VeeKay Takes Pole in Youthful Fast Six

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Photo: Kyle McInnes

Rinus VeeKay tok the pole for tomorrow’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with a lap of 1:06.25. Pato O’Ward, last year’s polke winner, will join VeeKay on the front row. O’Ward was 0.15 seconds slower than VeeKay.

Alex Palou, 2021 race winner and series champion, will start third, the same position he won the rac from last year. Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi, and Felix Rosenqvist round out the first three rows.

As startling as the names in the Fast Six were, equally shocking was who was not in it. Scott Dixon missed the Fast Six at Barber for the first time. He will start 13th. Power had been in the Fast Six nine times in the 11 races here, will start 19th. Josef Newgarden will start seventh and Colton Herta 10th. Romain Grosjean will start eighth.

Colton Herta waited a bit too long to make his final run in the round of 12. That session ended early when Marcus Ericsson went off track and brought out the red flag with 25 seconds left.

The results set up a Fast Six with drivers who had 16 poles between them and an average age of 26 years.

In the Fast Six, VeeKay was the last car on track and nipped O’Ward at the line. The pole was VeeKay’s second career pole. The first came aqt the 2020 Harvest Classic Race 1 at IMS.

Notes

Veekay is the fourth different pole winner and ECR is the fourth different team to win a pole in 2022. Pole winners have won two of the three races this season.

Chevy has been quite strong this year. The manufacturer has three poles and has won the first three races of 2022.

How good are rookies Callum Ilott and Kyle Kirkwood? Ilott will nstart b11th and Kirkwood lines up 21st, but people were disappointed that neither advanced further today.

David Malukas continues to struggle. He has had wall contact every weekend this season.

Kudos to Alexander Rossi’s team and others from Andretti Autosport for getting the 27 car back together after after the big crash this morning. Rossi rewarded them as the onlky Andretti car to make the Fast Six.

Will rain affect the brace tomorrow? The latest radar looks as if there will be rain this afternoon, possibly during the final practice session later today.

Tomorrow’s forecast as of 2:50 pm Central calls for a 46-48 % chance of rain during race time tomorrow, with a better chance for in the hours leading up to the noon start.

Results:

1. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:06.2507 (124.980 mph)
2. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:06.4003 (124.698)
3. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:06.4415 (124.621)
4. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:06.4967 (124.517)
5. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:06.5549 (124.409)
6. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:06.6410 (124.248)
7. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:06.3348 (124.821)
8. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:06.3820 (124.733)
9. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:06.6339 (124.261)
10. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:06.7295 (124.083)
11. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:07.2000 (123.214)
12. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:07.3561 (122.929)
13. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:06.5142 (124.485)
14. (30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:06.7462 (124.052)
15. (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:06.6511 (124.229)
16. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:06.8138 (123.926)
17. (51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:06.7541 (124.037)
18. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:06.8898 (123.786)
19. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:06.7775 (123.994)
20. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:07.0242 (123.537)
21. (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 01:06.8213 (123.913)
22. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:07.0350 (123.518)
23. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:07.6869 (122.328)
24. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 01:07.1052 (123.388)
25. (11) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 01:07.9248 (121.900)
26. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:09.0075 (119.987) 
 

VeeKay Leads Disjointed Practice; Rossi Crashes

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Photo by Kyle McIness

Rinus VeeKay took second practice honors with a lap of 1:05.9284. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver was the only one with a lap under 1:06 in the final practice before qualifying for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Pato O’Ward was close with a quick circuit of 1:06.0136.

Twqo red flags interrupted the round and brought Indycar’s new time policy into play. Alexander Rossi spun as he entered the front strecth and and backed in to the guard rail, sustaining heavy damage to the rear of the car. the attenuator cut the right front tire of Helio Castroneves’ car. Rossi was running fifth at the time. With no chance to improve his time, he ended 20th. The red flag lasted 15 minutes, which used up the extra time allotted for completing a practice session.

The clock stopped at first, then began running again before the green flag waved again.

With about 12 minutes left Will Power hit a kerb, slid into the gravel and stalled in the turn 8-9 area. The green returned with seven minutes left.

Romain Grosjean and Josef Newgarden also had off track excursions and were able to continue.

Notes

Scott McLaughlin continues to be the fastest Team Penske driver. McLaughlin was fourth this morning. Josef Newgarden was 11th and Power 16th.

Callum Ilott was again the top rookie with another top ten run, in ninth

Seven teams had drivers in the top 10.

The teams that tested at barber three weeks ago have had the best results in the two sessions.

Qualifying begins at Noon Central time on Peacock.

Results-Top 13

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Barber Qualifying Could Determine Race Outcome

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Today’s Schedule: All Times Centrtal

Saturday, April 30

  • Gates open 7:30AM
  • Radical Cup Race #2 8:00 – 8:45AM
  • NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 9:00 – 10:00 AM Peacock
  • USF 2000 (Q2) 10:15 – 10:45AM
  • INDY LIGHTS (Q) 11:00 – 11:30AM
  • NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying/Firestone Fast 6 12:00 – 1:15 PM Peacock
  • NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Autograph Session 1:15 PM – 1:45 PM
  • Indy Pro 2000 Race #1 1:30 – 2:20PM
  • INDY LIGHTS (Final Practice) 2:35 – 3:05PM
  • USF 2000 Race #1 3:20 – 4:05PM
  • NTT INDYCAR SERIES (Final Practice) 4:20 – 4:50 PM Peacock
  • Radical Cup Race #3 5:05 – 5:50PM
  • Indy Pro 2000 (Q2) 6:05 – 6:30PM

Today’s qualifying carries a lot of importance. Will Power won the race from ninth place in 2012. That is the lowest starting position of a race winner here.

The teams that tested here, mainly Ganassi and Andretti, were strongest in practice yesterday. The teams that didn’t test, namely Team Penske did not fare so well yesterday except for Scott McLaughlin, who was fifth in Friday’s practice. Will Power admitted to being nervous about the team’s chances for qualifying.

It is never wise to put too much stock in a weekend’s first practice. Cars have not had a chance to try out the alternate red tires yet. Some cars perform differently on reds. Certain drivers are becoming Friday stars who fade fast when the sun comes up again.

There is also a slight chance of rain today. Qualifying should be fine. The best chance for rain is between 2 pm and 6 pm. Rain could affect the final Indy Lights and Indycar practices. The rain chance at 2 pm is 50%. Qualifying should be fine, but we’ll probably see rain tires ready on pit road.

There is a 50% chance of rain Sunday. Scattered thunderstorms are predicted, which would make the race a lot more interesting.

Here is the full practice sheet from yesterday:

Notes

I was sad to see that some land on the approach road to the track is for sale and that cutting of trees has already begun. Barber has one of the prettiest approaches to the main gate of any track.

Scott McLaughlin has the weekend’s best livery.

Scott Dixon will make his 292nd consecutive Indycar start Sunday, the second longest streak in Indycar history.

Marcus Ericsson will start his 50th Indycar race.

Herta Quickest in Barber Practice 1

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Colton Herta led the first practice session for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Andretti Autosport put three drivers in the top six. Alexander Rossi finished third and Romain Grosjean was fourth.

Defending race winner and series champion Alex Palou was second and Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon was sixth. Marcus Ericsson put a third Gaanssi car in top ten with the ninth fastest time.

Scott McLaughlin was the only Team Penske car in the top 10 in fifth place.

Pato O’Ward, the 2021 Barber pole sitter was seventh.

Rookie Callum Ilott had the eighth fastest time,

The session ran uninterrupted.

Callum Ilott

The top 13

Notes

The crowd seemed smaller than atypical Friday Barber crowd. I find that odd since the track declared tomorrow and Sunday sellouts.

The Fan Zone appeared to be the most robust in several years. There are a lot of vendors and expanded food choices.

Danial Frost led the Indy Lights practice session with a time of 1: 12.6511. Matthew Brabham, winner of the first race at St. Pete, was sixth.

A chance of rain looms for qualifying tomorrow and a better chance of precipitation is possible Sunday.

It was nice see flowers in bloom at Barber again.

Tatiana Calderon Eager To Race on a Natural Road Course

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Tatiana Calderon seems to have found some pace at Long Beach. She attributes the improvement to her training regimen and adjustments to the car. She hopes returning to natural road courses will give her confidence a boost.

“I trained quite hard physically for Long Beach, changed my routine even changed a few things in the car that I was not that comfortable with. Finding some setup stuff that I feel more confident now and I’m happy to be bac on a permanent track that I’m more used to and exploring the limit of the car. “

Calderon, a rookie with A. J. Foyt Racing, said her first Indycar race was a shock because it was the first time she had spent more than 20 laps in a row in the car.

She is most familiar with natural, permanent road course and is looking forward to this afternoon’s practice.

“First practice, the goal is to be as prepared as possible for qualifying. And I think step by step getting confidence. This is a completely different setup. type of track to the ones previously so it’s going to be very different. And I hope that I can just maybe be quicker, straight away so that I have this new work for tomorrow’s practicing.”

Tatiana Calderon at Long Beach Phot by Chris Jones

“Certainly, I think, you know, knowing in your mind that you will be go leaping into a corner you’re not facing the worst. You’re you’ve got your back on I think that that gives you an extra feel of confidence to explore the limit a little bit more I think I’m more comfortable with that. So hopefully that’s a good sign.”

For the rest of the season, Calderon is looking forward to several tracks.

“Obviously Indianapolis has that history that it has. I’ve never been around it in any type of car so that’s very interesting. And Road America seems like very big elevation changes. A certain flow that we like and Mid Ohio because that’s the only track I’ve been through in an IndyCar where I just did my test for the first time.”

Morning at Barber

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It’s great to be back at Barber Motorsports Park. I don’t know why, but I consider this race the true start of the summer racing season. I assume it is because the race is so close to opening day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Turn 3
Turn 1. Pit out at the middle right edge

Today’s action focuses mainly on the Road to Indy, including USF Juniors, the first step on the ladder. Indycar takes the track at 3 pm Central Time.

Notes

Indycar and IMS announced a multi -year sponsorship with Gallagher, a global insurance company. Gallagher was the sponsor for Carlin Racing and Max Chilton.The agreement includes title sponsorship of the second Indycar road race at IMS. The link to the announcement:

https://go.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/index.php/email/emailWebview?md_id=1746

The 33rd entry for the Indianapolis 500 will be announced next week. I’m hearing it involves Stefan Wilson and Cusick Motorsports.

I’ll be back with some driver quotes in a bit.

Barber Preview- Milestones on the Line

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Photo: Alex Palou on his way to winning the 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Greetings from Birmingham. It was a long drive down with awful traffic and lots of road work, but I made it. It’s hard to believe that this weekend’s race is just the 12th Hoinda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.It seems as if this race has been on the schedule a long time. The track announced this afternoon that Saturday is now sold out. Previously Barber ahd declared Sunday a sellout as well. There are still tickets available for today.

Today’s Schedule:

Friday, April 29– All times Central

  • Gates open 7:30AM
  • Radical Cup (P2) 8:00 – 8:30AM
  • Indy Pro 2000 (P1) 8:45 – 9:15AM
  • USF Juniors Race #2 9:30 – 10:15AM
  • Radical Cup (Q) 10:30 – 11:00AM
  • Indy Pro 2000 (Q1) 11:15 – 11:45AM
  • USF 2000 (P1) 12:00 – 12:30PM
  • Radical Cup Race #1 12:45 – 1:30PM
  • INDY LIGHTS (P1) 1:45 – 2:30PM
  • NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 3:00 – 4:00 PM Peacock
  • USF 2000 (Q1) 4:15 – 4:45PM
  • INDY5K Presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama 5:30 PM
  • Racing For Children’s Dinner at Barber Museum 6:00 PM

Barber returns to a spot on the calendar closer to its regular slot. The past two years the race was in early April and the normally beautiful landscaping still wore much of its brown winter coat. Everything should be blooming quite nicely this weekend.

There are three milestones on the line this weekend.

Scott Dixon is still seeking his first win at Barber. Dixon has finished on the podium here more than any other driver- nine times, including second place six times. A win will also tie him with Mario Andretti with 52 career races won. Chip Ganassi Racing was strong at Barber in 2021. Dixon will have to battle teammate Alex Palou, last year’s winner.

Josef Newgarden has won the last two races. A third straight win would give Team Penske four straight wins for the year. A $1 million bonus is Newgarden’s if he takes the checkered flag Sunday. The PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge goes to the first driver to win on each of the three types of tracks Indycar races on. Barber is the first natural road course of the year. Newgarden has an oval and a street course victory to date. Newgarden has won at Barber three times, twice for Penske. Team Penske has won six of the 11 races at Barber.

Will Power will seek his fifth pole at Barber, which will extend his record here. No other driver has more than two poles on this track. Power has not won the pole at Barber since 2017. He remains four poles behind Mario Andretti, the career leader with 67. Power has just one pole in his last 19 races.

Rookies on the Road

Indycar needs to get a natural road course on the schedule earlier than race number 4. The road courses are where the five rookies spent the majority of their time in junior series. Many of the freshman class should do well throughout the weekend.

Three rookies, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, and Devlin DeFrancesco, drove at Barber in Indy Lights in 2021. How well will that experience help them this weekend? I think Kirkwood will adapt the best of this trio. Kirkwood will have his best result of the year Sunday. Malukas and DeFrancesco have struggled in their first three races. I think they will have another tough weekend.

Tatiana Calderon showed improved pace at Long Beach. I am looking forward to seeing if her progress continues on a natural road course. I think this track will suit her style better than the street courses did.

The rookie to watch is Callum Ilott. He has really taken to Indycar. I am impressed with his calm demeanor. Ilott could have a very good race Sunday.

One Strong Favorite, Many Contenders

Newgarden has to be the early pick to win. He has won here three times with two different teams. He has won the previous two races this season. His team has half a dozen wins at this track.

We do have to look at Alex Palou, last year’s winner. Palou has finished every race this year in the top 5. He had a chance to win at Long Beach. The defending series champion will be in contention Sunday.

Is this Scott Dixon’s year? A virtual perennial podium finisher in Alabama, Dixon seeks not only his first Honda Indy 200 win, but his first win of the year. Dixon has won just once in his past 19 races.

Pato O’Ward, the 2021 pole winner, can think of no better way to celebrate his new AMSP contract than by sweeping the pole and the victory. His fifth place finish at Long Beach was the his best result of the season, and the new contract signing might give him and the team more momentum.

Will Power seems more relaxed and is racing better than he has the past two seasons. Power could win the pole and get his third Barber victory.

Andretti Rebound

Andretti Autosport’s struggles this season got a boost at Long Beach with Colton Herta’s pole and Alexander Rossi’s top ten finish. The team has won twice at Barber with Ryan Hunter-Reay. They need a good weekend before heading to Indianapolis for the next two races.

Romain Grosjean is on the verge of his first Indycar win. I think it will come in one of the next two races.

My pick- Will Power. He is motivated and riving very well. Power seems more focused on race results than poles lately, and I think it has helped his driving.

I will be on site with several reports all three days.