IndyCar Gradebook: Grand Prix of Alabama

Dan Jones
15 hours ago
8 min read

Written by Dan Jones

As has been a familiar story thus far in 2025, it was Álex Palou who took the honours at Barber Motorsports Park, leading the field to take his third victory in four races. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent Dan Jones graded all 27 drivers' weekends from the action at the 'Augusta National of Motorsports.'

Chip Ganassi Racing

No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - C

After a career best finish in Long Beach for Simpson, his early form in 2025 continued into qualifying in Barber, as he made the Fast 12 for the first time this season, and the first in his career in dry conditions. However, race day execution was once again a struggle for the Cayman Islander, as he finished 21st after a slow first stop, ultimately finishing a lap down.

No.9 - Scott Dixon - C+

On a circuit where overtaking is deemed difficult, with 90 laps of constant green flag running, Dixon's drive to 12th from the back was the epitome of the racecraft that the Kiwi has displayed his entire IndyCar career. The issue with this? It was his own error in qualifying which put him in that situation in the first place. It was by no means a disastrous weekend, but Dixon left himself with a lot more work than there needed to be.

No.10 - Álex Palou - A+

I don't think I really need to justify my rating on this one. Palou's weekend at Barber was about as perfect as you're ever going to see an IndyCar weekend. Considering the double-defending and three-time IndyCar champion earmarked this weekend as the best of his entire career - not only his IndyCar career, tells you the entire story. It was simply masterful, a reminder that we're witnessing true greatness from Palou in front of our very eyes. He continues to set a benchmark which leaves his competitors in complete awe.

Team Penske

No.2 - Josef Newgarden - C+

Not for the first time in 2025, it seemed to be a weekend of anonymity for Newgarden. He's no longer the perennial winner that we've been so accustomed to seeing, and for a driver who has won at this venue three times before, he seemed out of sorts. He did make the Fast 12 for the first time in 2025, but lost six positions in the opening stint before ultimately finishing 10th, some way off his teammates in 3rd and 5th respectively.

No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - A

It wasn't to be a Barber three-peat for McLaughlin, but third place was a result the Kiwi believed was the maximum, simply not having the pace for the magical Palou. As McLaughlin stated, it's the type of result that will help a championship push in the long-run, but that's on the basis that somebody can stop Palou's current form. A good weekend all-round, as he continues to prove himself as the top Team Penske driver.

No.12 - Will Power - A-

With all the talk coming into the season about Will Power's future at Team Penske, any doubt that the Australian is not up to the standards of the team have quickly been silenced. He finally made both the Fast 12 and the Fast Six for the first occasion in 2025, and was in the battle for the podium places all day long. He would ultimately finish fifth at the flag, his 11th top five at Barber in 14 attempts and showed consistently well all weekend.

Andretti Global

No.26 - Colton Herta - A-

As noted to DIVEBOMB post-Friday, Herta considers Barber as his worst venue on the calendar. With that considered, it was a good weekend for the Californian, qualifying third before finishing seventh, which would have been better had he not stalled coming out of the pits. Execution continues to be a problem this season, and Herta hasn't reaped the rewards from his good start to 2025, but he once again showed well despite a disappointing result at the flag.

No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - B-

I'll give Kirkwood maybe a bit more leeway than deserved this weekend based off of Andretti's recent struggles at Barber. The team knew it would be difficult to replicate the American's spellbinding performance at Long Beach, which was hammered home after qualifying 18th. He would finish 11th at the flag, not a bad result all things considered, but Kirkwood didn't seem to have the raw pace this weekend.

No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - D

After a disastrous maiden year with Andretti, Ericsson's form has not improved in 2025, and Barber really hammered home what an underwhelming start it's been to the Swede's season. He topped opening practice, before having a huge crash in second practice whilst on slicks on a damp track. He would qualify 23rd and would cycle to the back before later picking up front wing damage and finishing 20th. A weekend for Ericsson to put behind him

Arrow McLaren

No.5 - Pato O'Ward - B+

Since IndyCar introduced the hybrid unit last season, O'Ward has noted several times about how he's had to completely adapt his driving style to meet the needs of the car, which continues to be on display in 2025. He qualified a respectable eighth, but behind both of his teammates before improving to sixth on Sunday. It was a respectable weekend for the Mexican, but it seems he's losing his star-boy status at Arrow McLaren to Christian Lundgaard who has outshone the now-26-year-old so far during their tenure as teammates.

No.6 - Nolan Siegel - B+

This represented the best weekend of Siegel's young IndyCar career. He reached the Fast Six and outqualified both his vastly more experienced teammates - which will hugely help the young American's confidence. He fell behind his teammates on the opening stint but would finish ninth at the flag, a career best finish on a road or street course. There's still work to do, but evidence that good progress is being made.

No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - A

If it wasn't for Palou's supreme dominance, Lundgaard would be the story of the season. A third podium in four races at Arrow McLaren, the Dane continues to impress, displaying some feisty race craft at crucial times, including superb moves on O'Ward and McLaughlin. His second place finish, albeit 16 seconds behind Palou, moves him up into second in the standings, a position which is thoroughly deserved after a really impressive start to 2025. Another weekend of Lundgaard establishing himself as one of the stars of the series.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

No.15 - Graham Rahal - C

There wasn't really anything notable from Rahal's weekend at Barber. The American qualified a disappointing 21st before finishing 14th on Sunday. He stated it was 'not our weekend' on Instagram, in what seemed to be a difficult event for the team all-round.

No.30 - Devlin DeFrancesco - D+ It wasn't a great weekend for RLL all-round, but DeFrancesco continues to be quite some way off his teammates when it comes to raw pace. He qualified dead last before finishing 24th, a lap down on Sunday. Thankfully, for the first time since St. Petersburg, the Canadian seemed to avoid any post-race altercations.

No.45 - Louis Foster - C

Race day execution seems to be a struggle for the Briton in his early IndyCar career, but continues to show signs of formidability, once again qualifying for the Fast 12. His race day would be underlined by a major off-track excursion in the final corner, which dropped him significantly down the order finishing two laps down. He's still got work to do with his race craft, but he continues to show he has the upper hand on his two teammates based on raw pace.

Meyer Shank Racing

No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - C+

It says a lot about Meyer Shank Racing's turnaround in recent seasons that a 13th and 18th place, which was once the norm, is considered a disappointing weekend. Felix Rosenqvist started the year excellently, but the team didn't have the raw pace in Barber that we've seen throughout the other three races this year. He was outqualified by his teammate, and did not feel comfortable with his No.60 Honda, finishing in 13th.

No.66 Marcus Armstrong - C

It was a similar story to Rosenqvist for Armstrong, where underlying pace didn't seem present in the MSR machines. He did, however, qualify for the Fast 12 in 11th, but would ultimately finish a lap down in 17th. Execution has been a problem for Armstrong so far in 2025, a story ever-so-present at Barber.

Ed Carpenter Racing

No.20 - Alexander Rossi - B+

Rossi's quietly good start to life at Ed Carpenter Racing continued into Barber, as he took his third top ten in four races. Starting 15th, the two-time vice-champion executed his strategy perfectly, coming home for a seasons-best eighth place as he held off the hard-charging Siegel late on. It's not quite as good of a start to life at a new team as the driver who replaced him at Arrow McLaren, but Rossi continues going about his business well.

No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - C

It feels like we're yet to see the promise that Rasmussen proved in his first year, which ultimately meant that the team retained him for 2025 so far into his sophomore campaign. He qualified a particularly average 17th before finishing in a particularly average 15th, and continues to be some way off the pace of his veteran teammate.

A.J. Foyt Racing

No.4 - David Malukas - C

A.J. Foyt Racing's disappointing start to the year continued into Barber, with both cars qualifying and finishing outside the top ten. Malukas would qualify 20th and finish Sunday's race in 16th as the last car on the lead lap. He's yet to show the promise at Foyt which many believed would lead to a Team Penske drive in the future.

No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - C+

A fueling issue plagued Ferrucci's Sunday at Barber, forcing him to make an additional stop as he finished 18th. He stated that the team had "mega pace," as he qualified slightly better than usual in 13th. His result doesn't tell the full story, but the team still seem nowhere close to the championship contenders Ferrucci would claim they would be. Barber was a springboard for Ferrucci's excellent form last year, and to avoid embarrassment, that form will need to pick up soon for Ferrucci.

Juncos Hollinger Racing

No.76 - Conor Daly - C-

Daly qualified 19th and finished 19th, one lap down. Not much else to say from the weekend, but as he noted there's still some development to do.

No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - C-

After a career-best weekend at Long Beach, Robb's momentum did not continue into Barber, as he qualified 22nd and came home in 22nd in a weekend of not much note.

Dale Coyne Racing

No.18 - Rinus VeeKay - A+

VeeKay's father labelled Barber as the best weekend of the Dutchman's IndyCar career, and although he has a race win, I find that hard to disagree with. After all the peril that the team endured in 2024, this result, purely on merit, seemed unfathomable just a year ago. We knew that VeeKay would be strong at Barber, but to qualify for the Fast 6 was an achievement in itself, and his race day execution would be superb too. He held off Power with spectacular defence twice, even after a wheel nut issue on his final stop. He would be unfortunate to not claim a thoroughly deserved podium, but that does not take away from an absolutely stellar weekend. It's a shame that Palou stole the headlines once again, because VeeKay really deserved the same limelight after his performance.

No.51 - Jacob Abel - C-

As his teammate turned the eyes of many in the paddock, it would be another difficult weekend for Abel in the sister entry. He gained five places in his opening stint, but stated a tyre issue took him out of the mix and left him at the back of the pack on Sunday, two laps down. Steady improvement is there, but there's still significant work for Abel to do.

PREMA Racing

No.83 - Robert Shwartzman - C-

This was quite possible the most underwhelming weekend of Shwartzman's IndyCar career, as he qualified 24th before finishing 25th - albeit still top of the rookies. PREMA clearly still have work to do.

No.90 - Callum Ilott - C-

A weekend that showed a bit more promise for Ilott, as he qualified slightly better than usual in 16th, but fell behind even his teammate early on. He would finish 23rd, a reminder that PREMA still aren't at the calibre that we know Ilott is capable of.