By John Goolsby, For the Tribune
BIRMINGHAM – It was a big day for Barber Motorsports Park. The NTT IndyCar event drew the largest race day crowd in ten years and had over 80,000 spectators on site for the three days event. An exciting race, beautiful weather, and a huge crowd weren’t the only reason for the excitement. Zoom Motorsports announced that the IndyCar race contract had been extended through 2027.
“It has been an honor to host this race since 2010 at the world-renowned Barber Motorsports Park,” said Gene Hallman, CEO of ZOOM. “The event has become a cornerstone of the Birmingham community, drawing fans from all over the world. We are excited for the future of this event and what it means to Children’s of Alabama.”
Children’s of Alabama, in the first year of a five-year contract, will continue as the event’s sponsor. “The multiyear extension coincides with the new agreement with the entitlement partners of the race, Medical Properties Trust and Children’s of Alabama, which executed a multiyear commitment with ZOOM Motorsports this year.”
“For the last 13 years, Barber has been an ideal host and the perfect Southeastern venue to showcase IndyCar’s bold and brash personality and compelling action,” said Penske CEO and President Mark Miles. ‘With its unique layout and dramatic features, this beautiful facility is a favorite with our fans and within our paddock. We look forward to growing this meaningful partnership with more thrilling racing and iconic moments.”
On the track, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin used a three-stop strategy to beat pole-sitter Romain Grosjean of Andretti Autosport, whose team opted to use a two-stop strategy, by 1.7 seconds.
The 90-lap Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix saw 87 laps of green flag action, 175 passes, and seven lead changes between four drivers. The only caution of the race came on lap 36 when Dale Coyne Racing’s rookie driver, Sting Ray Robb, came to a stop in turn nine due to a mechanical issue.
For the second time this season, McLaughlin and Grosjean found themselves fighting each other for a possible victory. The two came together in a crash in the season opener at St. Pete. For McLaughlin’s part in the incident, he received an avoidable contact penalty. The Kiwi said, “there’s no hard feelings.”
Grosjean, a Formula One veteran, made his final pit stop on lap 60 after leading the first 59 laps of the race. McLaughlin ducked in the pits on lap 63 for his third and final stop and emerged just ahead of Grosjean at the end of pit lane. The Swiss-born Frenchman passed McLaughlin less than a lap later at turn seventeen to take fourth place. “Well, he caught me napping. It was a great move by him,” said McLaughlin.
Grosjean inherited the top spot three laps later when Will Power pitted from the lead. McLaughlin moved to the second position and began stalking Grosjean.
The 29-year-old three-time Australian Supercar champion kept the pressure on Grosjean for the next six laps. On lap 71, Grosjean went wide exiting turn six in Charlotte’s web. McLaughlin took advantage of the opening and made the pass for the lead just before the bridge going into turn eight.
Grosjean, in fuel conservation mode and out of push-to-passes, could not track McLaughlin down over the last 19 laps and was forced to hold off a hard-charging Will Power, who finished third.
“We’ve been close,” said McLaughlin. “We just didn’t quite get it the last few rounds, but we’ve got it now. To reset, go again, then pass him back with the pace that we had, that’s a proud drive for me personally, but from a team perspective, really proud.”
“This one hurt, I’m going to be honest,” said Grosjean. “The three-stop never wins at Barber until today. The pits staying open gave McLaughlin the edge on the three-stop strategy. I mean, look at the other two stoppers 20 seconds behind us.”
McLaughlin became the fourth winner in IndyCar this year. Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson won the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete, Nashville’s Josef Newgarden won the PPG 375 at Texas, and Jupiter, Florida’s Kyle Kirkwood, won the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Barber Final Results, points standings in parentheses:
1. Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet (4)
2. Romain Grosjean, Honda (5)
3. Will Power, Chevrolet (7)
4. Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet (2)
5. Alex Palou, Honda (3)
6. Christian Lundgaard, Honda (12)
7. Scott Dixon, Honda (8)
8. Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet (14)
9. Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet (15)
10. Marcus Ericsson, Honda (1)
11. Marcus Armstrong, Honda (17)
12. Kyle Kirkwood, Honda (9)
13. Callum Ilott, Chevrolet (11)
14. Colton Herta, Honda (10)
15. Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet (6)
16. Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet (19)
17. Graham Rahal, Honda (16)
18. Simon Pagenaud, Honda (21)
19. David Malukas, Honda (13)
20. Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet (22)
21. Helio Castroneves, Honda (20)
22. Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet (26)
23. Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda (27)
24. Jack Harvey, Honda (23)
25. Conor Daly, Chevrolet (24)
26. Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet (18)
27. Sting Ray Robb, Honda (25)
The NTT IndyCar Series returns to action on May 13 for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The 107th Running of the Indy 500 takes place on May 28.