DETROIT _ Graham Rahal had a much better weekend than his wife.
Rahal had the race of his life. He dominated from the pole to win the first dual of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Saturday. He'll go for a weekend sweep in Sunday's second dual, which starts at 3:30.
Rahal set the track qualifying record at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park with a speed of 114.373 mph in the morning. He led 55 of the race's 70 laps.
The 55 laps represented a career-high for laps led in a Verizon IdyCar race for Rahal. He won for the fifth time in the IndyCar Series and for the first time since Aug. 27, 2016 at Texas.
NHRA driver Courtney Force, Rahal's wife, walked away relatively unharmed after her funny car exploded in qualifying Friday at the New England Nationals.
"I wasn't very happy last night, I'll tell you that, she'll tell you that," Rahal said during the post-race interview during the ESPN broadcast. "Obviously I don't like seeing stuff like that. I guess it's the nature of the beast. Certainly as a husband I don't like to see it. But anyway she's alright, which is good. Hopefully she can get a win there tomorrow."
Rahal said he was focused and wanted to win in Detroit. His father, Bobby Rahal, won on Belle Isle in 1992 in the CART/Champ Car Series.
Graham Rahal, who drives the No. 15 SoldierStrong/TurnsForTroops.com Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, earned the pole after Helio Castroneves was penalized for failing to slow down enough for the liking of IndyCar officials during a local yellow flag. Castroneves started second and finished seventh in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet.
Scott Dixon, driving the No. 9 NTT Data Honda, started sixth and finished second. It was a strong effort considering he was driving with an injured foot, the result of a horrifying crash at the Indy 500 last Sunday. Dixon is the new series points leader with 275 points, two more than Castroneves.
Conor Daly, who was profiled by the Free Press from the Indy 500 to Detroit, was the first car out of the race. Daly's No. 4 ABC Supply Co. Chevrolet was the only car to begin the race on black tires. He started 16th and moved up to 11 spots by Lap 15. But he brought out a full caution on Lap 26 after losing power in Turn 4.
