Tag: Children's of Alabama Grand Prix

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

Barber Preview

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Today’s schedule: Eastern times

2:30-3:15p: INDY NXT Practice

3:40-4:55p: INDYCAR Practice Peacock

After a turbulent couple of days, IndyCar will get back to the track this afternoon. The Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix could not happen at a better time. We need a diversion from the P2P scandal, but it will be difficult to put that completely out of our minds.Josef Newgarden has scheduled a press conference this morning at 10 am Eastern at the track.

Before Wednesday, I was trying to decide whether to pick Scott Dixon or Pato O’Ward to win Sunday. Dixon has never won at Barber, despite nine podium finishes in the 13 Indycar races here.

O’Ward has one victory, a pole, and a couple of podiums. I think being awarded first place at St. Pete makes Pato eager to actually win on track.

While I still think they will be factors, I think Team Penske may dominate the on track headlines. Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and Will Power have combined for six wins at Barber. Newgarden is by no means out of the championship picture yet, despite effectively missing a race.

Pourchaire Returns

Theo Pourchaire impressed everyone at Long Beach subbing for David Malukas. He now gets to try Indcar on a road course. Barber is a physical track, and we will see how he does here. I think he will be fine.

Dale Coyne Racing has hired F2 and ELMS driver Luca Ghiotto as the pilot for car 51 for this weekend and the road course race at IMS on May 11. Coyne’s lineups are now set for three consecutive races.

Programming Notes

“100 days to Indy” season 2 premieres tonight on CW at 9 pm Eastern. I don’t think they will touch on the Penske P2P issue until the third episode, which will cover this weekend, but we will see.

I will be covering the Newgarden conference and have a brief report on it before I head to the track.

After that, let’s focus on the racing.

Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Powered by AmFirst Fast Facts 

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 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. 
 
 

Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix Schedule- First Look

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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.

Quick Thoughts- Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix

thepitwindow1 Comment

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.