Detroit GP: See IndyCar qualifying groups after Colton Herta tops practice 2

The Detroit GP qualifying is just on the horizon, with the second practice session being done and dusted. Andretti Global star Colton Herta topped the second practice session with a lap time of 1:01.7823 set in the final 10 minutes.

2025 Indy 500 retiree Scott McLaughlin finished in P2, a tenth behind Herta, with Kyle Kirkwood completing the Top 3 at Detroit GP second practice. Kirkwood continued his strong performance from practice 1, where he topped the session despite the damage to the rear of his car after the incident with Will Power, and was just 0.16 seconds slower than the leader.

The second practice began with a cloud cover over the Detroit GP circuit. Unlike the sunny weather in practice 1, the gloomy weather dropped the track temperature significantly. The tight, twisty, bumpy nature of the circuit caused troubles for the drivers in Practice 1, and these were only enhanced by the track temperature dropping in Practice 2.

Many drivers took to the run-off area, especially into Turn 1, as they locked up the tires and went straight on. Will Power continued to struggle with the brakes and went deep into heavy braking zones. The #12 Team Penske was again impeded during the session a couple of times, once by Devlin DeFrancesco and another time by Rinus VeeKay.

Pato O'Ward also locked up and went deep into the tire wall, hitting the front wing and damaging the same. The Arrow McLaren was pitted, inspected, and sent out a few minutes later with a new front wing.

Championship leader Alex Palou had a close call with a bird on the track as he came out of the Turn 1 exit. The Spaniard, who was closely being followed by Power, swerved to save the bird sitting on the corner exit.

Jacob Abel had a huge moment coming out of Turn 1, as the rookie got throttle happy, and spun the rear tires on the exit, causing a snap. Abel was just able to catch the IndyCar and prevent it from going into the barrier.

With the Detroit GP qualifying session just a couple of hours away, let's have a look at the qualifying groups.

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Qualifying groups for the IndyCar 2025 Detroit GP

The grid is divided into two groups for the first qualifying session, with the Top 6 from each making the cut for the second qualifying session. The drivers in odd finishing positions in practice 2 (1,3,5…) will be in Group 2 and those in the even positions (2,4,6…) in Group 1.

Detroit GP Qualifying Group 1

1.#3 Scott McLaughlin: Team Penske Chevrolet

2. #90 Callum Ilott: PREMA Racing Chevrolet

3. #60 Felix Rosenqvist: Meyer Shank Racing Honda

4. #7 Christian Lundgaard: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

5. #28 Marcus Ericsson: Andretti Global Honda

6. #10 Alex Palou: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

7. #30 Devlin DeFrancesco: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

8. #18 Rinus VeeKay: Dale Coyne Racing Honda

9. #12 Will Power: Team Penske Chevrolet

10. #8 Kyffin Simpson: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

11. #14 Santino Ferrucci: AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

12. #66 Marcus Armstrong: Meyer Shank Racing Honda

13. #76 Conor Daly: Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

Detroit GP Qualifying Group 2

1.#26 Colton Herta: Andretti Global Honda

2. #27 Kyle Kirkwood: Andretti Global Honda

3. #45 Louis Foster: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

4. #21 Christian Rasmussen: Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

5. #15 Graham Rahal: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

6. #9 Scott Dixon: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

7. #4 David Malukas: AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

8. #2 Josef Newgarden: Team Penske Chevrolet

9. #83 Robert Shwartzman: PREMA Racing Chevrolet

10. #20 Alexander Rossi: Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

11. #6 Nolan Siegel: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

12. #5 Pato O'Ward: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

13 #51 Jacob Abel: Dale Coyne Racing Honda

14. # 77: Sting Ray Robb: Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet