Detroit Grand Prix drivers adjust to new course on the streets of downtown

The Grand Prix is back on the streets of Detroit for the first time in 32 years.

Drivers from the IMSA Michelin Pilot Series, Trans Am Series, Indy NXT series and the IndyCar Series all made it to the city Thursday for the Grand Prix Media Luncheon at the Renaissance Center. For many of the drivers, this isn't their first time in Detroit, but it's everyone's first time on the city's brand new course.

IndyCar driver and 2022 Detroit Grand Prix champion Will Power is already familiar with victory in the Motor City, but preparation for this year's race has changed due to the new track.

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"We've already driven out on the simulator, so we know the track," Power said. "(They've) done some great work resurfacing the track to make it less bumpy."

Romain Grosjean, driver of the No. 28 DHL Honda in the IndyCar Series, believes having past experience driving on street courses like Belle Isle will be helpful for this weekend.

"It (the Belle Isle course) was evolving so much and always reinventing your driving, so it's gonna be the same here really," Grosjean said. "Street courses (have) the roads, buses, trucks, cars, bicycles during the day and then eventually we go and race them, so the track is gonna change a lot and I'm excited to discover it."

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Entering the race with a slight disadvantage is Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who has spent much of his time since being crowned on Sunday doing media appearances, most recently traveling to New York. However, constant travel is nothing new for an experienced IndyCar driver.

"It's one of my favorite aspects of IndyCar racing is the complexity of the schedule," Newgarden said. "To me, you have to be incredibly diverse in this championship. Coming from Indianapolis is a total 180 to drive around the streets of Detroit, and I absolutely love being here."

Another new aspect of the course is a two-sided pit lane — a first for IndyCar. Newgarden, a Chevy driver with Team Penske, was asked Thursday if Chevrolet's feature that indicates which side of the car the fuel tank is on (with an arrow) could come in handy with that type of pit lane.

"Probably not a bad idea," Newgarden said. "I think that would be a tough mistake to make this weekend to pull in on the wrong side of the pit. It's just Bud (Denker, president of Penske Corporation) again trying to spice things up and give us a challenge. We'll survive just fine."

Also up for any challenge is women's boxing undisputed middleweight champion and Flint native Claressa Shields. She made an appearance at the luncheon and is scheduled to fight Maricela Cornejo at Little Caesars Arena Saturday at 9 p.m.

Race festivities officially kick off Friday when the gates open to the public at 8 a.m. The marquee IndyCar Series race for the Detroit Grand Prix trophy is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, with plenty of racing and other activities to come in between.