Will the second race of the Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle provide IndyCar with its eighth different winner in as many races so far this season?
With Graham Rahal’s win in the first Belle Isle race, IndyCar saw something happen that had not happened since 2000. The series has now seen seven different winners in the first seven races of the 2017 season. Will we see an eighth different winner in the eighth race of the season, something that has never happened?
The only driver who has won this season and is not in the field at Belle Isle is last year’s Dual in Detroit Race #1 winner Sebastien Bourdais, who is out for the season after sustaining injuries in a crash during Indianapolis 500 qualifying. Of the 22 drivers in the field at Belle Isle, 16 have yet to win this season.
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Of the 16 drivers in the field that have not won yet this season, four are past winners at Belle Isle. Helio Castroneves is a three-time Belle Isle winner, and Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and Carlos Munoz have all won one race at Belle Isle before.
Of the six drivers who have won so far this season and are in the field at Belle Isle, three have won at Belle Isle before. Will Power is a two-time Belle Isle winner, Simon Pagenaud has won one race at Belle Isle, and Graham Rahal won at Belle Isle just a few hours ago.
All things considered, I’d say there is a really, really good chance that IndyCar gets its eighth different winner in as many races at Race #2 of the Dual in Detroit to break the all-time record set back in 2000.
Given that the all-time record for number of winners in a season is 11, a record set back in 2000 and tied in 2001 and 2014, an eighth different winner in eight races this season would not only break one record; it would move IndyCar one step closer to breaking another record.
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