Rossi, Dixon Lead Practice Sessions in Detroit

• Alexander Rossi, Honda, top the time sheets in practice for two-race weekend
• Scott Dixon heads opening practice session, runs third overall
• Qualifying and Race One take place on Saturday; Race Two on Sunday

DETROIT, Mich. (May 31, 2019) – Honda drivers led the way in opening practice today for this weekend’s Dual in Detroit NTT IndyCar Series doubleheader race weekend, with Alexander Rossi fastest in the second practice session – and on the day – in his Andretti Autosport Honda.  

Scott Dixon led the morning session and ended the day third on the timesheets for Chip Ganassi Racing, while Graham Rahal rounded out the top five for Honda and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

Activities continue Saturday in Detroit with the first of this weekend’s two 70-lap NTT IndyCar Series races.  Live NBC television coverage of the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2019 championship begins at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) fastest in opening-day practice: “Yeah, Detroit is definitely a unique place. You have to learn to love the bumps. Kind of figure out ways to get around them. There’s certain bumping in braking zones and in corners that if you have a slightly different line or approach with your driving style, you can mitigate the impact that the bumps have.  I think you can see a bit of separation at a place like this just for small driving style differences, which is great. At the end of the day, even with all that being said, we saw it’s so close at the top, close throughout the whole field. Pretty normal for Indy car racing.”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Third fastest Friday in Detroit: “Man it’s a really tough circuit here in Detroit. You have to be very aggressive and really nail the calls on using the right [compound] tires at the right time. But that is just another reason I love coming here. It’s a huge challenge with two races in as many days, and coming right off the Indianapolis 500. We unloaded fast and have a good PNC Bank car. I think we’ll be ready to go and in a good spot for tomorrow.”