IndyCar Preview: Grand Prix of Alabama
- Dan Jones
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
It is that time of year where all our headphones turn to the soundwaves of Lynyrd Skynyrd and we all blast out "Sweeeeeet Home Alabamaaaaaaa" before the guitar riff plays. It can only signify IndyCar's annual visit to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama for a fourth race in IndyCar's own March Madness and the first road course race of the year in Race 4 of 18 in the 2026 IndyCar season.
What happened in Arlington?
IndyCar drivers and teams have since earned a very well-deserved break following the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington which was the third race in three weeks to kick off the 2026 season. It was an event that was highly-anticipated being almost 18 months in the making but it was one that certainly did not disappoint.
After seven years in the series, Marcus Ericsson claimed his first pole position on Saturday, utilising his advantage of being first on-track in IndyCar's updated qualifying format to continue his encouraging start to 2026. Ericsson controlled the opening stint well but a pitstop error allowed Álex Palou to take the lead in a case of what we all thought was "here we go again".
That was not to be though. Kyle Kirkwood had shown he had a strong race car underneath him all weekend and put that to good use on Sunday, as he hunted down Palou lap-after-lap. It all culminated in a daring move to the inside at Turn 14 with 18 laps to go with Palou helpless to defend against the rampant Kirkwood.
Kirkwood's victory looked safe until the caution was flown with three laps to go due to Christian Rasmussen's stricken car at pit exit. That may have ignited the nerves for Kirkwood but they were quickly settled as a back-of-the-pack accident brought out the yellow again. Kyffin Simpson has since been dropped one position in the finishing order due to his involvement in the incident.
Kirkwood re-claimed his unofficial 'King of the Streets' title and surged into the championship lead for the first time in his career. Palou managed to come home second with Will Power's audacious two-stop strategy proving successful has he earned a first podium with Andretti Global. Ericsson was unfortunate to drop down to fourth whilst Pato O'Ward claimed his third consecutive top-five finish to begin 2026.
FOX averaged 1.336 million viewers throughout the race, which marked a 142% increase on the third race of 2025 and a 54% increase over the 2025 average for Sunday races (excluding the Indy 500). It marks the third race to average over 1 million viewers to start 2026 - the first time that mark has been reached since 2008.
You can read the full race report here, the DIVEBOMB IndyCar Podcast's race review here and my gradebook here.
Kirkwood's victory marked the third driver from three different teams to win the first three races in 2026. It also has given us a rather fascinating early championship complexion. Top 10 are as follows:
Kirkwood - 126
Palou - 100
Newgarden - 93
O'Ward - 93
McLaughlin - 85
Malukas - 84
Lundgaard - 80
Ericsson - 77
Armstrong - 70
Rossi - 64
All you need to know about Barber
IndyCar will visit Barber Motorsports Park for the 16th time this weekend, having done so consecutively since 2010 bar the COVID-stricken season of 2020. It will mark the earliest in the season that this race has taken place and has become a fan-favourite amongst drivers due to its sweeping, technical circuit nature.
This weekend will have some additional poignance though marking the first Barber race since the death of George Barber, who established the track in 2003 and has the track bear his name.
The circuit is commonly referred to as the 'Augusta National of Motorsports' due to it's scenic surroundings and picturesque greenery around the circuit. The track is also known for it's slightly bizarre features including a huge spider on the exit of Turn 5 and most notably 'Georgina' - the doll who infamously fell from the bridge mid-way through the 2024 race.
The circuit has 15 turns, nine to the right and six to the left over a distance of 2.38 miles (3.83km). The circuit is a tricky one, featuring several downhill braking zones - particularly in Turns 1, 5 and 7, high speed chicanes including at Turns 9/10 and 11/12 as well as long, sweeping corners like at Turns 2/3 and Turns 13/14. Expect the best overtaking opportunity to be down the hill into the heavy braking zone at Turn 5 (also known as Charlotte's Web). However, Turn 1 provides a good opportunity and a surprise move at Turn 15 has become popular with drivers in recent seasons.
Unsurprisingly, because it is the case at several circuits across the calendar, Barber has become a bit of a stronghold for Palou. He majestically dominated the field in 2025, taking pole position and leading 81 of the 90 laps - only missing nine because of pit cycles. Nobody could lay a glove on Palou, even when he was on the harder tyre as he won by over 16 seconds.
Last year's success added to Palou's maiden IndyCar victory which he earned at the track in 2021 on his debut with Ganassi. Since then Palou, has never finished outside the top five at Barber which included a second-place finish in 2022.
Scott McLaughlin does also have a very strong historical Barber record too - finding Victory Lane in both 2023 and 2024 and he also stood on the rostrum last year in third. McLaughlin has previously compared the track to Phillip Island in Australia, a track he was also very strong at in his V8 Supercar days.
Josef Newgarden is the most successful active driver at the track having earned his maiden race victory in 2015 in addition to further successes in 2017 and 2018. Since then though, Barber has been a tougher challenge for Newgarden who has just once finish in the top nine since his last victory.
Power went back-to-back at Barber in 2011 and 2012 and also has four poles at the venue, whilst Pato O'Ward remains the other active winner having done so in 2022. Power, Palou, McLaughlin, O'Ward, Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay are the active polesitters at the circuit.
The notable absence in the winner list is Scott Dixon, who has finished on the podium nine times in 15 visits to Barber (although none of them have come in his last four trips). It remains one of very few venues on the schedule Dixon has not found the ultimate success at.
Sunday's race will take place over 90 laps with drivers having 200 seconds of push-to-pass available. Firestone will bring their usual allotment of five primary and five alternate sets to each driver with rookies having an additional primary set for the first practice. The qualifying format used in Arlington will not be used this weekend as the series will revert to the usual Fast Six procedure.
What to look out for at Barber
The start to the season has been favourable for Kirkwood and Andretti, with two street courses and a short oval - a track type that the team have become increasingly successful at over the last 12 months. This will pose a more realistic challenge for the championship leader who has a best Barber finish of only 10th and still remains podium-less throughout his IndyCar career on a road course.
It could represent a chance for Palou to take back the championship lead given his success at the venue. Based on last year's showing, it looks a difficult challenge for anybody to take the fight to Palou at Barber, but as proved in Arlington, you can never-say-never in IndyCar.
We've had three different winners from three different teams in three races in 2026 and eyes will naturally turn to Arrow McLaren to try and continue that streak. O'Ward has been in a rich vein of form and could well be the driver to continue that streak. O'Ward has nine top five finishes in his last 11 races (the outliers being Portland and Nashville in 2025 when he had mechanical failures from the lead) and has a superb Barber record. In six visits to Barber, O'Ward has four top-six finishes with the outliers being his Carlin year in 2019 and a particularly messy showing in 2024. He doesn't come in as a weekend favourite, but O'Ward has started to prove that doesn't necessarily hold him back from success.
On the other side of the Arrow McLaren camp, Christian Lundgaard awaits a first victory in papaya and this could well be his chance. Lundgaard finished on the podium at five of the seven road course races in 2025 which included a runner-up sport at Barber. Lundgaard also finished sixth consecutively in 2023 and 2024 in his days with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
If we're looking at an outside show to continue that streak, Meyer Shank Racing have proved they can compete with some of the best in the series and have technical data from Chip Ganassi Racing. Felix Rosenqvist is winless in six years whilst Marcus Armstrong has never claimed an IndyCar victory - could this weekend change that?
Armstrong also has an opportunity to continue another unlikely streak. Ericsson's pole in Arlington and David Malukas' in Phoenix marked two consecutive rookie polesitters. Armstrong, alongside Simpson, Caio Collet, Nolan Siegel, Dennis Hauger, Christian Rasmussen, Mick Schumacher and Sting Ray Robb are all yet to take an IndyCar pole and could continue that streak this weekend.
Road courses haven't always been Team Penske's forte, but McLaughlin's record here provides encouragement, even if Malukas and Newgarden have struggled at the track in recent seasons. The team's planned resurgence from their disastrous 2025 has been off to a generally encouraging start but Barber provides a rather significant test.
Other drivers to watch out for this weekend include Power, who's first two races at Andretti proved disastrous before a much-encouraging run in Arlington. Power has finished in the top five in each of the last five Barber races and will look to continue his momentum this weekend. On the other side of the Andretti camp, Marcus Ericsson has had two strong showings to start 2026, and has already matched his top 10 total from last year after three rounds. However, both those races have come on street courses where Ericsson and Andretti have generally proven strong, but a good weekend is much-needed for Ericsson to prove that form is translating elsewhere.
Nolan Siegel has had a bit of a disastrous start to 2026, but the young American showed well at Barber last year. Barber provides a great opportunity for that start to the year to be turned around as pressure intensifies over his future.
Finally, watch out for VeeKay too. The Juncos Hollinger Racing driver took an unlikely pole and podium in 2022 in his days with Ed Carpenter Racing and had a sensational run to fourth last year with minnows Dale Coyne Racing where he was slightly unfortunate to not stand on the podium, could VeeKay replicate that magic this weekend?
In the Rookie of the Year battle, Hauger continues to lead, with an eight-point gap to Collet with Schumacher a further 17 behind. However, in the opening three races, a different one of the rookies has proved to be the fastest at each event, living up to the highly-anticipated ROTY hype. Hauger won in Indy NXT at Barber last year whilst Collet also has two years worth of track experience. Schumacher will be the only driver who races at Barber for the first time this weekend.
Indy NXT preview
Barber marks the first of five double-header weekends for Indy NXT in 2026, as IndyCar's premier feeder series also visits a road course for the first time this season.
Max Taylor was the dominant force in St. Petersburg but lost out to Nikita Johnson, but turned that around in a chaotic Arlington race. After an opening lap mess, which saw Jack Beeton jump the start, Colin Kaminsky in the barrier before the green and polesitter Alessandro de Tullio in the Turn 1 runoff, Enzo Fittipaldi, Tymek Kucharczyk and Taylor were the standout three. Taylor had the pace though and made a sensational move on Kucharczyk into Turn 14 before a less-dramatic overtake on Fittipaldi to take the lead.
Taylor took the championship lead following the race with the full top 10 being as follows (drivers with an R are eligible for Rookie of the Year):
Taylor - 92
Johnson (R) - 82
Kucharczyk (R) - 70
Hughes - 60
Murray - 58
Fittipaldi (R) - 57
Correa - 54
Rowe - 50
de Tullio (R) - 40
Missig - 36
The series ran a full-field test at Barber in the off-season and Taylor dominated the timing sheets ahead of Andretti teammate Josh Pierson. If such form were to continue for Taylor this weekend, it poses an ominous sign for the rest of the competition. Taylor, in his Indy NXT debut, finished seventh at the track last year.
It has been a quiet start to the season for early championship favourites and the top-returning drivers of 2025 in Lochie Hughes and Myles Rowe - with Hughes having consecutive top five finishes and Rowe finishing in sixth and ninth. Both drivers did finish in the top five at Barber last year though and need a strong weekend to kick-start their years.
Barber has often been an important track for those bidding to reach IndyCar. In fact, the last seven winners at the circuit have all reached IndyCar and four of them became series champions later that season. Hauger, Rasmussen, Malukas, O'Ward as well as Jacob Abel, Linus Lundqvist and Colton Herta all fulfilled their IndyCar dream after winning at Barber and the field will be looking to replicate their successes.
The field, who remain unchanged from Arlington, will have 65 seconds of push-to-pass and will compete over 35 laps on the Saturday race and 30 laps on Sunday's race.
Being a double-header format, the qualifying format will be adjusted too. As usual, the fastest driver in the two group sessions will earn pole for Race 1. However, for Race 2 the field will be set by their second-quickest lap times therefore it will be maximum push throughout qualifying with little margin for error.
Timings
Indy NXT Practice 1: 13:30 CT (18:30 GMT) Friday
IndyCar Practice 1: 14:35 CT (19:35 GMT) Friday
Indy NXT Qualifying: 09:00 CT (14:00 GMT) Saturday
IndyCar Practice 2: 10:05 CT (15:05 GMT) Saturday
Indy NXT Race 1: 12:06 CT (17:06 GMT) Saturday
IndyCar Qualifying: 13:35 CT (18:35 GMT) Saturday
Warm-up: 09:05 CT (15:05 BST) Sunday
Indy NXT Race: 2 10:09 CT (16:09 BST) Sunday
Grand Prix of Alabama: 12:17 CT (18:17 BST) Sunday
It could be a weekend which changes the championship picture from the rest of the season. Can Andretti's early pace convert to road courses? Will Palou lay down his marker like he did last year? Can we make it four drivers from four teams to win the first four in 2026? Will we get more 'Georgina' incidents again....?
DIVEBOMB will bring you all the news and updates throughout the weekend as well as post-race analysis. The final question that remains is who will come out on top in Sweet Home Alabama.
