Afternoon report – Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

The grid is set for the 2012 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. The rack record fell by more than a second in the process, perhaps (hopefully) silencing forever those who were moaning that this “new" DW12 car was too slow. Scott Dixon took the poll, followed Will Power, Alex Tagliani, Simon Pagenaud, EJ Viso and Ryan Hunter-Reay. While the Chevy-sponsored event was dinged by a Honda on the pole, there are 3 Chevy's in the top 6. In addition, the top 6 cars represent 6 different team owners. Oh, and we have drivers from 6 different countries in the top 6 as well.

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The Indy Lights cars competed in a time-limited race around the bumpy Belle Island course. Gustavo Yacaman narrowly edged out Carlos Munoz for the win.

The race was red-flagged when Peter Dempsey ran over the rear tire of the car in front of him, launching him into two huge contacts with the Detroit walls, followed by a hard contact with tires in the run-off area. Dempsey got out of the car with little assistance, and appeared to be okay.

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Rumors and comments continue to flow from today's owner's meeting. I talked to the PR rep for one of the unhappy Chevy teams, and was told that if I mentioned the high cost, and limited availability, of some parts currently sold by Dallara, I would be on the right track for one of their major concerns. Currently, IndyCar rules stipulate that parts that could be easily made in the shops be purchased from Dallara.

No doubt those high fines for teams who made their own parts didn't exactly sit will either. Then again, some of those parts would be subject to modification and study and… well, in short order, perhaps they wouldn't be so cheap to build at home. However, the consensus seems to be that the adults in the room will figure things out.

************** Tim Wohlford
AutoRacing1.com