IndyCar: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Preview

The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season drives into the month of May with live coverage of the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Team Penske has won all the races so far this year.  Can they remain unbeaten?

Reigning INDYCAR champion and defending Barber  race winner Alex Palou will lead 25 other IndyCar drivers that includes two-time INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden, six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time and defending Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, and former Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean, among others.

Newgarden currently leads the standings (118 pts).

Fast Facts

Race weekend: Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1

Track: Barber Motorsports Park, a 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course (clockwise) in Birmingham, Alabama

Entry List

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES 90 laps / 207 miles | Indy Lights: 35 laps/55 minutes

Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation

Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate, one additional set available for rookies for use in first practice

Twitter: @BarberMotorPark @IndyCar, @IndyLights, #HIGPA, #IndyCar

Event website: www.indyalabama.com

NTT INDYCAR SERIES website: www.indycar.com | Indy Lights website:www.indylights.com

2021 race winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

2021 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet), 1:05.8479, 125.744 mph

Qualifying lap record: Pato O’Ward, 1:05.5019, 126.409 mph, April 17, 2021

2021 race winners (Indy Lights): Linus Lundqvist (Race 1); David Malukas (Race 2)

NBC Sports race telecast: 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 1, 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 Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product. and NBC’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama race telecast will be simulcast on the streaming service, while Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show – featuring driver interviews, podium ceremonies and post-race analysis – will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama will be streamed on Peacock Premium with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR Live!, available on the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama race (12:30 p.m. ET), Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama (11 a.m. ET) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (All Times Local/Central Time):

Friday, April 29

1:45-2:30 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practice, INDYCAR Live!

3-4 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, (45-minute session), Peacock Premium (live)

Saturday, April 30

9-10 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, (45-minute session), Peacock Premium (live)

11-11:30 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practice, INDYCAR Live!

Noon -1:15 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium (live)

2:35-3:05 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying, INDYCAR Live!

4:20-4:50 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, Peacock Premium (live)

Sunday, May 1

10 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Alabama (35 laps / 55 minutes), Peacock Premium (live)

Noon – NBC Sports on air

12:08 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”

12:15 p.m. – Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst (90 laps / 207 miles), NBC, and Peacock Premium (live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• Josef Newgarden kept Team Penske perfect in 2022 by winning his second consecutive race at the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 10. Newgarden, a two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, leads teammate Scott McLaughlin by five points heading into the critical Month of May, which has more than 400 points on offer with races at Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the double points-paying Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
• The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be the 12th NTT INDYCAR SERIES event conducted at Barber Motorsports Park. Active race winners who are expected to compete are: Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Takuma Sato and Alex Palou.

• 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.

• Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in nine of his 11 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.
• Josef Newgarden can clinch the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge’s $1 million prize by winning at Barber Motorsports Park – where he has won three times in his career. Newgarden has wins on an oval (Texas Motor Speedway) and street circuit (Streets of Long Beach). A win on a road course would earn him a $500,000 bonus and a matching $500,000 donation for his charities, Wags and Walk Nashville and SeriousFun Children’s Network.
• Five drivers have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Barber Motorsports Park – Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. All but Hunter-Reay are entered this season.
• Team Penske has six wins at Barber Motorsports Park (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018). Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing are the only other teams to win at the track. Andretti Autosport 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, and Chip Ganassi Racing won in 2021 with Alex Palou.
• Twenty of the 26 drivers entered in the event have competed in NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Barber Motorsports Park. Eleven entered drivers have led laps: Will Power 212, Josef Newgarden 133, Helio Castroneves 93, Simon Pagenaud 87, Takuma Sato 74, Alex Palou 56, Scott Dixon 46, Pato O’Ward 25, Graham Rahal 25, Alexander Rossi 3 and Rinus VeeKay 1.
• Six NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year contenders – Tatiana Calderon, Devlin DeFrancesco, Callum Ilott, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas – are entered and will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time.
• Milestones: Marcus Ericsson will attempt to make his 50th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start … Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 292nd consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Notes:

• Indy Lights returns to the track after a two-month layoff. Matthew Brabham took advantage of the misfortune of his Andretti Autosport teammates to win the season opener at St. Petersburg but faces a tough test at Barber, where HMD Motorsports swept the doubleheader in 2021 with Linus Lundqvist and David Malukas.

The 2022 season features a deep and talented field with race winners such as Linus Lundqvist and Matthew Brabham joining a promising rookie class that includes Christian Rasmussen (Indy Pro 2000 champ), Hunter McElrea (Indy Pro 2000), Kyffin Simpson (Formula Regional Americas champion) and Ernie Francis Jr. (seven-time Trans Am champion/Formula Regional Americas). Other contenders include returning drivers Danial Frost, Sting Ray Robb and Benjamin Pedersen.