IndyCar: Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Preview

Beautiful Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama welcomes the NTT INDYCAR Series for the fourth race of the 2023 season, and Team Chevy as the defending winner of both the NTT P1 Pole Award and the race.

Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren captured the win in last year’s event on the 2.3-mile permanent road course and comes in with a strong start to the 2023 season. Ed Carpenter Racings’ Rinus VeeKay arrives this weekend for his 50th career INDYCAR start and is determined to compete for the win at one of his favorite tracks after capturing last year’s NTT P1 Pole Award. “First road course race of the season and our best race last year,” exclaimed VeeKay. “Barber is a very good track for us. I got the pole there last year but unfortunately only finished third when we were able to win. Hopefully, we can pick right back up where we left off last year!”

With three wins at Barber, the most of any driver in the field, Josef Newgarden of Team Penske looks to capture a fourth victory this weekend on top of his 2015, 2017 and 2018 wins-all powered by Chevrolet, saying he’s “so excited for Barber. It used to be my home track before the Music City Grand Prix,” noted Newgarden. “It’s right down the road, two-and-a-half hours. It’s a rollercoaster of a racetrack and I’ve had some good luck there, some very good cars. Hoping we can put together another good run this year.”

Race weekend: Friday, April 28 – Sunday, April 30

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.

Entry List

	CAR	DRIVER	HOMETOWN	CAR NAME	TEAM	ENGINE
1	2	Josef Newgarden	Nashville, Tennessee	PPG Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
2	3	Scott McLaughlin	Christchurch, New Zealand	Good Ranchers Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	5	Pato O’Ward	Monterrey, Mexico	Arrow McLaren	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
4	06	Helio Castroneves	Sao Paulo, Brazil	AutoNation/SiriusXM	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
5	6	Felix Rosenqvist	Värnamo, Sweden	Arrow McLaren	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
6	7	Alexander Rossi	Nevada City, California	Arrow McLaren	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
7	8	Marcus Ericsson	Kumla, Sweden	Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
8	9	Scott Dixon	Auckland, New Zealand	PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
9	10	Alex Palou	Barcelona, Spain	Ridgeline Lubricants	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	11	Marcus Armstrong (R)	Christchurch, New Zealand	The American Legion	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
11	12	Will Power	Toowoomba, Australia	Verizon Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
12	14	Santino Ferrucci	Woodbury, Connecticut	AJ FOYT RACING / SEXTON PROPERTIES	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
13	15	Graham Rahal	New Albany, Ohio	One Cure	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
14	18	David Malukas	Chicago, Illinois	HMD Trucking	Dale Coyne Racing with HMD	Honda
15	20	Conor Daly	Noblesville, Indiana	Bitnile.com	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
16	21	Rinus VeeKay	Hoofddorp, Netherlands	Bitnile.com	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
17	26	Colton Herta	Valencia, California	Gainbridge	Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda
18	27	Kyle Kirkwood	Jupiter, Florida	AutoNation	Andretti Autosport	Honda
19	28	Romain Grosjean	Geneva, Switzerland	Delaware Life / DHL	Andretti Autosport	Honda
20	29	Devlin DeFrancesco	Toronto, Canada	Damon	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda
21	30	Jack Harvey	Bassingham, England	Amada	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
22	45	Christian Lundgaard	Hedensted, Denmark	HY-VEE	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
23	51	Sting Ray Robb (R)	Payette, Idaho	biohaven	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda
24	55	Benjamin Pedersen (R)	Copenhagen, Denmark	AJ FOYT RACING / SEXTON PROPERTIES	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
25	60	Simon Pagenaud	Montmorillon, France	AutoNation/SiriusXM	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
26	77	Callum Ilott	Cambridge, England	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet
27	78	Agustín Canapino (R)	Arrecifes, Argentina	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet

All cars use fourth-generation NTT INDYCAR SERIES chassis (Dallara IR12) with universal IR-18 aerodynamic bodywork, Chevrolet or Honda engines and Firestone tires.

(R) – Denotes Rookie of the Year candidate

Twitter: @BarberMotorPark @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #INDYBHM, #IndyCar

Instagram: @BarberMotorPark, @INDYCAR, #INDYBHM, #INDYCAR

Facebook: @BarberMotorsportsPark, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #INDYBHM, #INDYCAR

TikTok: @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

2022 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet)

INDY NXT by Firestone

Linus Lundqvist (No. 26 HMD Motorsports)

2022 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Rinus VeeKay (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet), 1 minute, 6.2507 seconds, 124.980 mph

2022 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Linus Lundqvist (No. 26 HMD Motorsports) 1:12.5713, 114.095 mph

Qualifying records:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Pato O’Ward, 1:05.5019, 126.409 mph, April 17, 2021 (set in Round 2 of qualifying)

INDY NXT by Firestone

Linus Lundqvist, 1:11:5149, 115.780 mph, April 16, 2021

NBC Sports race telecast: 3 p.m. ET Sunday, April 30, 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 race telecast will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama will be streamed on Peacock Premium 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, Alex Wollf and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters. The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix race (2:30 p.m. ET), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama (12:45 p.m. ET) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone 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 28

1:40-2:25 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE

2:40-3:55 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock

Saturday, April 29

10-10:45 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE

11 a.m.-noon – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (45 minutes), Peacock

1:20-1:40 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone, INDYCAR LIVE

2-3:15 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock

Sunday, April 30

11-11:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock

11:55 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama “Drivers, start your engines”

Noon – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock.

2 p.m. – NBC on air

2:23 p.m. – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”

2:30 p.m. – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix (90 laps / 207 miles), NBC (Live)

Select Quotes

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“Obviously, we’ve had a really strong start to the season leading in points going into Barber. It’s the first road course of the year, which will be interesting. The Huski Chocolate Honda will be strong and I’m looking forward to it.”

The points leader has been knocking on the door in search of his first career win on a road course. He has averaged the best finishing position (7.4) of any driver in the field over the past two seasons on such tracks.

Ericsson has displayed considerable improvement in his qualifying efforts, advancing to the Fast 6 in two of the three races on the year thus far.

Alex Palou
No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“Barber this weekend, a super special place for me. We won there my first INDYCAR race with the team and we’ve run really well there in the past. I’m looking forward to the first road course race of the year. We started the year really good and we will head into the month of May soon. The Ridgeline Lubricants car will look very good on track and we will see you there.”

Palou has thrived at Barber, winning his CGR debut in his first race at the track in 2021, and then finishing P2 in 2022 – just 0.980 seconds behind the race winner.

He has been an extremely strong qualifier on road course races since joining Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021, posting the best average starting position (4.8) of any driver in that time. Palou has claimed nine podiums in 14 road course races with the team, also the most in the series across that span.

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda

“It’s been a great race for us in the past. Lots of podiums, but still haven’t won at this place. I’ll keep knocking at that door. We had a great test there and looking forward to getting back to the track. I think the race is going to be one of those great ones that we have and we will be going for the win.”

The six-time champion returns to Barber Motorsports Park in search of his first career victory at the track, despite earning nine podiums in 12 starts. Dixon’s nine podiums are the most by any INDYCAR driver in track history, which is in fact more than two times the total of anyone else.

Dixon has demonstrated superb qualifying pace in 2023, pushing through to the top-12 in all three races and the Fast 6 in each of the past two.

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 American Legion Honda
“Barber is a very cool track and quite similar to some European circuits that I have raced at in the past; fast and flowing, cambered corners. We tested there last month and it went quite well. I think the conditions will be different, but everything is in order to do a good job this weekend. We’re still building momentum; it’s still only my third INDYCAR race. There’s still a lot to learn but I feel that this is the perfect track to go to next.”

Marcus Armstrong is set to make his first career start at an INDYCAR road course, where he has advanced familiarity given his experience racing across similar circuits in Europe.

The Christchurch, New Zealand, native leads all rookies with 43 points despite competing exclusively in road and street course events. He produced a remarkable P8 finish in just his second career INDYCAR start after moving up into the top-10 on lap 27, where he maintained his position among the leading group for the remainder of the race.

Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“I really, really enjoy Barber. It’s a very nice facility. It’s a tough track with super high-commitment corners. We were able to test there, and I think we have a pretty good setup. We’ll roll off the truck pretty good, we hope. The series is so tight now; you never know where you’re at.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“Barber Motorsports Park is one of the tracks I always look forward to – I’ve loved it ever since I started racing there in junior Formulas. It’s a very fast, very flowy track, and it’s easy to enjoy what a race car has to offer around that place. I’m excited to go back. We’ve had a great package there in the last few years, so let’s see what we can do this year.”

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

”First road course of the year. Barber Motorsports Park is an amazing track, and it’s probably the biggest physical challenge for us drivers. It’s historically our best road course track, so hopefully we have enough to keep that going.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

”Barber Motorsports Park is always a thrilling challenge, and I’m eager to take it on this weekend. Our team has shown great performance to start the year, but we need to start getting results. As a driver, you always strive for that perfect balance between precision and aggression, and Barber demands nothing less. I’m excited to see the fan energy as we push ourselves and battle for the top spot on the podium.”

Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“Our team has been successful at Barber Motorsports Park in the past and I’m excited to see what we’ve got this year. Obviously, Rinus (VeeKay) has been really fast there, and I hope to be able to learn from him and improve myself. The No. 20 BITNILE.COM car has been a bit unlucky there in the past couple years, so hopefully we can get things to go our way! The goal is now to kind of restart our season at Barber and get things going in the right direction.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“First road course race of the season and our best race last year! Barber is a very good track for us. I got the pole there last year but unfortunately only finished third when we were able to win. Hopefully we can pick right back up where we left off last year! ECR has won here in the past, so I am excited to go back to such a cool track. It’s a lovely place to race at the end of April. Brings some momentum into May, that’s what we need! We haven’t had a great start to the season, we need to turn it around and Barber is a great track to do that at.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“Super excited to head to Barber to carry the momentum off of Long Beach. Haven’t been back for a little while now, so we will see how it goes for the team, but I know that Benjamin’s (Pedersen) rookie test proved successful, so I’m very excited to see what they learned and apply it to this weekend.”

Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“I am really looking forward to being back at Barber this week. This is a track I have experience with and have found success at from F3 to Indy Lights. It will be nice to be back on a track that I am familiar with and it happens to be one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. We had a great test here last month in the No. 55 Sexton Properties Chevrolet, so I am excited to see what we can build on and accomplish as a team when we are on track beginning this Friday.”

“WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT BARBER:

1. Another young first-time winner? Romain Grosjean could spoil the fun, but the odds point to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ next first-time winner to join Kyle Kirkwood in the under-25 club.

Both David Malukas (21) and Christian Lundgaard (21) already have come close to winning in their young careers, and both are showing indications of a second-year breakthrough along the lines of Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward, Rinus VeeKay and Scott McLaughlin in recent seasons.

Marcus Armstrong (22) has impressed in his first two starts with Chip Ganassi Racing, and Armstrong’s former roommate, Callum Ilott (24), also has knocked on the door of a first podium.

2. 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 12 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 seven races. Team Penske teammate Will Power (No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet) has won two races.

Power is a four-time NTT P1 Award winner at Barber, part of the record 68 poles he has scored in his career.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• Kyle Kirkwood became the third winner in as many NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season as he earned his first career victory April 16 at Long Beach. 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson finished on the podium for the second time in three races and leads Pato O’Ward by 15 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 will be the 13th 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, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward.

ACTIVE RACE WINNER	WINS	SEASONS
Josef Newgarden	3	2015, 2017, 2018
Will Power	2	2011, 2012
Pato O’Ward	1	2022
Alex Palou	1	2021
Simon Pagenaud	1	2016
Helio Castroneves	1	2010

• 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
Helio Castroneves	2	2012, 2015
Rinus VeeKay	1	2022
Pato O’Ward	1	2021
Josef Newgarden	1	2018
Simon Pagenaud	1	2016

• Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in nine of his 12 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.
• Marcus Ericsson, Josef Newgarden or Kyle Kirkwood can solidify their chance at the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge’s $1 million prize by winning at Barber Motorsports Park. Ericsson (Streets of St. Petersburg) and Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach) have won on street circuits while Newgarden has a win on an oval (Texas Motor Speedway). A win on a road course would make one of them one step closer to earning a $500,000 bonus and a matching $500,000 donation for a chosen charity.
• Four drivers have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Barber Motorsports Park – Scott Dixon, Will Power, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. All but Sato 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, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Arrow McLaren 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, Chip Ganassi Racing won in 2021 with Alex Palou and Arrow McLaren won in 2022 with Pato O’Ward.
• Twenty-three 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 212, Josef Newgarden 135, Helio Castroneves 93, Simon Pagenaud 87, Rinus VeeKay 58, Alex Palou 60, Scott Dixon 46, Pato O’Ward 52, Graham Rahal 25 and Alexander Rossi
• Four NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year contenders – Marcus Armstrong, Augustin Canapino, Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb – are entered and will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time.
• Milestones: Rinus VeeKay will attempt to make his 50th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start … Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 309th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:

• INDY NXT by Firestone resumes its 2022 season this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Danial Frost made a late move and held off a pack of challengers to win a wild season opener at St. Petersburg but will face an equally tough test at Barber. Frost and his HMD Motorsports teammates should enter with confidence as the team has won the last three INDY NXT by Firestone races at the 2.3-mile road course.
• The 19-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 17 in the first race in 2010. While none of the current field of drivers has won an INDY NXT by Firestone race at Barber, four drivers – Jagger Jones, Reece Gold, Nolan Siegel and Hunter McElrea – have visited victory lane at the picturesque road course in ladder series.
• The 2023 season features a deep and talented field with INDY NXT race winners such as Frost, Toby Sowery, Hunter McElrea and Christian Rasmussen joining a promising rookie class that includes Jamie Chadwick (three-time W Series champ), Louis Foster (USF Pro 2000 champ), Jagger Jones (USF2000 Rookie of the Year) and rising stars Nolan Siegel and Reece Gold (USF Pro 2000). Other contenders include returning drivers Jacob Abel, Rasmus Lindh, Kyffin Simpson and Ernie Francis Jr.
• Two teams with championship pedigree have rejoined the series for 2023. Two-time champions Juncos Hollinger Racing is fielding a pair of cars for rookies Reece Gold and Matteo Naninni. Cape Motorsports – which last fielded a team in the INDY NXT in 2010, is fielding cars for Enaam Ahmed and Jones.

A new qualifying format will place a premium on banking a quick lap around the 1.8-mile street circuit. Teams will have a single 15-minute session with a limited guarantee of eight minutes of green flag running, depending on whichever comes first. If an entry does not set a time, their order will be based on entrant points.