IndyCar: Grosjean outduels Palou to win pole at Barber

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean drove a perfect final lap in qualifying to win the pole for the Children’s of Alabama IndyCar GP at Barber Motorsports Park in a very tight Fast Fix Q3 qualifying session.

Grosjean’s time of 1m05.8396 was just 0.07s faster than the Chip Ganassi Honda of Alex Palou and 0.09s faster than the Arrow McLaren Chevy of Pato O’Ward.

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was 4th fastest ahead of Scott Dixon and Christian Lundgaard.

“We made the Fast Six, we like that! It was an amazing day in Barber and an awesome weekend so far. The pace has been great,” said Lundgaard.

“The No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda has been fast and we got into the Firestone Fast Six and will be going for it tomorrow and I’m quite excited. I will get a good night’s rest and we’ll get after it tomorrow. The last time I was in the Firestone Fast Six and qualified sixth, we finished on the podium (second place in the Indy GP 2, 2022) but we want to be up one further than that so we’ll aim for that tomorrow.”

Grosjean, from France, earned his second NTT P1 Award of the season and the third of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career in the No. 28 Delaware Life/DHL Honda.

“I’ve got a hell of a team,” Grosjean said. “We’re doing such a great job this year. The car is awesome, and I have three teammates I can rely on. I went with the setup, the baseline we have, and from the moment we started quali, I knew we had it. I just didn’t want to mess it on the last lap.”

“We’re starting in the best position, but now we’ve got 90 laps to lead,” said Grosjean, 37. “We’ll see tomorrow, but I’m really proud of my guys and really happy with what we’re doing. I was very stressed that session – I don’t know why. I’m too old for this, but I guess I’m not. So, it’s all good.”

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon will aim for his first Barber victory from the fifth spot on the grid after his time of 1:06.0723 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Christian Lundgaard rounded out the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1:06.1601 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda. It was Lundgaard’s best qualifying performance in four races this season for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, as his previous best start was 11th in the season opener last month at St. Petersburg.

Josef Newgarden was eliminated in the second round of qualifying and will start seventh in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. He missed a spot in the Firestone Fast Six by 0.0617 of a second.

“I’m frustrated and annoyed, mostly at myself,” Newgarden said. “The car was really phenomenal – there was nothing wrong with our PPG car. It’s disappointing to not transfer. I tried something different on my warm-up, and it probably wasn’t advised, and now looking back on it, I would do it differently, in hindsight. We’ve got a fast car.”

Group101 Company Sponsoring Grosjean at Barber

Andretti Autosport announced that Delaware Life Insurance Company (“Delaware Life”), a member of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings and a leader in annuity and life insurance products, will be featured as the primary sponsor for the No. 28 Delaware Life/DHL Honda of Romain Grosjean at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Founded in 2013, Delaware Life is an annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. This will mark the first time that the Group 1001 subsidiary has been a primary partner of an Andretti Autosport entry.

“Delaware Life is a proud member of the Group 1001 family, which affords us opportunities such as teaming up with Andretti Autosport and Romain Grosjean’s No. 28 for the INDYCAR race at Barber Motorsports Park,” said Tom Seitz, President, Delaware Life Marketing. “Aligning with an elite driver like Romain and a top tier team like Andretti Autosport will help introduce Delaware Life to a new audience. At Delaware Life, we offer financial growth that can last a lifetime and we hope this is an experience that our customers and employees will remember forever.”“I am honored to represent Delaware Life this weekend in Birmingham,” said Romain Grosjean, driver of the No. 28 Delaware Life/DHL Honda. “Group 1001 has been a longtime partner of Andretti Autosport, and I am excited to have the chance to showcase the Delaware Life brand in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.”

Qualifying Results