LIVE BLOG: 2014 Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit

IndyCar, IndyCar commentary — By on June 1, 2014 7:00 am

2:28 PM ET — I have some news that I think is pretty great, and I hope you agree. We’re being helped out by Verizon! They’ve supplied me with a 4G LTE enabled tablet, which means that I can finally deliver the coverage I’ve always wanted to without worrying about poor signal or roaming charges. I can post pictures to my heart’s content, try out the IndyCar 14 app, and post to the live blog from anywhere on the grounds — I’m no longer tied to the media center!

Please join me in sending a big thank you to Verizon for their support of our coverage here and at a number of the other races we’ll be covering here at More Front Wing in 2014. I’m going to finish getting this set up and then head off to the grid for race 1 at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit!

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10:45 AM ET — Helio Castroneves won the Verizon P1 pole award for today’s first race of the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit. He was still beside himself by the time he got to the media center and was thrilled to get such a good result for Roger Penske and Chevrolet here at their marquee event. He’ll be joined on the front row by James Hinchcliffe.

The first group in round 1 was the most dramatic segment of qualifying. Pagenaud was set to advance, but he was penalized for qualifying interference on Montoya and lost his two fastest laps. Montoya then advanced and made it through to the Firestone Fast 6.

Also, potential bad news for IndyCar: Ryan Hunter-Reay, who as we know won the Indianapolis 500 just six days ago, made contact with the wall in round 1 and will start 21st. The good news in that regard is that qualifying isn’t the only story today as race 1 goes off this afternoon, so there’s still time for him to make headlines. Other fast drivers starting toward the back of the grid today include Justin Wilson and Will Power.

The full results of qualifying will be posted shortly in our Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit Event Summary.

A quick note about the tire rules here as they’re a bit different on double-header weekends: each team receives eight sets of primary Firestone tires and three sets of alternates, and they’re required to use at least one set of each type at least once in each of the two races today and tomorrow. However, the requirement that those sets be new at any point is waived, so teams can make their own decisions on, say, holding new sets for qualifying if they wish.

There was also a very interesting statistic published by our friends at Trackside Online yesterday. They found the capacity numbers for the grandstands here, which combined to be roughly 15,000 seats. I’d say you’d probably get another 8,000 into the chalets and suites, so that gives you an idea of the relative size of a sellout crowd here on Belle Isle. (If you’re not already a TSO subscriber, please do check them out. You can learn all about them at tracksideonline.com.)

And now — we wait. There’s no more open-wheel activity here until the IndyCar pre-race starts a little before 3:00 PM, so I’m going to watch the other racing that’s going on this afternoon and maybe wander around to see what else I can find going on. Keep an eye on us here and on Twitter and Instagram @MoreFrontWing for instant updates.

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