After two street races and an oval race to begin the year, the NTT IndyCar Series will compete at the first pure road course of the campaign Sunday at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park.
As the series heads to the 2.3-mile circuit, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson holds a 15-point lead in the standings over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. Ericsson won the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.).
With the month of May lurking around the corner at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, gaining positive momentum will be on everyone’s minds this weekend at Barber.
Let’s take a look at some of the top storylines:
Quick Facts
Distance: 90 Laps / 207 Miles
Qualifying Record: Pato O’Ward, 1:05.5019, 126.409 mph, April 17, 2021
Most Race Leaders: Eight, April 26, 2015
Most Wins: Josef Newgarden (3)
Andretti’s Recent Surge
Andretti Autosport has struggled to challenge for championships in recent years, however, heading into Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, three of the four Andretti drivers rank in the top eight in points.
Scoring his first career victory two weeks ago in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Calif.), second-year driver Kyle Kirkwood sits fifth in points, 36 markers behind points leader Ericsson.
Alongside Kirkwood, the tide also turned for Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta. Grosjean, who’s still searching for his first career IndyCar win, finished second at Long Beach.
Herta has enjoyed a hot streak the past two races, notching top-10 finishes at both Texas Motor Speedway (seventh) and Long Beach (fourth).
While an Andretti race car hasn’t won at Barber since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014, the team is poised to challenge for a win.
Palou’s Sneaky Good Start
While discussion has centered around his teammate and points leader Ericsson, Alex Palou has quietly put together a potent three-race stretch to begin the season.
Palou, the 2021 IndyCar Series champion, has only finished outside the top five once this year (St. Petersburg, eighth), while notching a podium effort at Texas.
In two starts at Barber, the driver of the No. 10 CGR Honda has an average finish of 1.5, highlighted by his first career win in 2021.
The Spaniard’s reserved approach is bound to turn into a victory sooner rather than later.
A Repeat Performance For O’Ward?
Last year’s event at Barber featured a powerful drive from O’Ward, who snagged the lead from polesitter Rinus VeeKay late in the race, to score the win aboard the No. 5 Chevrolet.
Between an electrical hiccup while leading at St. Pete and narrowly losing a head-to-head fight with Josef Newgarden at Texas, O’Ward has been on the wrong end of luck twice this season.
Though the perfect place to reverse his fortune would be in Barber as the defending race winner.
Digging Out of a Hole
Maybe one of the most surprising aspects of this season has been the lack of results from reigning IndyCar champion Will Power. Though he sits ninth in points, Power’s season has been inconsistent to this point.
While Power has completed every lap, he has yet to earn a top-five finish, let alone a podium finish. The Australian’s highest finish, however, came at the most recent event in Long Beach where he was sixth.
The perfect place to reignite his title defense may be at Barber, where the 42-year-old owns back-to-back victories in 2011-’12.
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