Round 3: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Barber Motorsports Park, April 5-7.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 3: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Barber Motorsports Park, April 5-7.

Barber Motorsports Park is owned by George Barber, a successful businessman and accomplished driver, who raced Porsches in the 1960s and early '70s. He amassed a collection of motorcycles and after establishing a non-profit foundation and in 1994 opened a museum, displaying 325 motorcycles from around the world and some vintage cars. In 1998, he sold the family business and donated $54 million to the foundation in order to build a new museum and a road course, on which to run the collection.

In 2002, a 740 acre site east of Birmingham was chosen and a new museum was built, housing an expanded collection of 1,200 motorcycles, with Up to 600 on display at any one time. It's been certified by Guinness as the largest museum of its type.

The road course was designed by South African race track designer Alan Wilson, with three layouts. The main circuit, which is a 16-turn, 2.370-mile (3.70 km) road course, the short circuit and the club circuit. The venue, opened in 2003 and has hosted Grand-Am, Vintage Racing Series events and AMA Superbike. It serves as the home of the Porsche Sport Driving School and the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School. One feature that stands out are the series of metal sculptures around the track. The large spider alongside Turns 5-6 has lead to this section of track being nicknamed 'Charlotte's Web'.

This Sunday will be the 10th running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. The race was first held on April 11, 2010 and was won by Hélio Castroneves driving for Team Penske, in a Dallara IR05-Honda. Prior to that, Barber Motorsports Park hosted a testing session in October 2007, the success of which led to a full-field, three-day testing session in March 2009. An open date became available in the 2010 season's race calendar and Barber Motorsports Park made a successful bid to hold the race, over Cleveland (Burke Lakefront Airport), Houston, Baltimore, Nashville, Charlotte and Portland.

Some trivia:
The driver with most wins: 3.
Josef Newgarden, 2015, 2017, 2018.

The team with most wins: 6.
Team Penske, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018.

Track layout:


Length: 2.3 Miles (3.7 Km)

Turns: 16

Lap record:
Sebastien Bourdais, 23 April 2016. 1:06.60, 124.324 mph (200.080 Km/h),
KVSH Racing,
Dallara DW12-Chevrolet Indy V6.
Verizon IndyCar Series.


Last year's race:

Defending champion Josef Newgarden claimed pole and lead from the start, followed by Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais and Ryan Hunter-Reay in fourth place. Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi and Marco Andretti got past James Hinchcliffe, though Andretti then spun on Lap 3 trying to get around Rossi. He rejoined in 21st. By Lap 4, Newgarden had a lead of five seconds over Power although the Australian started to peg it back, while edging away from Bourdais. However, once the gap dropped to below 2.5sec, Newgarden put on a spurt to stabilize it.

The first full-course yellow flew on Lap 12, when Charlie Kimball spun on the exit of Turn 16 and Ed Jones went into the tire wall at Turn 17 and then stopped on the track. When pitlane opened, Simon Pagenaud in ninth, Zachary Claman De Melo driving for Dale Coyne, Andretti, Max Chilton, Rene Binder and Matheus Leist, AJ Foyt Racing, took the opportunity to pit and switch to an alternate strategy.

0n the restart, Pagenaud and Andretti lead these early stoppers but as the rain was coming down harder, they dropped back 16th and 17th. Newgarden almost lost it on a big puddle, while Power did lose it, hydroplaning and spinning despite short-shifting. Miraculously Hunter-Reay
avoided the wayward Penske. However, Power was now a passenger as the car looped across the track and his left wheels slammed the pitwall. He was out on the spot and two laps later the race was Red flagged.

The 21 remaining cars sat on pitlane with drivers remaining in the cockpit but following an attempt at a restart after 35 minutes, the convoy returned to pitlane after five laps. Josef Newgarden told Robin Miller of NBCSN that the high-speed sections were the worst, while pace car driver Oriol Servia admitted he had a couple of major moments at just 60mph.

Race Control aimed to send the cars back out at 4.30pm local (Central) time but with no let up from the rain it was eventually postponed until the following day.

The race had originally been scheduled for 90 laps but was now reduced to a two hour timed race. It resumed in dry conditions on Lap 23 today, with the first four laps run under full-course yellow, behind the pace car. The green flag was waved on Lap 27 with the single file restart was drama-free.

Newgarden led from Bourdais, Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Hinchcliffe, Zach Veach, Robert Wickens, Sato, the Chip Ganassi Racing pair of Dixon and Ed Jones followed by the Ed Carpenter Racing duo of Jordan King and Spencer Pigot and Graham Rahal. The early stoppers from Sunday made up the rear of the field, led by Marco Andretti and Simon Pagenaud. At the
end of the lap, Newgarden led by 1.5sec, eventually pulling out a 5 second lead over Bourdais.

When the first cycle of stops came, Newgarden had stretched his lead to 12 seconds over Bourdais. Newgarden pitted on Lap 50 for new primary tires, giving Bourdais the lead. Bourdais then pitted from the lead on Lap 55, handing the lead back to Newdarden who now, after the full cycle of stops, had almost a 25 second lead over Bourdais.

On Lap 71 the rain returned and Team Penske president Tim Cindric, called Newgarden into the pits for wet tires. Pagenaud and Leist also pitted. Hunter-Reay, still on slicks, was able to pass Newgarden who was desperately trying not to shred his wets while the track was still reasonably dry.

Bourdais retook the lead, with 12 minutes left and was trying to run to the end on slicks. Hinchcliffe, Hunter-Reay and Wickens pitted for wets with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Bourdais now had an 11 second lead over Newgarden and Dixon, who was also on slicks and 11sec. behind the Penske driver. But then Dixon could stand it no longer and stopped and Bourdais, with his lead cut to four seconds, pitted for wets one lap later. The gamble from Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon, to make the 75-minute remainder of the race on only one stop, was over.

Newgarden took it easy on the slick surface in the closing laps easily beating Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe by 10 and 15sec respectively. Wickens was fourth, while Bourdais held off Dixon by 0.081sec, in a sprint to the finish to complete the top 6.

Newgarden lead 73 of the 82 laps of the timed race, to win his ninth IndyCar race and third in a row at Barber Motorsports Park. With the win, Newgarden took the championship points lead with 158 points after four of 17 races, giving him a 13-point advantage over Alexander Rossi. It was also the sixth win at Barber Motorsports Park for Team Penske and their 199th win in IndyCar history.

Pole:
Josef Newgarden. 1:07.441, 122.773 Mph (197.583 Km/h).
Team Penske.
Dallara IR18-Chevrolet Indy V6

Winner:
Josef Newgarden,
Team Penske,
Dallara IR18-Chevrolet Indy V6.

Laps: 82*
Distance: 195.16 Miles (314.06 Km)
Race Time: 2:01:14
Average Speed: 93.335 Mph (150.208 km/h)

*After 23 laps the race was delayed then postponed to the following day and resumed as a

timed race with roughly 75 minutes remaining.

Caution periods: 2
laps: 14

Race Broadcast:
NBCSN. April 7, 4:00pm ET.

[fieldodreams79]

Me and a couple other 10thers are planning on going, but the forecast is looking a bit dodgy ATM. Here's hoping it's mostly dry and bearable.

[Last2LiftOff]

A stellar intro. as usual BJ, thanks for those!

[mstets]

In general I welcome a bit of rain on a road course as it mixes things up a bit, but am not hoping for a repeat of last year's conditions. Would like to see another pole winner and the third different race winner of 2019.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by mstets

In general I welcome a bit of rain on a road course as it mixes things up a bit, but am not hoping for a repeat of last year's conditions. Would like to see another pole winner and the third different race winner of 2019.

The last time I was there was over a decade ago. It looked like Armageddon was bearing down upon us at one point.

30% chance according to some right now. That's fine. 20 and 80 always make me nervous. A quick shower when we're prepared is okay and fun with strategy. Armageddon and delays for a 4 EST start on Sunday = no good!

[RWill2073]

Originally Posted by mstets

In general I welcome a bit of rain on a road course as it mixes things up a bit, but am not hoping for a repeat of last year's conditions. Would like to see another pole winner and the third different race winner of 2019.

I want to see a good weekend for pagenaud. I get the feeling he's on the hot seat, and I hate that. Guy is a recent champion and deserving of his ride at penske, but I always get this vibe he's the redheaded stepchild. Roger has an affinity for power like he did helio, cindric is on newgardens box, and Newgarden is the golden child anyway. Then there's pagenaud... With penske keeping an eye on guys like Rossi and herta... Even after his first year with penske he was on the hotseat. I want to see him do good and solidify his seat.

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by RWill2073

I want to see a good weekend for pagenaud. I get the feeling he's on the hot seat, and I hate that. Guy is a recent champion and deserving of his ride at penske, but I always get this vibe he's the redheaded stepchild. Roger has an affinity for power like he did helio, cindric is on newgardens box, and Newgarden is the golden child anyway. Then there's pagenaud... With penske keeping an eye on guys like Rossi and herta... Even after his first year with penske he was on the hotseat. I want to see him do good and solidify his seat.

I like SP a lot too... have done since his ALMS prototype days with Gil de Ferran. And I agree, he's probably on the bubble a bit now. Didn't do himself any favours in quali today unfortunately, so it looks like this race might be another poor weekend for him. But we'll see I guess... rain or yellows could really mix things up tomorrow.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qualifying:

Takuma Sato takes pole, with Graham Rahal completing an RLL Racing front row. Sato's time was a second down on last year's pole. Maybe drivers were continuing to have the problems they had in practice, with a lack of balance and stability when running the alternate Firstone Reds.

Only one Chevy in the Fast Six. Not a particulary good result for Penske or Andretti Autosport. Colton Herta is top rookie in 9th.


1 Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Dallara-Honda. 1:08.5934
2 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Dallara-Honda. +0.1037
3 Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi. Dallara-Honda. +0.2147
4 James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara-Honda. +0.2542
5 Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara-Honda. +0.4255
6 Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara-Chevrolet. +1.0140
7 Will Power, Team Penske. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.2314
8 Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.2932
9 Colton Herta (r), Harding Racing. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.3196
10 Santino Ferrucci (r), Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.4279
11 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.4830
12 Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.7033
13 Mario Andretti, Andretti Autosport. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.3016
14 Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.2009
15 Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprises RacingDallara-Chevrolet. +0.3543
16 Josef Newgarden, Team Penske. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.2766
17 Felix Rosenqvist (r), Chip Ganassi. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.3696
18 Patricio O'ward (r), Carlin. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.3077
19 Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Racing. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.4393
20 Marcus Ericsson (r), Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara-Honda. +0.3292
21 Ed Jones, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.4507
22 Max Chilton, Carlin. Dallara-Chevrolet. +0.4632
23 Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport. Dallara-Honda. +0.8544
24 Ben Hanley (r), Dragonspeed. Dallara-Chevrolet. +1.8231

[mstets]

Great result for RLL, just what that team needed. Hoping they can pull off a win tomorrow.


I agree that Pagenaud needs some good results. Seems like a good guy, he's weathered the somewhat lackluster recent performances with a lot of dignity.


Anyone watch the last practice session? I'm wondering about the reds, how they are going to hold up on a long run.

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by mstets

In general I welcome a bit of rain on a road course as it mixes things up a bit, but am not hoping for a repeat of last year's conditions. Would like to see another pole winner and the third different race winner of 2019.

Well, you got part of what you wanted! RLL 1-2 in quali, Sato in P1. Rahal was so quick here last year, I wonder if they were able to carry some of that setup knowledge over to this year.


Good to see an interesting mix of drivers in the fast six (with a "usual suspect" or two as well). Should be a very interesting race.

[broadrun96]

Yeah, rain delays on a 4 PM start will make for a long day. The 4 PM start is killing me already but F3 and Lamborghini Super Trofeo plus Indy cars works, those crazy beetles racing I could do without though. Lots of action on the track for race day even with almost 2 hours of quiet in the morning.

Plus F3 there saves me the Easter weekend trip up to Road Atlanta to see them and I get one free weekend this month. Important in those final wedding planning weeks

[JHamilton]

I'm going to a race! Hallelujah! Let it rain, don't care!

[mstets]

Seems that the red tires were not working well at all on Friday. May make for some interesting strategy calls for the race.

[fieldodreams79]

My view for the day. My first IndyCar race since AMS in the late 90s. Pretty stoked!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

My view for the day. My first IndyCar race since AMS in the late 90s. Pretty stoked!

What's the weather forecast?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

What's the weather forecast?

Temps are perfect. The other, well.... Alabama in the spring. It's dealer's choice.

[broadrun96]

Getting warm and overcast but looks like rain may hold off until evening

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Getting warm and overcast but looks like rain may hold off until evening

Its damn hot now in the sun. Kinda feels good, along with a cold beverage.

[fieldodreams79]

Driver intros and parade laps under way. Cloud cover is helpful!

[gert]

meh! No stream

[Damian Baldi]

Originally Posted by gert

meh! No stream

Same here, it used to be live on the TV last year.

EDIT: here is available https://racecontrol.indycar.com/index-global.html

[bjohnsonsmith]

A late start but a clean one.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I have a feed but there is roughly a 30 second delay.

http://www.time4tv.net/2012/14/sky-sports-f1.php

[gert]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

Same here, it used to be live on the TV last year.

EDIT: here is available https://racecontrol.indycar.com/index-global.html

Not working here.

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I have a feed but there is roughly a 30 second delay.

http://www.time4tv.net/2012/14/sky-sports-f1.php

That one does.
Thanks!

[bjohnsonsmith]

They've gone to the first ad break but haven't actually cut away from the race action, just no commentary.