| Race weekend: Friday, April 26-Sunday, April 28 Track: Barber Motorsports Park, a 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course (clockwise) in Birmingham, Alabama Race distance: 90 laps / 207 miles (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) | 35 laps / 80.5 miles / 55 minutes (INDY NXT by Firestone) Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum single duration of 20 seconds. The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation Firestone tire allotment (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Six sets primary, four sets alternate. One additional set is available to rookie drivers for use in the Friday afternoon practice session Social media .X: @BarberMotorPark @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #INDYBHM, #IndyCar Instagram: @BarberMotorPark, @INDYCAR, #INDYBHM, #INDYCAR Facebook: @BarberMotorsportsPark, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #INDYBHM, #INDYCARTikTok: @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #INDYCAR YouTube: @INDYCAR Event website: www.indyalabama.com NTT INDYCAR SERIES website: www.indycar.com INDY NXT by Firestone website: www.indynxt.com 2023 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet) INDY NXT by FirestoneChristian Rasmussen (No. 6 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing) 2023 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Romain Grosjean (No. 28 Delaware Life/DHL Honda), 1 minute, 5.8396 seconds, 125.760 mph 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Christian Rasmussen (No. 6 HMD Motorsports) 1:10.7371, 117.053 mph. Qualifying records:NTT INDYCAR SERIESPato O’Ward, 1:05.5019, 126.409 mph, April 17, 2021 (set in Round 2 of qualifying) INDY NXT by FirestoneChristian Rasmussen, 1:10:7371, 117.053 mph, April 29, 2023 NBC Sports race telecast: 1 p.m. ET Sunday, April 28, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Peacock live streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product. NBC’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst race telecast will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama will be streamed on Peacock (11:10 a.m. ET) with practice and qualifying shown on INDYCAR LIVE. INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers. Michael Young and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters. The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst race (1 p.m. ET), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama (11 a.m. ET) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA .At-track schedule (All Times Local/Central Time): Friday, April 26 1:30-2:15 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE 2:40-3:55 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock Saturday, April 27 10:05-10:50 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (45 minutes), Peacock 1:35-2:05 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Two groups, 12-minute session), INDYCAR LIVE 2:30-4 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Sunday, April 28 9:15-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock 10:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama “Drivers, start your engines” 10:15 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock. Noon – NBC on air 12:33 p.m. – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines” 12:40 p.m. – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix (90 laps / 207 miles), NBC (Live) “WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT BARBER: Dixon Needs a Barber: It can be argued that Scott Dixon is the most successful NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver in Barber Motorsports Park history, yet he doesn’t have a win to show for it. Who wouldn’t take Dixon’s stat line at the 17-turn, 2.38-mile permanent road course? Nine podium finishes in 13 races, six times a race runner-up. That’s impressive by any measure.As for reaching the top step of the podium in Birmingham, Alabama, Josef Newgarden has been the track’s recent master, winning three of the past eight races. Team Penske teammate Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet) has won two races.Power is a four-time NTT P1 Award winner at Barber, part of the record 70 poles he has scored in his career NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: Scott Dixon became the second winner in as many NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season as he earned his 57th career victory April 21 at Long Beach. Dixon leads Colton Herta – who has recorded back-to-back podium finishes – by two points heading into the critical Month of May, which has more than 150 points on offer over the next four weeks with races at Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst will be the 14th NTT INDYCAR SERIES event conducted at Barber Motorsports Park. Active race winners who are expected to compete are: Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin. ACTIVE RACE WINNER WINS SEASONS Josef Newgarden 3 2015, 2017, 2018 Will Power 2 2011, 2012 Scott McLaughlin 1 2023 Pato O’Ward 1 2022 Alex Palou 1 2021 Five drivers have won the race from the pole – Will Power in 2011, Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2013, Simon Pagenaud in 2016, Josef Newgarden in 2018 and Takuma Sato in 2019. ACTIVE POLE WINNER POLES SEASONS Will Power 4 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017 Romain Grosjean 1 2023 Rinus VeeKay 1 2022 Pato O’Ward 1 2021 Josef Newgarden 1 2018 Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in nine of his 13 previous starts at Barber Motorsports Park – including six runner-up finishes – but he has yet to finish on the top step of the podium at the picturesque road circuit. Three drivers have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Barber Motorsports Park – Scott Dixon, Will Power and Graham Rahal. All are entered this weekend. Team Penske has seven wins at Barber Motorsports Park (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023). Andretti Global, Chip Ganassi Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Arrow McLaren have also won at the track. Andretti Global won in 2013 and 2014 with Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ed Carpenter Racing won with Josef Newgarden in 2015, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing won in 2019 with Takuma Sato, Chip Ganassi Racing won in 2021 with Alex Palou, and Arrow McLaren won in 2022 with Pato O’Ward. Twenty of the 27 drivers entered in the event have competed in NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Barber Motorsports Park. Ten entered drivers have led laps: Will Power 215, Josef Newgarden 141, Rinus VeeKay 58, Alex Palou 60, Romain Grosjean 57, Scott Dixon 46, Pato O’Ward 52, Graham Rahal 25, Scott McLaughlin 24 and Alexander Rossi 3. Five NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year contenders – Tom Blomqvist, Linus Lundqvist, Théo Pourchaire, Christian Rasmussen and Kyffin Simpson – are entered and will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time alongside veteran driver Pietro Fittipaldi, also making his first Barber start. Milestones: Romain Grosjean will attempt to make his 50th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start … Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 324th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history. INDY NXT by Firestone Notes: INDY NXT by Firestone resumes its 2024 season this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Nolan Siegel led every lap to win the season opener at St. Petersburg but will face an equally tough test at Barber. Siegel and his HMD Motorsports teammates should enter with confidence as the team has won the last four INDY NXT by Firestone races at the 2.3-mile road course. The 21-car field for the INDY NXT Grand Prix of Alabama is the largest INDY NXT by Firestone field at Barber Motorsports Park. The previous high was 19 last season. While none of the current field of drivers has won an INDY NXT by Firestone race at Barber, four drivers – Reece Gold, Myles Rowe, Nolan Siegel and Yuven Sundaramoorthy – have visited victory lane at the picturesque road course in development series.The 2024 season features a deep and talented field with INDY NXT race winners such as Nolan Siegel, Louis Foster and Reece Gold joining a promising rookie class that includes Myles Rowe (2023 USF Pro 2000 champ), Callum Hedge (2023 Formula Regionals America champion), Michael d’Orlando (2022 USF2000 champion) and Caio Collet (Formula 3 race winner/Nissan Formula E reserve driver). Other contenders include returning drivers Jacob Abel, Josh Pierson, James Roe and Jamie Chadwick. For the second consecutive season, INDY NXT by Firestone has added a new team. Miller Vinatieri Motorsports – co-owned by former INDYCAR SERIES competitor Dr. Jack Miller and former NFL standout Adam Vinatieri – debuted at St. Petersburg with driver Jack William Miller. Group qualifying will decide the starting grid on road and street circuits. Based on the best lap times from the practice session immediately preceding qualifying, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 12 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded pole position with the drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, occupying the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group occupying the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group. |
INDYCAR Announces St. Petersburg Penalties
Editor’s Note: I will have some thoughts later. This is Huge News. Up dated points at end of article.
| INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, April 24, 2024) – INDYCAR has announced penalties for Team Penske, including disqualifications for the No. 2 (driver Josef Newgarden) and No. 3 (Scott McLaughlin) and a 10-point penalty for No. 12 (Will Power) from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Sunday, March 10 on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Team Penske was in violation of the following “Push to Pass” parameters: Rule 14.19.15. An indicator to enable Push to Pass will be sent via CAN communication from the timing and scoring beacon on board the Car to the team data logger. This signal must be passed on to the ECU unmodified and uninterrupted during all Road and Street Course Events.Rule 14.19.16. Race Starts and any Race Restart that occurs before the lap prior to the white flag or prior to three minutes remaining in a timed Race Event will have the Push to Pass system disabled and will be enabled for a given Car once that Car reaches the alternate Start/Finish line. According to the rulebook, the violation is considered a Race Procedure Penalty (9.2.2.), which includes the right to reposition the Driver/Car in the posting or results, with a disqualification (9.2.2.6.) that includes the forfeiture of points and awards. During the Sunday, April 21 warmup session ahead of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, INDYCAR discovered the team’s possible rules violation. An extensive review of data from the race on the Streets of St. Petersburg revealed that Team Penske manipulated the overtake system so that the No. 2, 3 and 12 cars had the ability to use Push to Pass on starts and restarts. According to the INDYCAR rulebook, use of overtake is not available during championship races until the car reaches the alternate start-finish line. It was determined that the No. 2 and the No. 3 gained a competitive advantage by using Push to Pass on restarts while the No. 12 did not. Additionally, all three entries have been fined $25,000 and will forfeit all prize money associated with the Streets of St. Petersburg race. “The integrity of the INDYCAR SERIES championship is critical to everything we do,” INDYCAR President Jay Frye said. “While the violation went undetected at St. Petersburg, INDYCAR discovered the manipulation during Sunday’s warmup in Long Beach and immediately addressed it ensuring all cars were compliant for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Beginning with this week’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, new technical inspection procedures will be in place to deter this violation.” Due to the disqualification penalty of the No 2, the No. 5 entry of Arrow McLaren driven by Pato O’Ward is now credited with the win on the Streets of St. Petersburg. An updated official final results from the St. Petersburg race is available here with updated 2024 season standings available here. Members may contest the imposition of the penalties detailed in the review and appeal procedures of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rulebook. |
Updated points:
1. Dixon 79
2. Herta 77 (-2)
3. Palou 67 (-12)
4. O’Ward 64 (-15)
5. Power 59 (-20)
6. Rosenqvist 55 (-24)
7. Rossi 48 (-31)
8. Kirkwood 47 (-32)
9. VeeKay 40 (-39)
10. Ericsson 37 (-42)
Newgarden is now 11th, Mclaughlin 29th.
Revised Box score:
Statement from Team Penske:
Pourchaire Stays in the 6 Car for Barber
From Arrow McLaren:
The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team announced today that Théo Pourchaire will pilot the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on April 28 alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi.
David Malukas continues to recover from a left wrist injury and surgery. Arrow McLaren will maintain their evaluation of David’s health and will share updates as appropriate.
Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix Schedule- First Look
All times eastern
Friday, April 26
3:40 pm-4:55 pm Practice 1 Peacock, Indycar Radio
Saturday April 27
12:15 pm-1:15 pm Practice 2 Peacock, Indycar Radio
3:30 pm-5:00 pm Qualifying Peacock, Indycar Radio
Sunday, April 28
10:15 am- Final Warmup (30 minutes) Peacock, Indycar Radio
1 pm-4 pm television window NBC, Peacock, Indycar Radio
1:40 Green Flag NBC, Peacock, Indycar Radio
Indy NXT is also racing this weekend. USF Juniors, featuring Sebastian Wheldon, also is on the schedule.
The Fuel Master is In-Long Beach Quick Thoughts
Photo by Kyle McInnes
What words are left to describe Scott Dixon’s mastery of fuel strategy? I have used alchemist, wizard, miser, and a bunch of other nouns I can’t remember over the last 20 years. Today’s triumph at Long Beach was one of the top five wins of his 57 victories.
Dixon had to hold off a fast closing Josef Newgarden, then a hungry Colton Herta while making sure he had enough fuel to get to the end. he was one of the drivers who pitted on lap 17 during the only caution of the day and cycled to the front when the rest of the field took their stops 14 laps later. Dixon made his last stop on lap 51 and squeezed 34 laps out of the tank.
The Dixon File:
57 wins puts him just 10 behind A. J. Foyt.
Dixon has won at least one race each season for the past 20 years. This is NOT a typo.
Dixon has won 4 of the last 6 Indycar races dating back to the Gallagher Grand Prix at IMS in August 2023.
I said in my review that Indycar needed to have a good show this weekend, and they delivered. I thought this was a fascinating race with the split fuel and tire strategies before the dramatic fight at the end. It’s a while since four cars were in contention for the win with less than 10 laps to go. Today provided great momentum heading to Barber and the seven week stretch after that.
Notes
Theo Pourchaire would have been the start of the show today had it not been for the dramatic finish. The F2 champion, who’s first time in an Indycar was Friday afternoon, finished 11th. He drove a steady race. I hope we see him again soon. Maybe next weekend?
Arrow McLaren once again had trouble staying out of their own way. Pato O’Ward ran into teammate Alexander Rossi on lap, forcing Rossi to pit. O’Ward received a drive through penalty and was virtually not heard from the rest of the day. Rossi fought back to earn a 10th place finish.
Don’t count Alex Palou out of the title hunt. In 2023 Palou finished eighth at St. Petet and fifth at barber. In 2024 he was sixth at barber and he finished third today. Palou is fourth in the standings, just 24 points behind Newgarden.
Rahal Leads Warmup; Starting Tire Selections
Photo by Kyle McInnes
Graham Rahal turned the fastest lap in the final session before the Grand prix of Long Beach. Pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist was sixth.
Starting Tires and official lineup:
Long Beach Grand Prix Starting Lineup
Rosenqvist Wins Long Beach Pole
Photo by Kyle McInnes
It was only a matter of time before Felix Rosenqvist would win a pole this season. That time was 39 ten thousandths of a second. Rosenqvist nipped Will Power by that much and will start the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the front of the field.
In the three Indycar events in 2024, Rosenqvist started second at St. Pete, Was on the pole for his heat race and the front row of the feature at Thermal, and now has his third front row start of the season. Rosenqvist now has six career poles. Today’s pole is the first for Meyer Shank Racing
It has been quite a resurgence for Rosenqvist this year. He has been in contention in every event. His switch to Meyer Shank Racing after some frustrating years at Arrow McLaren has rejuvenated the Swedish driver.
Will Power came back after a disastrous morning practice session. He brushed the wall and damaged the left rear tire and underwing. Power returned only to make nose first contact with the wall and cause a red flag with a bit less than nine minutes left.
Notes
The anticipated three Penskes versus three Andrettis didn’t materialize. Team Penske had just Will Power and Josef Newgarden in the final round. Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson made the fast Six for Andretti.
Rosenqvist and Alex Palou were the only preliminary round leaders to make the final session.
Team Penske did not lead any sessions this weekend, but they could lead the one that counts the most tomorrow.
Pato O’Ward’s fade from leading Friday’s practice is puzzling. Are we looking at another year of unfilled promise from Arrow McLaren? Alexander Rossi is the team’s highest starter tomorrow in 13th.
The Long Beach Grand Prix released a notice announcing that all reserved seats for tomorrow’s race have been sold. Only general admission is available.
Tomorrow’s schedule in Eastern time:
Noon- Warm up (30 Minutes) Peacock
3 pm- Televison network coverage USA, Peacock
3:30- Green flag
Long Beach Qualifying Groups
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 