Round 4: Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, Barber Motorsports Park, March 27-29
Round 4: Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, Barber Motorsports Park, March 27-29
This Sunday's race will be the 15th running of the Alabama Indy Grand Prix, at Barber Motorsports Park.
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History
Barber Motorsports Park is owned by George Barber, a successful businessman and accomplished driver, who raced Porsches in the 1960s and early '70s. He amassed a collection of motorcycles and after establishing a non-profit foundation in 1994, opened a museum displaying 325 motorcycles, plus some vintage cars. In 1998, he sold the family business and donated $54 million to the foundation in order to build a new
museum and a road course on which to run the collection.
In 2002, a 740 acre site east of Birmingham was chosen and a new museum was built, housing an expanded collection of 1,200 motorcycles, with up to 600 on display at any one time. It's been certified by Guinness as the largest museum of its type.
In October 2007, Barber Motorsports Park hosted a testing session for IndyCar, the success of which led to a full-field three-day testing session in March 2009. An open date became available on the 2010 season race calendar, with Barber Motorsports Park making a successful bid to hold the race over Cleveland (Burke Lakefront Airport), Houston, Baltimore, Nashville, Charlotte and Portland.
The first IndyCar race was held on April 11, 2010 and was won by Hélio Castroneves driving for Team Penske, in a Dallara IR05-Honda. Since then the Alabama Indy Grand Prix has been a perennial on the IndyCar race calendar, holding either the third or fourth round of the season.
However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the race was cancelled in 2021 and on its return to the IndyCar calendar in 2022, the event replaced St. Petersburg as the season opener. As of 2022, St. Petersburg resumed its usual place as the season opener, with the Alabama Indy Grand Prix hosting the fourth round of that season, which is where it has remained on the calendar.
-
Some Trivia
Driver with most wins: 3
Josef Newgarden: 2015, 2017, 2018.
Team with most wins: 8
Team Penske: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2024
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Track
The road course was designed by South African race track designer Alan Wilson, with three layouts. The main circuit, which is a 15-turn, 2.370-mile (3.70 km) road course, the short circuit and the club circuit. The venue, opened in 2003 and has hosted Grand-Am, Vintage Racing Series events and AMA Superbike. It serves as the home of the Porsche Sport Driving School and the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School.
One feature that stands out are the series of metal sculptures around the track. The large spider alongside Turns 5-6 has lead to this section of track being nicknamed 'Charlotte's Web'.
Track Layout
Length: 2.3 Miles (3.7 Km)
Turns: 15
Lap Record
Pato O'Ward, April 17, 2021, 1:05.5019, 126.409 Mph (203.476 Km/h),
Arrow McLaren SP, Dallara IR18-Chevrolet Indy V6
NTT IndyCar Series.
-
Last Year's Race
https://www.indycar.com/news/2025/05...rber-nics-race
Pole
Alex Palou,
Chip Ganassi Racing,
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6.
Winner
Alex Palou,
Chip Ganassi Racing
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6.
Laps: 90
Distance: 214.2 Miles (344.721 Km)
Race Time: 1:46:33.1523
Average Speed: 116.562 Mph (187.59 Km/h)
Fastest lap: Alex Palou - Chip Ganassi Racing
Lap 4. 119.969 Mph (193.078 Km/h), 69.0177 sec
Caution periods: 0
Laps: 0
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Practice and Qualifications
Practice 1
Friday, March 27.
FOX ONE, FS2. 3:30 PM ET
Sky Sports F1. 7:30 PM GMT
Practice 2
Saturday, March 28.
FOX ONE, FS1. 11:00 AM ET
Sky Sports F1. 3:00 PM GMT
Qualifications
Saturday, March 28.
FOX ONE, FS2. 2:30 PM ET
Sky Sports F1. 6:30 PM GMT
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Race Broadcast
Sunday, March 29,
FOX, FOX ONE. 1:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM UTC.
Sky Sports F1. 6:00 PM BST
This Sunday's race will be the 15th running of the Alabama Indy Grand Prix, at Barber Motorsports Park.
-
History
Barber Motorsports Park is owned by George Barber, a successful businessman and accomplished driver, who raced Porsches in the 1960s and early '70s. He amassed a collection of motorcycles and after establishing a non-profit foundation in 1994, opened a museum displaying 325 motorcycles, plus some vintage cars. In 1998, he sold the family business and donated $54 million to the foundation in order to build a new
museum and a road course on which to run the collection.
In 2002, a 740 acre site east of Birmingham was chosen and a new museum was built, housing an expanded collection of 1,200 motorcycles, with up to 600 on display at any one time. It's been certified by Guinness as the largest museum of its type.
In October 2007, Barber Motorsports Park hosted a testing session for IndyCar, the success of which led to a full-field three-day testing session in March 2009. An open date became available on the 2010 season race calendar, with Barber Motorsports Park making a successful bid to hold the race over Cleveland (Burke Lakefront Airport), Houston, Baltimore, Nashville, Charlotte and Portland.
The first IndyCar race was held on April 11, 2010 and was won by Hélio Castroneves driving for Team Penske, in a Dallara IR05-Honda. Since then the Alabama Indy Grand Prix has been a perennial on the IndyCar race calendar, holding either the third or fourth round of the season.
However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the race was cancelled in 2021 and on its return to the IndyCar calendar in 2022, the event replaced St. Petersburg as the season opener. As of 2022, St. Petersburg resumed its usual place as the season opener, with the Alabama Indy Grand Prix hosting the fourth round of that season, which is where it has remained on the calendar.
-
Some Trivia
Driver with most wins: 3
Josef Newgarden: 2015, 2017, 2018.
Team with most wins: 8
Team Penske: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2024
-
Track
The road course was designed by South African race track designer Alan Wilson, with three layouts. The main circuit, which is a 15-turn, 2.370-mile (3.70 km) road course, the short circuit and the club circuit. The venue, opened in 2003 and has hosted Grand-Am, Vintage Racing Series events and AMA Superbike. It serves as the home of the Porsche Sport Driving School and the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School.
One feature that stands out are the series of metal sculptures around the track. The large spider alongside Turns 5-6 has lead to this section of track being nicknamed 'Charlotte's Web'.
Track Layout
Length: 2.3 Miles (3.7 Km)
Turns: 15
Lap Record
Pato O'Ward, April 17, 2021, 1:05.5019, 126.409 Mph (203.476 Km/h),
Arrow McLaren SP, Dallara IR18-Chevrolet Indy V6
NTT IndyCar Series.
-
Last Year's Race
https://www.indycar.com/news/2025/05...rber-nics-race
Pole
Alex Palou,
Chip Ganassi Racing,
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6.
Winner
Alex Palou,
Chip Ganassi Racing
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6.
Laps: 90
Distance: 214.2 Miles (344.721 Km)
Race Time: 1:46:33.1523
Average Speed: 116.562 Mph (187.59 Km/h)
Fastest lap: Alex Palou - Chip Ganassi Racing
Lap 4. 119.969 Mph (193.078 Km/h), 69.0177 sec
Caution periods: 0
Laps: 0
-
Practice and Qualifications
Practice 1
Friday, March 27.
FOX ONE, FS2. 3:30 PM ET
Sky Sports F1. 7:30 PM GMT
Practice 2
Saturday, March 28.
FOX ONE, FS1. 11:00 AM ET
Sky Sports F1. 3:00 PM GMT
Qualifications
Saturday, March 28.
FOX ONE, FS2. 2:30 PM ET
Sky Sports F1. 6:30 PM GMT
-
Race Broadcast
Sunday, March 29,
FOX, FOX ONE. 1:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM UTC.
Sky Sports F1. 6:00 PM BST