Driver Will Power had a famous fan in Detroit Grand Prix stands: Flavor Flav
The 2023 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear ended with a victory for Alex Palou in the streets of Detroit.
But that victory didn't come easily. The eventful race had twists and turns and lead changes that kept it interesting until the end.
There were plenty of narratives to follow in Sunday afternoon's race. Here's just a few.
SUNDAY'S RACE: Alex Palou wins 2023 Detroit Grand Prix in return to downtown
THE WEEKEND: Crowds gather in downtown Detroit for Grand Prix second day
Flavor Flav befriends Will Power
Drivers had to "fight the power" — second-place finisher Will Power, that is.
While the finishers behind him may not have been Power's biggest fan, Flavor Flav was. The rapper and founding member of Public Enemy was in Detroit to watch the race this weekend and quickly found a driver to cheer for.
Power found out Flavor Flav was in the city from an NBC Sports interview and wanted to meet him; the two hit it off quickly. Flavor Flav accompanied Power on his truck during the pre-race ceremonies, wearing a Will Power T-shirt he bought.
"He's the most positive dude you'll ever meet," Power said after Sunday's race. "I thought he was gonna come to the podium. I think if I won, he would have."
Power, who admitted to being a huge Public Enemy fan in the 1990s, said some of his friends joked that he should quit racing now that "he's made it."
Drivers adjust to new track
Despite concerns from drivers about a few aspects of the new Downtown Detroit course, the race went from start to finish with minimal issues. There were no major incidents in the unconventional double-sided pit lane or merging back onto the course.
Five drivers crashed out of the race, but that was fewer than in last week's Indy 500. Most of the crashes came from drivers hitting the wall after tight turns.
Most notably, Pato O'Ward suffered a technical issue while attempting to leave pit lane, causing his car to stop. He hit a wall while trying to pass Santino Ferruci. Romain Grosjean also crashed into a wall late in the race. Both crashes eliminated the two drivers who entered as favorites.
Bud Denker, the president of Penske Corporation, said he listened to drivers' concerns about the course. The things he said they could look at improving include the breaking zone in Turn 3 and improving the run-off to give drivers an extra 40 feet or so.
Despite some of the drivers' concerns about the course, Denker said he doesn't believe the comments did any damage to the brand. Although he isn't in charge of decisions about the track, he communicates their feedback to people who are.
"I have a good communication process with most drivers, and they give me some real good feedback," Denker said.
Teammates Rosenqvist and Rossi slug it out
It was a battle towards the front of the pack in the last few laps. In the "now or never" moment for drivers to make their move, Rosenqvist refused to yield to his Arrow McLaren teammate, Alexander Rossi, who finished fifth.
Papaya Problems. @AlexanderRossi and @FRosenqvist come together at the end of the @detroitgp.#INDYCAR // #DetroitGP pic.twitter.com/Iq4ff5RtvX
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 4, 2023
When asked about the pivotal moment on the NBC broadcast, Rossi said they would "discuss it internally," clearly not happy with the outcome.
"I mean we race hard, but I think we also race fair," Rosenqvist said. "Obviously we like each other, and we don't have any intentions to put each other in the wall, but it was tight. I think that move wasn't really high-risk. I was completely alongside him and it just gets tight."
Despite bouncing off the wall, Rossi's car didn't sustain any significant damage and was able to finish the race. However, Rosenqvist's maneuver did cost him two spots, sending him into fifth place, where he would eventually finish.
Rosenvqist said Arrow McLaren cars have finished well at every race; when it comes to having to battle it out with teammates, it's something to "discuss it internally" to see if they can manage it differently.
"There was no team calls on this one, which I think is really cool that they let us battle it out on the track," Rosenvqist said. "When you have a lot of good cars at the front, it's a good problem to have."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Grand Prix has a new Power couple: Will Power and Flavor Flav