Graham Rahal has successfully managed to translate pole position into victory after a dominant display during Race 1 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix around the tricky Raceway at Belle Isle Park road course.
The 70-lap race was only interrupted by two full course cautions after a relatively clean race, with Rahal leading 55 laps on his way to becoming the seventh different winner in seven races, showing just how competitive the IndyCar field has become.
Four-time champion Scott Dixon was second for Chip Ganassi Racing, expertly handling his car around the treacherously bumpy street course only six days after his horrific accident at the Indianapolis 500.
James Hinchcliffe was a highly respectable P3 for SPM Racing, after the Canadian racer spun at Turn 2 on the first lap after losing the rear of his car without any contact, causing the first caution period.
Luckily Hinchcliffe managed to avoid contact with another driver and the wall, with the Holmatro Safety Team restarting his car and enabling him to return to the pits for a fresh set of Firestone tyres.
From there Hinchcliffe scythed back through the field with a combination of on-track overtaking manoeuvres and pit-lane passes, working his way majestically back to the sharp end of the order.
Josef Newgarden was fourth for Penske, ending the race as the highest placed Penske and Chevrolet-powered car.
The Barber race winner completed a late overtake on Alexander Rossi, with the Andretti Autosport racer forced to settle for P5.
Mikhail Aleshin was another driver who managed to rise up through the order during the race, opting to pit under the first caution period on the opening lap.
Just like Hinchcliffe, Aleshin even managed to lead a lap of the race during the pit-stop period, eventually coming home P6.
Helio Castroneves was forced to settle for P7, despite starting from P2 and even leading several laps.
Initially Castroneves perfected the undercut on Rahal during the first round of pit-stops, however he was committed to a three-stop strategy and therefore was required to make a final splash-and-dash during the latter stages of the race which demoted him down the order.
Takuma Sato also required a final stop during the final handful of laps, with the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion losing several key positions due to the stop and ending the race P8.
Rookie Ed Jones rounded out the top ten ahead of Spencer Pigot, with the Dubai-born British racer in particular starting from a lowly P21 on the grid and rising steadily through the order.
Reigning champion Simon Pagenaud endured an uninspiring race, eventually coming home way down in P16.
Meanwhile fellow Penske racer Will Power was equally unimpressive, ending the race a lowly P18 and even a lap off the leaders.
Conor Daly was the only official retirement of the race, after being involved in an altercation with Charlie Kimball which caused the second and final full course caution.
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