After a week’s rest, IndyCar is heading back on track for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. This week they face the first road course of the season and take on the Barber Motorsports Park. As we enter the fourth round, Kyle Kirkwood leads the championship for the first time. Currently, he has a 26-point lead over Álex Palou.
Last year, Palou commanded a dominant victory in Alabama. Taking pole position over Scott McLaughlin and Colton Herta, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver went on to lead 81 of 90 laps. A 16-second lead gave him the win over Christian Lundgaard. It was the third race in a row that saw no caution periods, and all drivers finished the race. Lundgaard attempted an alternate strategy over undercutting his competitors. Whilst it didn’t bring him the win, it did see him make up five places, from seventh to second. His Arrow McLaren teammate, Nolan Siegel, also made his debut Firestone Fast Six appearance in qualifying, making it a strong weekend for the papaya team.
Barber Motorsports Park, The Alabama Road Course
IndyCar has been racing in Alabama since 2010, and the race often takes place at the start of the season in April. With the track proposed for the series in 2007, the Indy Racing League tested the Barber road course throughout 2008 and 2009. It finally joined the calendar the following year and has remained a staple for the series to visit.
Barber Motorsports Park is just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, and drivers will face 90 laps around the 2.3-mile road circuit. It features 17 turns with 80 feet of elevation change across the track. Considered a ‘drivers track’ due to its demanding nature. Patience pays off, as momentum matters more than outright pace. The track’s flowing nature has earned it the nickname ‘racing ribbon’, and it tests drivers’ precision through the corners.
The sculptures around the infield make it a unique track. Bill Secunda, Theodore Gall, and Edward Lee Hendricks are just three artists whose work appears around the track. Secunda created the large steel spiders by Turns 5 and 6. This section is one of the prime overtaking areas, and due to the sculptures, is known as Charlotte’s Web. The artwork focuses on nature and wildlife, tying into the woodland background of the circuit.
Team Penske has seen the most success at Barber Motorsports Park since it joined the calendar. Hélio Castroneves won the inaugural race for them in 2010, and since then they have a total of eight wins. Their driver Josef Newgarden holds the most wins at three, but Palou, Scott McLaughlin, and Will Power are just behind him at two wins each. In 2021, Pato O’Ward set the lap record with a time of 1:06.188.
Ahead of the race weekend, Andretti Global driver Will Power spoke to The Girls Who – Motorsport about how to get a good lap around the track. He shared that “the little details do matter. You definitely get down to very fine details and different lines you can take.“ Power acknowledged that achieving a perfect lap comes from “how you approach the track”.
Three Races, Three Championship Leaders
Coming into Alabama, IndyCar sees the third championship leader of the year. So far, each race has changed the top of the standings, and no one has achieved a second win yet. Palou started the season on the top step, but a rare mistake in Phoenix saw Newgarden take the championship lead for the first time in 89 weeks. Another switch came in Arlington when Kirkwood re-cemented himself as ‘King of the Streets’. With the lead changing each round, 2026 is becoming a thrilling and unpredictable season.
Despite winning the last race, Andretti Global faced wheel-nut issues which affected their pit stops. The team will be hoping to adjust that in order to fully optimise their race strategy. After three rounds, the battle of Rookie of the Year is in full force, with all three showing strengths. Currently, Dennis Hauger leads the trio. The Norwegian won the IndyNXT race in Barber last year. The track is also where his teammate, Romain Grosjean, had his last pole position in the series. After a strong start to the series, Dale Coyne Racing will be hoping their drivers’ success here leads to another positive weekend.
As the site of Palou’s debut win, the Spaniard is no stranger to success here, but with the field closer than ever before, no one can predict what will happen on race day. Despite the high temperatures, rain is a big factor in Alabama. The southern state sees plenty of rainfall throughout the year, and in the past the race has been postponed due to the weather.
Schedule
The schedule for the weekend is as follows. Please note that the times displayed are in CET. Also be aware that the clocks go forward on Sunday 29th March, moving to CEST timezone.
Plenty of drivers on the current grid have seen success in Barber. With the standings changing each round, will someone be able to take over from Kirkwood? Or will he be able to do what Palou and Newgarden couldn’t and take a second win? The unpredictable nature of the track and state provides an exciting race weekend with plenty of action. Don’t miss out as the drivers fight to take the fourth win of the season.