Rahal only driver to start on hard tires in Detroit
Detroit GP Race 1 Starting Lineup and Tire Choice
| SP | Car | Driver Name | Engine | Tire |
| 1 | 98 | Andretti, Marco | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 2 | 9 | Dixon, Scott | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 3 | 6 | Wickens, Robert (R) | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 4 | 27 | Rossi, Alexander | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 5 | 28 | Hunter-Reay, Ryan | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 6 | 12 | Power, Will | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 7 | 30 | Sato, Takuma | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 8 | 15 | Rahal, Graham | Honda | Black-Hard |
| 9 | 5 | Hinchcliffe, James | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 10 | 59 | Chilton, Max | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 11 | 10 | Jones, Ed | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 12 | 21 | Pigot, Spencer | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 13 | 22 | Pagenaud, Simon | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 14 | 1 | Newgarden, Josef | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 15 | 14 | Kanaan, Tony | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 16 | 26 | Veach, Zach (R) | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 17 | 18 | Bourdais, Sebastien | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 18 | 19 | Ferrucci, Santino (R) | Honda | Red-Soft |
| 19 | 88 | Chaves, Gabby | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 20 | 20 | King, Jordan (R) | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 21 | 4 | Leist, Matheus (R) | Chevy | Red-Soft |
| 22 | 23 | Kimball, Charlie | CHEVY | Red-Soft |
| 23 | 32 | Binder, Rene (R) | CHEVY | Red-Soft |
(R) Rookie