19 April, 2021
Spanish driver Alex Palou celebrated his move to Chip Ganassi Racing with his first career IndyCar victory by beating a pair of series champions to win Sunday’s season-opening race at Barber Motorsports Park.
Palou and his team used a two-stop strategy on the picturesque permanent road course to take control of the race but still had to hold off hard-charging Will Power and Scott Dixon over the closing laps. The 24-year-old beat Power by 0.4016 seconds to claim his first win in his first race driving for the storied Ganassi organization.
“We knew (a win) was possible because we knew we had the best team and the best cars,” Palou said. “It’s amazing to be part of the winning drivers.”
O Ward Roars to NTT P1 Award at Barber; Field Crushes Record
By Paul Kelly | Published: Apr 17, 2021
It appears Pato O’Ward’s time may be here.
Mexican driver O’Ward was pegged as a rising young star of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES after finishing fourth in the series standings in 2020, and he opened the 2021 season Saturday by winning the NTT P1 Award for the pole position for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park.
O’Ward led the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1 minute, 5.8479 seconds in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. It was the second pole of his career, with the first coming last July for the second race at Road America. He will attempt to earn his first INDYCAR victory in the 90-lap race, with live coverage starting at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Palou Holds Off Heavyweights for First Win in Barber Thriller
By Paul Kelly | Published: Apr 18, 2021
When Alex Palou sits back and soaks in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst, he can take special satisfaction in knowing he took his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory the old-school way.
He earned it.
Palou held off legends Will Power and Scott Dixon – who have seven series titles and two Indianapolis 500 victories between them – to win Sunday afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park in his debut with reigning series champion Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou held off a charging Power by .4016 of a second – the closest margin of victory in the history of this race – to take the checkered flag in his No. 10 SEGI.TV Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
By Zach Horrall | Published: Apr 18, 2021
The wait is finally over! The NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes the green flag today in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park.
The capacity-reached crowd of 20,000 plus the 24 NTT INDYCAR SERIES athletes set to compete in the race are up for an exciting day of racing. The weather forecast for Birmingham, Alabama, predicts a partly cloudy day with a high of 71 and winds below 10 mph – almost perfect conditions.
You can catch the action starting at 11:30 a.m. (ET) with the final warm-up live on Peacock. Then, tune in to the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at 3 p.m. (ET) live on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network. You can catch radio broadcasts live on network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, INDYCAR.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile App powered by NTT DATA.
By Paul Kelly | Published: Apr 18, 2021
Homework paid off for Graham Rahal this morning at Barber Motorsports Park.
Graham Rahal led the race day warm-up session for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama this morning after qualifying 18th Saturday in the No. 15 Code 3 Associates Honda. Rahal’s top lap this morning was 1 minute, 6.7319 seconds, a tenth of a second quicker than his best lap in NTT P1 Award qualifying.
“It wasn’t even a great lap there, to be honest,” Rahal said of his best effort in the warm-up. “We ran primaries (Firestone black tires) the whole time. They seemed to hang in there pretty good. But to be honest, it wasn’t a big departure from last night. We thought our balance in qualifying was decent. It just didn’t have enough speed, just didn’t have enough overall grip.