Tag: Barber Motorsports Park

Slow Thoughts -Barber

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Photo by Kyle Mcinnes

Team Penske needed a strong showing. Indycar needed a good race. Both got what they needed yesterday afternoon in the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix.

After a week embroiled in controversy, Team Penske came out strong on Friday as Josef Newgarden led the first practice. Saturday Scott McLaughlin and Will Power swept the front row in qualifying and finished in that order yesterday.

The race behind the leaders was probably the most entertaining race I have seen at Barber. Turn five was the scene of side-by-side action, seldom gentlemanly, but very exciting. The sand trap got quite a workout.

There was some good racing in the middle of the pack. Scott Dixon made a great over and under move to pass Josef Newgarden coming out of turn five. Uncharacteristically, they were racing for fifteenth place.

The cautions were spaced far enough apart to keep things interesting as teams tried different pit strategies. In the end, McLaughlin led 42 laps and beat Power by just over a second.

The star of the race was the third member of the podium, rookie Linus Lundqvist, who earned his first career Indycar podium. It will not be his last this season.

McLaren Follies

At some point, the most popular team in the paddock needs to produce consistent race results. Pato O’Ward qualified well, but went off track trying an optimistic move in turn five, then was penalized for avoidable contact with Pietro Fittipaldi, and finished 23rd after starting fourth.

Alexander Rossi lost a wheel on lap 47 and finished 25th.

Herta to the Top

Colton Herta had a great, if quiet run to eighth place after starting 15th. The finish was enough to give him the points lead by one over Will Power.

Defending champion Alex Palou is third, just three points behind.

Newgarden trails Herta by 53 points, the amount he was docked from St.Pete.

Notes

Barber announced its best crowd in more than 10 years this weekend, 86,000 over the three days. Yhe event has grown since my first time there in 2012. With that that growth has come a creeping corporate presence, which has squeezed some vantage points for fans. A free grandstand on the backstretch is now just two small sections.

I know it’s a way to generate money, but tracks need to consider where they put their suites.

The tram system was the most efficient I have ever seen it. It appeared the track had extra tram s running. After the race yesterday, I had to wait for the third tram to arrive to board, but my wait was less than 10 minutes. I got back to my parking are on the other side of the track in less than 15 minutes.

The scoring pylon worked well for the most part, but the thing that annoyed me was the IndyNXT standing were displayed as positions 28-36. I found it frustrating to follow who was where below 10th.

On to IMS

Wednesday begins the greatest month of the year. Indycar begins wioth theSonsio Grand Prix on the road course May 11, and the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26th.

Thanks for following along here this past weekend. It was difficult to cover given the limited cell service, but a story like P2P scandal is why I originally wanted to be a journalist.

Race Day at Barber

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Today’s schedule- Eastern time. barber is in the Central Time zone.

10:15– IndyCar warmup Peacock

11:15 Indy NXT race Peacock

1 pm- NBC television window begins.

1:40- Green flag Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix. NBC, Peacock

Good morning and happy race day. The weather looks nearly perfect with temperatures around 80 degrees this afternoon.

Let’s hope for a race without controversy today. Everything any of the Penske cars do that is even slightly amiss will be scrutinized by the fans .The best thing the team can do is just race hard and clean and come home with good results.

Could we see a Penske 1-2-3 finish? It is very possible, but I don’t think it will happen. I look for just one podium from Penske, and it will be Will Power.

Based on what I have seen the past two days, Christian Lundgaard is my pick to win the race, with Pato O’Ward and Will Power joining him on the podium.

Rinus VeeKay photo by Kyle McInnes

Some drivers to watch are Rinus VeeKay as he moves through the field from 27th, Colton Herta, starting 15th, and Scott Dixon, starting 13. Dixon leads Herta by two points in the standings, with several drivers nipping at their heels.

I will try to post an update with tire selections sometime late morning, if not here on The Pit Window Facebook page or my Xwitter accountr.

Barber Saturday Wrapup-Penske Locks Out Front Row

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Photos by Kyle McInnes

Scott McLaughlin nip teammate Will Power by 0.003 seconds to win the pole for tomorrow’s Indycar race at Barber. Motorsports Park.

The 1-2 front row for Penske comes at the end of a turbulent week for the team involved in a controversy about illegal use of push to pass in the opening race at St. Petersburg.

Results:

 

1. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 1:05.9490 (125.552 mph)
2. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 1:06.0460 (125.367)
3. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 1:06.0818 (125.299)
4. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 1:06.2940 (124.898)
5. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 1:06.4524 (124.600)
6. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 1:06.9022 (123.763)
7. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 1:06.0942 (125.276)
8. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 1:06.2908 (124.904)
9. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 1:06.2959 (124.895)
10. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 1:06.3013 (124.884)
11. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 1:06.3526 (124.788)
12. (66) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 1:06.3871 (124.723)
13. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 1:06.1425 (125.184)
14. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 1:06.4803 (124.548)
15. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 1:06.1481 (125.174)
16. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 1:06.5054 (124.501)
17. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 1:06.2751 (124.934)
18. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 1:06.5846 (124.353)
19. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 1:06.2825 (124.920)
20. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 1:06.6706 (124.193)
21. (51) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 1:06.4788 (124.551)
22. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 1:06.7969 (123.958)
23. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 1:06.5267 (124.461)
24. (6) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 1:06.9052 (123.757)
25. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 1:06.8404 (123.877)
26. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 1:07.4920 (122.681)
27. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 1:07.7392 (122.234)

Notes on the Day

Lack of a cell signal prevented me from reporting during the day.

Rinus VeeKay

Rinus VeeKay led the morning practice session, but electrical issues prevented him from challenging for the Fast Six. He will start last tomorrow.

Felix Rosenqvist has made the Fast Six in every race this season. Tomorrow is the first time he will not be on the front row.

Christian Lundgaard looks very strong this weekend and he is my pick to win Sunday.

Scott Dixon starts 13th, but he will still end up in the top 10 tomorrow. He currently leads the point standings by two over Colton Herta, who rolls off 15th.

Luca Ghiotto qualified 21st in his first Indycar event.

Barber had another strong attendance day. The hill between turns 2 and 3 were fuller than i have seen them ina few years. The track seemed to have more than the usual number of trams running. They were full most of the day, and I had no issues getting around the track.

Tomorrow’s schedule: Eatsren times. Barber is ibn the Central time zone.

10:15– IndyCar warmup Peacock

11: Indy NXT race Peacock

1 pm- NBC television window begins.

1:40- Green flag Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix. NBC, Peacock

Newgarden Makes Another Statement

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

This afternoon, Josef Newgarden let his driving do the talking as he set the fastest lap in opening practice for the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix. He set fast lap after a spin at turn 15 early in the session.

Pato O’Ward was second fastest, 0.083 seconds off the top speed.Will Power had the third best time.

Chevrolet dominated the 75 minute practice, with Colton Herta the best Honda in fourth.

\Team Rahal showed strength as Christian Lundgaard was fifth and Graham rahal finished the day seventh.

Friday Notes

Barber continues to draw large Friday crowds. The trams were full several times, unusual for a Friday.

The food court continues to disappoint with little variety of food choices. I know Birmingham is known for barbecue, but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tes. Or plate of food, rather.

Practice 2 begins at 11:15 am Central time tomorrow.

Results

Quick Thoughts- Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix

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In no particular order, here are some of my thoughts on today’s race. I haven’t seen the replay yet.

Today’s race was an above average race for Barber. The different strategies kept the outcome in doubt, and two asses for the lead in the last 25 laps is about as good as you’ll get on a road course.

The only thing that could have made this race better is if it therebwer no cars on a fuel save strategy. At leastfive cars did not have enough fuel to complete their cool down lap. hen Grosjean pitted on lap 59, I thought it would be a stretch for him to finish the race.

St. Pete Deja Vu– Romain Grosjean and Scott McLaughlin fighting for the lead as McLaughlin comes out of the pits. Fortunately, Barber has a lot more room to battle tham St. Pete did. I hope we see more great fights between these two this season.

How did Grosjean have no push to pass left? He shouldn’t have needed to use much since he led 57 laps.

Grosjean now has five second place finishes in his career. Only two other drivers have had more runner up finsihes without a win. Vitor Meira was an eight time runner up and never won. I think Grosjean’s time is coming,perhaps as soon as May 13.

I watched the race from the turn 15-16 area. there were many close battles for position, some wheel banging, groups of cars all day long.

I am happy to see Will Power on the podium. I was starting to think he had lost his competetive fire.

A nice job by Christian Lundgaard. His sixth place finish is the nbest for a Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver this season.

The drive of the day goes to Felix Rosenqvist. He dropped back quickly to the back at the start from his ninth place grid spot, but fought back to finish eighth.

Josef Newgarden has two finishes of 15th or worse. Like last year he will need to come on strong with a lot of victories to be in contention for the championship.

Honda and Chevy have each won two races. The engines seem more equal this season than they did in 2022 when Chevy seemed to be the better power plant.

Thanks for following along this weekend. Tomorrow is May 1. I might have a couple things to talk about for the next 30 days or so.

Barber Race Day

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Good morning from a coolish Barber Motorsports Park. The forecast looks sunny and dry for the start of the race, with temperature of 68 degrees at the green flag.

Today’s schedule: Times are Central

Gates and all fan activities open at 8:00am

  • 8:00am – 8:40am Porsche Sprint Challenge North America – Cayman (Race #2)
  • 8:55am – 9:35am Porsche Sprint Challenge North America – GT3 (Race #2)
  • 11:00am – 11:30am NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup Peacock, Indycar Radio
  • 12:00pm – 12:55pm INDY NXT (Race) Peacock
  • 2:00 pm – 5:00pm NTT INDYCAR SERIES (Race) NBC, Peacock, Indycar radio
  • The green flag will fall at 2:30 Central time.

The big question today is: Can Romain Grosjean put a complete race together?Grosjean has yet to convert a pole into a victory. St.Pete was his best chance, and today will be another great opportunity for him.

The Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix is traditionally a low incident race. Few yellows occur during the race, and generally they come early. Pit strategy and starting positon are the keys to the race outcome.

I still like Pato O’Ward to win from third. The winner usually comes from the first five starting positions.

I expect another podium from Scott Dixon. It would be nice to see him finally win at this track.

Keep an eye on Christian Lundgaard today. He starts sixth, the best for a Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver this season. Can he maintain or improve his position. Will we see another charge through the field from Graham Rahal?

The last two Barber winners, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward, start second and third.

I’ll be back with starting tire choices. Enjoy the race.

Grosjean Continues Andretti Pole Dominance

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Romain Grosjean too the pole for tomorrow’s Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, turning a lap of 1:05. 8396. Grosjean edged Alex Palou by 0.0734 seconds in winning his second pole of 2023 and third career pole position.

Andretti Autosport has won three of the four poles this season. Kyle Kirkwood won the pole at Long Beach.

Five teams put cars in the Fast Six. Only Chip Ganassi Racing had two cars in the final round.

Quick Thoughts

Is tomorrow the day Grosjean finally converts a good starting spot into a victory? St. Pete was in his grasp until the incident with Scott McLaughlin.

Pato O’Ward has qualified in the top six of every race in 2023.

If Kyle Kirkwood can stay on track during qualifying, he will win a ton of poles. His spin today was the secon incident in qualifying this year.

Nice to see some success for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Christian Lundgaard will start sixth.

Despite a strong team showing in practice, Scott McLaughlin was the only Team Penske car in the Fast Six.

All time career pole winner Will Power has an average starting spot of 10.5 this season.

Today’s crowd was good, although it seemed a bit down from previous Barber Saturdays.

Palou Tops Practice 2

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Alex Palou got a clean lap with about 12 minutes to go in the morning practice and it was good enough to lead the session by two tenths if a second over Josef Newgarden and Scott

The Penske duo of Newgarden and McLaughlin led most of the session.

Practice ran clean until Helio Castroneves spun and stalled on track with 45 seconds left. Only a couple of cars went out to complete the time.