The Andretti Global duo of Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood went 1-2 in pre-qualifying practice Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear and then were at the center of a post-session flashpoint with NTT INDYCAR SERIES lightning rod Santino Ferrucci.
Herta was quickest with a lap of 1 minute, 1.5726 seconds in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, followed by Kirkwood at 1:01.7381 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit. Herta’s lap was the best of the weekend so far, topping the session-leading 1:01.7210 set in Friday practice by Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing.
SEE: Practice Results
“I got one (clean lap), and it ended up being perfect, and the tires were in the right temperature window,” Herta said. “You have to take the practice results with a grain of salt because there are guys that are really fast that just get screwed (by traffic) and don’t get laps. Luckily, we were one of the lucky ones that got to have a lap, and I’m happy with how our Gainbridge Honda is right now.”
While Herta was happy with his car, Ferrucci was less than pleased with the Andretti Global teammates after the 45-minute session.
AJ Foyt Racing driver Ferrucci claimed both Herta and Kirkwood turned into his No. 14 AJ FOYT RACING/SEXTON PROPERTIES Chevrolet in the tight confines and thick traffic of the street circuit, accusations that Herta and Kirkwood dismissed with equal amounts of incredulity and sarcasm. Kirkwood approached Ferrucci’s pit after the session to discuss the incident, and Ferrucci pushed him away with an expletive-filled response.
This isn’t the first time this season the feisty Ferrucci has clashed with rivals. He and Romain Grosjean of Juncos Hollinger Racing had on-track dustups at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Stay tuned for any aftermath from this fracas – and to learn the pole winner – during NTT P1 Award qualifying at 12:15 p.m. ET today (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou, the championship leader, ended up third at 1:01.8982 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Rookie Theo Pourchaire was the fastest Chevrolet-powered driver in the shadow of General Motors’ headquarters, fourth at 1:01.9429 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet before nosing into the barriers in Turn 9 late in the session and triggering a red flag.
Agustin Canapino rounded out the top five at 1:02.1034 in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.
Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.