Following the two-day test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, IndyCar was oozing with anticipation with the Month of May just around the corner. As much as everyone would like to look ahead to the most magical month of the year, there is still some business to take care of before that takes center stage.
The month of May actually begins this weekend with a race around the scenic 2.3-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park. This is the 12th time that the series will host a race on the 17-turn circuit in Birmingham, Alabama. Drivers had an hour of practice time today to dial in their cars ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Andretti Autosport owned the day as Colton Herta led the practice session with a best lap of 66.514 seconds in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. His teammates Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean finished 3rd and 4th with defending Barber race winner Alex Palou right behind Herta in 2nd. It was a banner day for the team, who may have been aided by their test here earlier this year.
“I was really happy with how the car was,” Herta said. “We were one of the lucky ones that got to test here recently, so we did a lot of stuff on that day to help us prepare for this weekend, and it showed. We came in here and rolled off the truck, and the car was really nice right away.”
The Andretti team seems to have this place figured out, but there will be plenty of time for other teams and drivers to fine tune their machines. One of those teams is Penske, who have won the first three races of the season. Scott McLaughlin, who won the season-opening race at St Petersburg, was 5th fastest today but his teammates were at the other end of the speed chart.
Scott Dixon was 6th fastest today, which should surprise no one. The Ganassi driver has been extraordinary at Barber, with nine podium finishes in his 11 starts. Dixon is the only driver to finish inside the top ten in all 11 races, and the only driver to complete every single lap. Even more…
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