The two contenders for the IndyCar Series title, leader Scott Dixon and runner-up Helio Castroneves started right away to battle it out on the Belle Isle circuit during the first two practice sessions today.Ganassi driver Dixon, who leads Castroneves by 43 points, was the fastest in the morning's session on a still-dirty track and he led by a comfortable half a second over Penske's Castroneves.But in the improved conditions of the afternoon, the Brazilian took his turn at the top of the charts with the fastest time of the day, more than half a second in front of Dixon. Panther Racing's Vitor Meira was third in second practice just in front of Ryan Briscoe who is also competing in the ALMS event.Graham Rahal of Newman-Haas-Lanigan was the best of the ex-Champ Car pilots with a seventh place. Young Marco Andretti didn't seem to be on the right track with the 20th spot. Practice one: Pos Driver Team Time1. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1:13.97142. Helio Castroneves Penske 1:14.4954 + 0.52403. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1:14.9002 + 0.92884. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 1:15.6494 + 1.67805. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 1:15.7004 + 1.72906. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1:15.7323 + 1.76097. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan 1:15.9390 + 1.96768. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 1:15.9760 + 2.00469. Darren Manning Foyt 1:16.0432 + 2.071810. Vitor Meira Panther 1:16.0602 + 2.088811. Ernesto Viso HVM 1:16.2482 + 2.276812. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1:16.4874 + 2.516013. AJ Foyt IV Vision 1:16.7216 + 2.750214. Will Power KV 1:16.7979 + 2.826515. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon 1:16.8601 + 2.888716. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:16.9212 + 2.949817. Oriol Servia KV 1:17.2074 + 3.236018. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 1:17.3831 + 3.411719. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 1:17.4258 + 3.454420. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1:17.6144 + 3.643021. Justin Wilson Newman Haas Lanigan 1:17.9563 + 3.984922. Ed Carpenter Vision 1:18.3216 + 4.350223. Jaime Camara Conquest 1:19.4043 + 5.432924. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest 1:19.4495 + 5.478125. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 1:23.5300 + 9.558626. Marty Roth Roth 1:33.5782 + 19.6068 Practice two: Pos Driver Team Time1. Helio Castroneves Penske 1:13.20592. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1:13.6996 + 0.49373. Vitor Meira Panther 1:13.9816 + 0.77574. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1:14.1373 + 0.93145. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1:14.4452 + 1.23936. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 1:14.6517 + 1.44587. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 1:14.6552 + 1.44938. Darren Manning Foyt 1:14.7119 + 1.50609. Oriol Servia KV 1:14.7147 + 1.508810. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:14.7326 + 1.526711. Will Power KV 1:14.8398 + 1.633912. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon 1:14.8960 + 1.690113. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:14.9100 + 1.704114. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:14.9609 + 1.755015. EJ Viso HVM 1:15.0732 + 1.867316. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 1:15.2644 + 2.058517. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1:15.5606 + 2.354718. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1:15.5702 + 2.364319. Ed Carpenter Vision 1:16.2213 + 3.015420. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 1:16.4200 + 3.214121. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 1:16.6437 + 3.437822. AJ Foyt IV Vision 1:16.7840 + 3.578123. Jaime Camara Conquest 1:17.2781 + 4.072224. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest 1:18.0948 + 4.888925. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 1:20.6361 + 7.430226. Marty Roth Roth 1:25.0063 + 11.8004
IRL: The battle is already on in Detroit (+photos)