJ Foyt Racing and finished 14th. The only thing missing is a victory in 68 career INDYCAR SERIES starts.

Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Siemens Honda)

Three of Ericsson’s four career INDYCAR SERIES victories have come on street circuits, at St. Petersburg, Nashville and Belle Isle. He finished ninth in the inaugural downtown Detroit race with Chip Ganassi Racing and second in 2024 with Andretti Global. Ericsson also started second and finished sixth at St. Petersburg this season before earning his first career NTT P1 Award at Arlington and finishing fourth.

Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda)

Rosenqvist owns two top-10 finishes in three Detroit starts. He finished 12th, 20th and second, respectively, on street circuits this season and enters Detroit after winning the Indianapolis 500. The last driver to win the “500” and the next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000. Just Montoya, Arie Luyendyk (1997) and Al Unser Jr. (1994) have accomplished that feat since 1989.

Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda)

Armstrong owns three top-eight finishes in three Detroit starts, including third in the 2024 race driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. On street tracks this season, the New Zealand native finished 11th at St. Petersburg, 10th at Arlington and 24th at Long Beach.