11 IndyCar street fighters to ride with in the Motor City

11 IndyCar street fighters to ride with in the Motor City

Hard braking and turning right are back. After the 220mph-plus thrills of the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series switches gears and heads to Detroit’s Belle Isle for a no-holds-barred street fight in the Motor City, June 5.

Sunday’s 70-lap, 164.5-mile race has 11 drivers carrying onboard cameras, and you can live-stream every one of them with the INDYCAR Mobile App Powered by NTT DATA. It’s free to download for fans worldwide, so if you haven’t already, take your viewing experience to a whole new level HERE.

You choose who you climb aboard with, and you can switch at any time. Think Pato O’Ward will pull off another late-race mega move like he did last year (above)? Then hop on for the ride. Or how about Romain Grosjean landing his first NTT IndyCar Series win? You can grab the best seat in the house and find out.

Here are the 11 drivers racing with live-streaming in-car cameras, plus how we rate their chances of being at the sharp end when it counts…

PATO O’WARD, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet

Best Detroit finish: Win (2021, Race 2)

O’Ward earned his first NTT IndyCar Series career road/street course win here in 2021 (below), and heads into the weekend as one of the favorites again. His last three 2022 starts include a win at Barber and second in the Indy 500, so the guy’s hot. Whether he’s pushing hard out front, or planning a late-race move, Pato’s worth hitching a ride with.

COLTON HERTA, No. 26 Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian Honda

Best Detroit finish: 4th (2021, Race 2)

After a few days to forget at the Indy 500, including a rapid re-work of his Detroit chassis into the car he skittered around the Brickyard in for 129 laps on Sunday, Herta’s looking for a way better weekend in the Motor City. One of the best street racers in the series, and a winner in the Month of May-opening Indy GP, expect him to put on a show on Belle Isle.

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

Best Detroit finish: Win x 2 (2017, Race 1 & 2)

The only driver to win both races of a Belle Isle double-header, Rahal only gets one chance to go for the “W” this weekend, but could be a factor despite a mostly frustrating start to the season for the RLL squad. Wherever he qualifies, climb aboard and get ready for one of his trademark charge through the field.

ALEX PALOU, No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Best Detroit finish: 3rd (2021, Race 2)

Although the reigning NTT IndyCar Series champ (below) has finished on the podium in three of the four road/street races held so far this season, he’s yet to rack up his first victory of the campaign. He’s never won on a street course, but Detroit’s Belle Isle could be the place where he changes that.

ALEXANDER ROSSI, No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda

Best Detroit finish: 2nd (2019, Race 1)

After the big news that he’ll be switching from Andretti to AMSP in 2023, it’s back down to business for Rossi. Winless since 2019, his 2022 results are trending in the right direction, with three top 10s in the last four races. Two career wins at Long Beach confirm his street-racing chops. Definitely a ride-along to consider.

 ROMAIN GROSJEAN, No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda

Best Detroit finish: 23rd (2021, Race 1)

Put it in the wall at Belle Isle last year, but a second-place finish for Grosjean in this year’s Grand Prix of Long Beach shows he’s filed off his street-racing rough edges. The fast, aggressive Frenchman is yet to score his breakthrough first IndyCar win but could be the guy to give you the best seat in the house on Sunday.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet

Best Detroit finish: Win (2019, Race 1)

After two wins in the first three races of the season, momentum’s cooled a little for Newgarden in recent weeks. Belle Isle seems a good place for the two-time series champ to crank things up again. In Race 2 last year (below), he took the pole, led the most laps, then just missed out on a win to the fired up O’Ward. Expect the Penske ace to be at the sharp end this time around, too.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet

Best Detroit finish: 19th (2021, Race 1)

The Penske sophomore started 2022 on a tear, winning his first NTT IndyCar Series race at the St. Petersburg opener and following that with second at Texas Motor Speedway. Since then, things have calmed a little for the New Zealander. But as his St. Pete win proved, he’s no slouch on a street course. Sure, his Detroit debut wasn’t amazing last year, but second time around McLaughlin could be a major factor.

FELIX ROSENQVIST, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet

Best Detroit finish: 4th (2019, Race 1)

The Swede returns to the scene of his major crash in last year’s Race 1, but isn’t likely to be fazed in any way. Better still, after a rough start to his 2022 campaign, things are beginning to click for the AMSP driver, with a sixth in the Indy GP and a confidence-boosting fourth in the Indy 500. If you want to ride along with a driver who’s got a point to prove and the momentum to do it, Rosenqvist could be your man.

JACK HARVEY, No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

Best Detroit finish: 16th (2021, Race 1)

On the minus side, RLL’s newly-installed Brit has yet to register a top-10 finish in 2022. On the plus side, he’s massively motivated to put some buzz into his season and will definitely make the most of any and every opportunity that presents itself this weekend – which makes a pretty good case for joining him on the ride.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Best Detroit finish: 21st (2021, Race 2)

After an impressive Month of May debut for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champ (below), including a Fast 12 qualifying spot – and, yeah, that late-race rendezvous with the wall – Johnson’s back to his road/street course learning curve, but with renewed confidence. Hopping on with Jimmie might not take you to a podium, but it will be fascinating to see how he progresses.

The 2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix is set to take the green flag at 3:45pm ET on Sunday, June 5, when all 11 in-car race cameras will be available for live-streaming on the INDYCAR Mobile App. And for the double-screen experience, watch live race coverage on USA or Peacock, starting 3:00pm ET.

Make sure you sign up for the INDYCAR Mobile App Powered by NTT DATA, the official mobile app of the NTT IndyCar Series. In addition to live in-car race cameras, it features live timing and scoring, live driver and pit crew radio transmissions, live points updates, and INDYCAR Radio Network audio streaming during all track activity.

Add in exclusive content, video highlights, spotter guides, easy access for playing the IndyCar Fantasy Challenge Driven by Firestone, plus loads more great features, and it’s your essential deep dive into the NTT IndyCar Series.

And did we mention that it’s free? Don’t miss outCLICK HERE to get started

More RACER