Detroit, MI
Unpredictable fun or embarrassing? IndyCar's Detroit chaos
To see Oriol Servia – who last raced in 2019 – lead the most laps in the Detroit IndyCar street race was hardly a surprise, especially given the unpredictable nature of the race.
Of course, Servia is the IndyCar pace car driver, and his Corvette needed refuelling such was the hive of activity, as caution laps made up 47 of the 100 laps of the race.
Funny. Not based in true facts, at least not all of them. Yes, a bit messier than desired but still a great and entertaining race. Ratings will tell if the audience wants to see me lead more laps again 😅😉🏁 @IndyCar https://t.co/Dk8BcryeKY
— Oriol Servia (@OriolServia) June 2, 2024
It was a race featuring eight crashes – well, there were more, those were just the ones that caused a caution – rain, strategic gambles on fuel and tyres, and drivers like Will Power receiving four penalties and still ending up sixth. It just beggars belief.
It left fans with a mix of opinions, ranging from celebrating the unpredictability to demanding for a return to the old Belle Island circuit – a view shared by some drivers too. But this isn’t the first time we’ve had races like this in IndyCar recently.
Belle Isle appreciation post 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/MiVesujojQ
— Ryan Hunter-Reay (@RyanHunterReay) June 2, 2024
Why was this race so messy? How does IndyCar’s stewarding play into what we saw? Is this type of race good for IndyCar? Let’s take a look at the event as a whole to try to draw some conclusions.
What the drivers made of it
There was some immediate reaction from drivers who had admittedly not watched the race back at that point, so they saw things through their own blinkered views.
Marcus Ericsson made a late charge to second (showing why Andretti wanted to sign him, as he was some way off his team-mates in qualifying but beat both in the race) and has won similar races before, including in Nashville in 2021 when he came from last and literally launching over the back of another car to victory.
“I think people are driving reckless on the restarts,” he said.
“Obviously [there are] opportunities on restarts.
“I think more than 50% [of the race was spent] on yellow [47/100 laps in reality].
“I’m sure it was dramatic and fun to watch. At some point also we need to have a bit of a better standard. We’re one of the best racing series in the world. We shouldn’t be driving on top of each other every single restart.
“I saw in my mirrors every time on the restart, four, five-wide. I was just praying not to get hit pretty much every restart.
“I need to watch it before I comment more on that.”
Me too. https://t.co/JukWuIqGeF
— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) June 2, 2024
As previously mentioned a host of drivers and fans were left yearning for a return to Belle Isle, the venue before the current city track was introduced last year.
This new layout is just fundamentally too short for IndyCar. In practice and qualifying, you have drivers backing up halfway through the lap to try to get a clean run through the next lap, but the 1.645-mile track just can’t support that.
People are easily out of place in qualifying.
And then with just nine corners in the race, it breeds desperation in the few passing zones that are afforded, the Turn 3 hairpin being the only obvious and ‘safe’ passing point. Turn 8 is relatively popular but very easy to get wrong and put the car you’re passing in the wall after a downhill braking zone into the left-hander.
“The track, I don’t know what word to use, but it’s…challenging, let’s put it that way,” added Ericsson. “It has some great characteristics with the bumps, the walls are close. That is good.
“But it is very short and twisty for IndyCar. That’s for sure. It’s on the limit of what we can do.
“I wish we could have a couple more corners and a little bit longer lap. It seems to create good drama, like we saw last year and this year.”
Scott Dixon offered a slightly alternative opinion to his ex-Ganassi team-mate Ericsson, whom he’d beaten to the win.
That victory was underpinned by pitting earlier than it should have been possible to reach the end on fuel, but he gambled correctly that there would be more cautions that would allow him to save.
Asked where the line was between the race being action-packed versus embarrassing, Dixon replied: “I don’t think it’s ever embarrassing.
“I think you do a survey, most people go to races to watch crashes. I don’t.
“I know when I watch some kind of NASCAR race, they have a similar kind of effect. It’s obviously exciting. Obviously you don’t want to see the caution laps and them taking over.
“I didn’t see a lot of it. Obviously once I watch the race back and see what happened. But you’re in confined streets here. It’s tough, man. You make any kind of mistake…
“The tyre was pretty hard here. Very hard to turn the black [harder compound] tires on, makes it easy to lock the fronts. Colder conditions than last year. That probably definitely played a factor, as well.”
Last year there were still 32 laps run under caution, which makes a grand total of 79 laps of the 200 run on this track under caution.
Given part of the logic of having a race the weekend after the Indianapolis 500 – much to the detriment of the exhausted teams and drivers – is to capitalise on any carryover TV ratings, it begs the question: is this the kind of race you want to have as a follow-up?
Especially when the Indy 500 is more important than the championship to some – so if they had a bad Indy 500, they can come into Detroit pissed off and feeling like there’s nothing to lose by just going all out without thought of the consequences.
The Indy 500 is a perfect demonstration of the skill and bravery of the drivers, the work of the crews both in preparing the cars and in the pitstops, the strategists, and trusting the competitors around you. You could be forgiven for thinking Detroit was an alien sport in comparison.
As Ericsson points out, this is supposed to be a demonstration of what people regularly refer to as one of the best single-seater racing championships in the world. You could certainly be forgiven for baulking at that observation if you were watching Detroit.
Stewarding claims assessed
I actually think the stewards got most of the decisions in this race correct.
There is only one major one I would argue against and that was the Rinus VeeKay-Will Power incident, where Power did make contact with VeeKay – but that felt like a racing incident where VeeKay was on the outside and cut across the front of Power. VeeKay could argue he was just going about his business and was hit but, on the outside, he had a responsibility there to leave Power enough room, especially as they were three-wide with Romain Grosjean in a sandwich.
But honestly, that was a tough call.
The much, much greater problem for IndyCar with the penalties in races like this is that, whereas on a standard road and street circuit a drivethrough that drops you to the back of the pack or costs a handful of positions would be fatal for your chances of a good result, here it didn’t matter at all!
Let’s use Josef Newgarden as an example. He made his last pitstop with Dixon, so matched the winner’s strategy, but he ran over a wheelgun in his stop which warranted a drivethrough.
But because he’d just pitted, he served his drivethrough, then there were another few cautions, the drivers ahead pitted and Newgarden could stay out, so he vaulted from the back to fifth, with his penalty totally negated.
Wild day… finished P16. 🥲
Craziest race I’ve been part of. Anyway my team did an excellent job all weekend, can’t wait for a proper race next weekend. 😅
Top job @scottdixon9 & @MarcusArmstrng 🏆 pic.twitter.com/jCqbiI6Vwb
— Alex Palou Montalbo (@AlexPalou) June 2, 2024
Like in Nashville, the short pitlane here means drivethrough penalties aren’t as costly, so you’ve got drivers yo-yoing all over the place. Like Alex Palou, who pitted twice in the early running and was 21st, pitted again for wets, pitted again for dry tyres mere laps later, and was behind Newgarden in sixth when they crashed.
You can’t mandate the length of the pitlane being longer for that reason, it’s just happenstance, but it did contribute to the issue of the race being messy and tough to understand.
This is going to be one of those races where someone finishes 9th and you’re like how in the WORLD did they get there? #DetroitGP
— Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22) June 2, 2024
The IMSA SportsCar Championship race later on Sunday was a perfect example, where Nick Tandy was able to serve a drivethrough and emerge in fourth, then pitted just as a caution came out and emerged at the front of the field. That wouldn’t be possible at a lot of other tracks, especially in IMSA with driver changes.
There’s also the need for IndyCar drivers to take responsibility for avoiding some of this chaos.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the restarts were a lottery, and plenty of drivers avoided any issue. But as we’ve seen in countless incidents recently, some drivers need to be more heads-up about being overtaken and just getting out of the way.
I imagine it’s annoying to be divebombed at Turn 3 at Detroit, but just get out of the way and live to fight another lap, especially with so many cautions going on.
It feels like there’s a habit of drivers either not reacting quickly enough to overtakes or just steadfastly refusing to move and instead taking the contact. My zoomed out perspective of that is I’d rather give up one position in an overtake than 20 by retiring.
Ericsson’s right when he says drivers have to do better when racing wheel-to-wheel in the series. Just because the car is robust, doesn’t mean it’s a weapon.
As much as we praise IndyCar drivers for their ability and feats, it’s fine to question them in races like this, too.
As for the stewards, there’s plenty of races I think they’ve performed poorly at and there’s far too much generally letting contact go or allowing drivers to make overtakes to shunt the other car off in the process. But they’ve set a precedent for that and, in this race, they did dish out hefty penalties to drivers involved in incidents. It just didn’t matter because of the number of cautions and the short pitlane.
It’s worth considering if one race per year like this is a good thing or not. It’s not what most fans would call pure racing, but the unpredictability is certainly very appealing to a neutral tuning-in hoping not to see the same driver win every week.
Only, IndyCar already does a pretty good job of providing that anyway.
As part of our 30th anniversary celebration last month, we asked Hour Detroit readers to vote for their favorite covers from the magazine’s history. With all votes tabulated, here are the top 10 Hour Detroit covers, as voted by our loyal readers.
10. May 2022
Our May 2022 cover story by Nolan Bianhi highlighted the rise of Detroit City Football Club. The cover itself, photographed by Sal Rodriguez and featuring DCFC’s rabid Northern Guard Supporters, also birthed the very funny #EdDuckerForever social media trend.
As explained by Editor-In-Chief Kate Walsh in her Editor’s Letter in the June 2022 issue, “When the DCFC fans noticed a fan holding a scarf that said “Ed Ducker Forever,” some were left scratching their heads…Most people figured out that Ed Ducker was born to cover a profanity front and center on our cover, but they didn’t leave it at that. #EdDuckerForever became a thing on Twitter, with DCFC fans and others creating a backstory for this fictional character, including tales of his prowess on the pitch and in the sheets, saving (or dropping) babies, his love of beer, etc.”
Truthfully, the whole incident is symbolic of the overall vibe at any DCFC match. If you’ve never attended one yet, what are you waiting for?
Another piece of trivia: former Hour Detroit digital editor Christina Clark is among the group of fans — she’s the one with pink hair. Coincidentally, the photo was taken before she joined the magazine.
9. July 2023
Featuring a stunning aerial photograph by William Cunningham, the cover for the July 2023 issue of Hour Detroit just draws you in with its beauty. The cover story by Kate Townley chronicled the many reasons (65, to be exact) why the Great Lakes are so great. Frankly, there are plenty more reasons to add to this already extensive list.
8. April 2024
Like the DCFC cover, the cover for the April 2024 issue, created by Ryan Olbrysh, has an incredible kinetic energy. Based around Detroit hosting the NFL Draft, the “City Guide” cover story explored all of the details any visitor to metro Detroit should know and featured contributions from Bill Dow, Dana White, Juliana Lumaj, Mickey Lyons, and Jack Thomas.
7. May 2020
For the May 2020 issue, Hour Detroit chronicled the impact of COVID-19 on metro Detroit in a nine-page special report by Steve Friess, Amy Haimerl, Joanne C. Gerstner, and Ashley Winn. The cover depicts the Spirit of Detroit monument wearing a mask and hospital scrubs. The poignant image is an original oil painting by Luke Mack for Hour Detroit.
6. January 2018
Abdul El-Sayed graced the January 2018 cover of Hour Detroit, was profiled by Lou Blouin, and photographed by Matthew LaVere. At that time, he was a 33-year-old Michigan gubernatorial candidate gaining lots of attention for his rising grassroots campaign.
The former director of the Detroit Health Department lost the Democratic nomination to Gretchen Whitmer. However, the man some thought could be the first Muslim governor in the United States now has a chance at becoming the first Muslim person elected to the United States Senate. El-Sayed, now 41, is in a very competitive 2026 Democratic primary race against Rep. Haley Stevens and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Primary elections for the open Michigan Senate seat vacated by a retiring Sen. Gary Peters will take place on Aug. 4, with the Democratic and Republican primary winners facing off in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
5. February 2021
On this cover photographed by Julia Pickett, contributor Steve Friess summed up Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 rather perfectly: “A pandemic. An ‘SNL’ parody. A kidnapping plot. And mean tweets from the president. Did anyone have a more bizarre and intense 2020 than ’the woman in Michigan’?” Friess’ cover story on Whitmer explored her 2020 experiences and describing them as “surreal” could be the most apt use of that word ever.
4. January 2024
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell headlined our annual “Detroiters” list in 2024, which highlights the people making unique impacts on metro Detroit. His striking portrait, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, appeared on the cover, with contributor Jim McFarlin detailing the rise of Campbell becoming one of the most beloved Detroit sports figures in recent history.
3. June 2005
Detroit has been very fortunate to have some incredible local news anchors over the years. WDIV-TV’s Carmen Harlan is certainly among the most iconic. A Detroit native, Harlan joined WDIV-TV in 1978 as a general assignment reporter. Three years later, she became an anchor. Paired with Mort Crim, another legendary Detroit news anchor, Harlan continued to serve as anchor until her retirement in 2016. Photographed by Roy Ritchie, Harlan appeared on the cover of Hour Detroit in June 2005 for our “Best of Detroit” issue. In the 2005 edition of our readers’ poll, Harlan won three honors: Best local TV anchor, best TV hairdo (female), and best-looking TV personality.
2. April 2026
Our latest “City Guide” feature took on the theme of “Hidden Detroit.” In it, we examined lesser-known aspects and treasures in metro Detroit. The cover was of Tintoretto’s “The Dreams of Men,” which is featured in the Detroit Institute of Arts, but it’s in a surprising location. If you’re looking to find out where to spot this gorgeous painting, Jack Thomas and Kate Walsh share its location in their piece appropriately titled “Things You May Have Missed at the Detroit Institute of Arts.”
1. June 2019
The 2019 “Best of Detroit” list served as a tribute to Aretha Franklin, who passed away in Aug. 2018 at age 76. Not only did the “Queen of Soul” win the honor of “Detroit Legend,” but she appeared on the cover via an original oil painting by Kim Frank Fujiwara. (Fujiwara won in the category of “Best Fine Artist.”) Simply put: This is a breathtaking cover. We admire and agree with our readers’ outstanding taste in their choice for the best Hour Detroit cover.
Detroit, MI
First responders honored after rescuing 12 people from capsized sailboats near Belle Isle
DETROIT – Detroit first responders and several private citizens are being credited with helping rescue a dozen people after multiple sailboats capsized in the Detroit River near Belle Isle during severe weather last week.
The incident occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. on June 10 as a line of thunderstorms moved through southeast Michigan, bringing strong winds to the area.
According to the Detroit Fire Department, crews were dispatched to Belle Isle near the beach following reports of overturned boats and people in the water.
Firefighters, EMS personnel, Engine 27, and Fireboat 2, known as the Sivad Johnson, responded to the scene.
When crews arrived, they found multiple small sailboats overturned in the river.
Officials said 20 people aboard seven sailboats were involved in the incident.
Twelve people were rescued from the water, while eight others safely returned aboard two boats that remained upright.
Fireboat 2 rescued four people from the water.
The Detroit Police Department Harbormaster rescued two more, while a private boater assisted three people. Another three were brought to safety by a nearby boat club vessel.
The operator of the sailing group said as many as 26 people were on the water before the storm arrived, with six making it back to shore on their own before rescue efforts began.
Despite the dangerous conditions, no serious injuries were reported. Officials said all rescued individuals declined medical treatment.
Authorities praised the coordinated response among firefighters, police officers, boat club members, and private boaters who assisted during the emergency.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” said Detroit Fire Department Fireboat Operator Daniel Familant. “To be honest, we do make a lot of the saves by the private boaters out there that are fishing or just having a good time, and people were out there screaming, ‘Help, help,’ and there they go, so everyone helps out. It’s an all-hands effort.”
Emergency crews remained on scene until everyone involved was accounted for.
Officials noted that one member of the Fireboat 2 crew was serving on the vessel for the first time during the rescue operation.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and Fr. Mario Amore on restructuring
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and Fr. Mario Amore on the archdiocese restructuring on Nov. 17, 2025 in Detroit
The list of Catholic parishes targeted for the possible stoppage of weekend Masses has grown to about 90 parishes across southeast Michigan, according to the latest proposed models the Archdiocese of Detroit has released as part of its major restructuring process.
The archdiocese released on Thursday the models for potential parish groupings for the six remaining planning areas in the archdiocese, and 32 parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. Previously released models showed that 58 other parishes could stop holding weekend Mass.
The Archdiocese of Detroit recently completed listening sessions meant to garner feedback on the models, but parishioners can still share input through a survey that is open until July 31.
The archdiocese has been divided into 15 planning areas, or geographic areas, and three or four models are being proposed for each planning area, said the Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The models have different proposed groupings of parishes ― called pastorates ― in which a grouping would share a pastor and potentially other priests. In some cases, selected churches in the grouping would no longer hold Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass.
The models released on Thursday are for planning areas 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 15, which include parts of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and parishes in St. Clair and Lapeer counties.
Sixteen of the parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under any of the models, including St. Alphonsus-Clement Parish in Dearborn, Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Redford Township and Our Lady of Hope Parish in St. Clair Shores.
The models are part of the archdiocese’s biggest restructuring plan in years. Announced last fall, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said the archdiocese can’t maintain the roughly 200 existing parish buildings and is working to “right-size” the archdiocese, along with its personnel and financial resources.
Holly Fournier, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Detroit, emphasized that the models are just draft proposals “intended to solicit feedback from parishioners.” She said no decisions have been made regarding pastorate groupings, weekend Mass schedules or any other aspect of the restructuring process.
The Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said in May that parishioners understand that the archdiocese “needs to do something” about its challenges. But when it becomes personal for people, it’s “very difficult,” he said.
“And there’s a lot of human emotions, and … we need to honor that,” Amore said. “We need to be attentive to that, and no one’s saying that it’s an easy process, and it’s not a process that … we’re happy that we need to undertake, but it is one that we do need to undertake.”
What the latest Wayne County models show
Planning Area 6, which is in the southern section of Wayne County, excluding the Downriver area, includes 16 parishes. Eight of them would stop holding Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass under at least one of the models for the planning area.
They include St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy in Westland, St. Richard in Westland, St. Aloysius in Romulus, St. Sabina in Dearborn Heights, St. Linus in Dearborn Heights, Divine Child in Dearborn, St. Alphonsus -St. Clement in Dearborn and St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Dearborn.
Planning Area 7, which includes the northwest portion of Wayne County, has 15 parishes, four of which wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Loretto in Redford Township, St. John XXIII in Redford Township, St. Priscilla in Livonia and Resurrection in Canton Township.
What the latest Oakland and Macomb Co. models show
Planning Area 8, which is in southern Oakland County, has 13 parishes, six of which wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. They include St. William in Walled Lake, St. Gerald in Farmington, Prince of Peace in West Bloomfield, St. Joseph in South Lyon, Church of the Transfiguration in Southfield and Our Lady of Albanians in Southfield.
Planning Area 11, which includes the southeastern section of Macomb County, the Grosse Pointe communities and one parish in Detroit, has 14 parishes. Seven of them wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Hope in St. Clair Shores, St. Lucy in St. Clair Shores, St. Basil the Great in Eastpointe, St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores, Holy Innocents-St. Barnabas in Roseville, St. Matthew in Detroit and St. Clare of Montefalco in Grosse Pointe Park.
What the models in St. Clair, Lapeer counties show
Planning Area 14, which is in St. Clair County, has 12 parishes, five of which wouldn’t have Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass in at least one model. They include Sacred Heart in Yale, St. Edward on the Lake in Lakeport, Holy Trinity in Port Huron, St. Christopher in Marysville and Immaculate Conception in Ira Township.
Planning Area 15, which is in Lapeer County and part of northern Macomb County, includes ten parishes. Two wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include St. Mary Burnside in North Branch and St. Cornelius in Dryden.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
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