IndyCars - Birmingham: Southern charm meets tire smoke and methanol fumes

[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at Barber - The IndyCars hold their final practice…

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The post-qualifying practice is called the “warm-up” and is usually on the morning of the race. The schedule is too tight on Sunday for the warm-up, so the series put it on this afternoon, instead.

The problem with a post-qually practice is one never knows what each car or each team is trying to accomplish with it. Are they going for top speeds? Are they checking tire wear? Fuel Mileage? Are they still seeking a decent race set-up? All we know for certain is they are NOT looking for a qualifying set-up. That is DONE.

As a result we cannot say that the fastest guys in warm-up will be the fastest guys in the race. All we can say with certainty is they will be among the fastest guys in the race. With that said…

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Here is the order of speed for the IndyCar P-3 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:07.0906s for a speed of 123.415mph

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2 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:07.1916s for a speed of 123.230mph

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3 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:07.2745s for a speed of 123.078mph

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4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:07.3412s for a speed of 122.956mph

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5 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:07.3529s for a speed of 122.935mph

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6 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
7 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
8 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
9 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

11 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
12 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
13 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
14 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
15 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
16 - Will Power, Team Penske
17 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
18 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
19 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
20 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
22 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
23 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
24 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
25 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• There is no question that Callum Ilott is feeling very good about his car, but he is still just cautiously optimistic for his chances of a decent result. This is a wise kid.

• The Ganassi boys came in P2, P3 and P4 just to worry everyone.

• The previous WINNERS of this race all started P9 or better, so Josef Newgarden will have to get lucky and work hard to WIN his million dollar prize for taking a road course victory this weekend.

• Everyone knows that everything will be thrown out tomorrow, if and when the rain shows up. Then the English guys like Ilott and Harvey will grin.

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Callum Ilott - rain dancing, right now

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The IndyCar race will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock premium starting 12:00 Noon CENTRAL time on Sunday. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 qualifies for their Race 2…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday evening at Barber - Indy Pro 2000 qualifies for Race 2…

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The gang from IP2k took off after the IndyCars’ final; practice to set the grid for their Race 2, which will be part of Sunday’s event schedule. One of our favorite drivers decided it was time to put one on pole as rookie Nolan Siegel for DEForce did just that.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 4, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:17.8455s for a speed of 1:17.8455mph

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P2 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 1:17.8524s for a speed of 106.355mph

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Row 2

P3 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 1:17.9006s for a speed of 106.289mph

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P4 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 1:17.9544s for a speed of 106.216mph

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Row 3

P5 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:18.0352s for a speed of 106.106mph

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P6 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 1:18.0921s for a speed of 106.029mph

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Row 4

P7 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
P8 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P10 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing

Row 6

P11 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
P12 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development
P14 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• What an incredible group of young lions, these are. The TOP TWELVE were within 0.73 seconds of each other! Nolan beat Braden by 0.0069 seconds. In fact, any one of the TOP EIGHT could be on pole, any weekend.

• This is Nolan’s 4th pole of his Road to Indy career and 2nd pole of his rookie season in IP2K. His first was Race 2 at St. Pete, where he went on to WIN. Siegel is at this moment 3 points behind Louis Foster for the points lead. An hour ago that was 4 points behind. A WIN tomorrow would put him back into the lead.

• Siegel will try anything and race any time you let him. Along with his prior USF2000 career (1 WIN, 6 podiums), he also has raced in Michelin Pilot Challenge races, was a driver in an LMP3 at the 12 Hours at Sebring this year, and as part of a 3-man squad WON the 8-hour World Racing League endurance event at COTA, in a Stoner Car Care/Automatic Racing Aston Martin in 2020.

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Nolan Siegel

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Race 2 is scheduled to be run after the IndyCar race and will be the last event of the race weekend on Sunday.

This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at Barber - The rains came!..

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And when they did they turned the Indy lights race into one of the best we’ve seen for a long time. The rain actually stopped before the race started but the track went from very wet to almost dry during the race and that was the challenge for everyone. In the end Linus Lundqvist for HMD Mortorsports was able to start on pole and keep the spot all the way - but BARELY! P2 start and finish was teammate Bejamin Pedersen. P3 start and finish was Sting Ray Robb for Andretti Autosport.

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The race started with drama as Christian Rasmussen for Andretti passed Sting Ray in Turn 5 for P3 while P5 starter Hunter McElrea for Andretti got passed in 5 by Kyffin Simpson for TJ Speed Motorsports and Manuel Sulaiman for HMD. Hunter then lost the P7 spot to first Danial Frost for HMD and then Matty Brabham for Andretti, as all slid around on the very wet track. On lap 5 Rasmussen went off and back on in Turn 9, but maintained P3. On lap 6 Christian Bogle for HMD spun at Turn 16, near Pit In and was beached, bringing out a full-course caution.

On the lap 10 restart Rasmussen went off in Turn 2 and dropped from P3 to P7. On lap 16 Matty got by Manuel in Turn 5 to take over P5. Rasmussen then hounded Manuel for the rest of the lap, trying to find away around him. On lap 17 he was too close to Sulaiman near Turn 5 and ended up punting Manuel from behind, shearing off his front wing, as Sulaiman dropped from P6 to P8. Rasmussen was able to limp into the pits for a new wing and slick tires to use on the ever-drying track.

On lap 21 Brabham went off and on in Turn 2 while trying to pass Sting Ray and dropped from P4 to P7. On lap 23 Antonio Serravalle for Abel Motorsports took P11 from James Roe for TJ Speed. On lap 25 Danial Frost took P4 from Kyffin while Matty took P6 from Hunter. One lap later Matty took P5 from Kyffin, then Hunter took P6 in the Turn 6/7 complex. On lap 29 in Turn 5 Hunter tried to take Brabham inside but hit him instead, breaking his front wheel off while spinning Brabham. Brabham recovered in P7 but McElrea retired deep off track, letting the race continue.

As the race wound down Benjamin closed on Linus until they were nose-to-tail on the final lap. As they turned in Turn 17 on the front straight to two touched and then drag-raced to the line. Linus took the WIN by 0.17 seconds. Sting ray came home P3 7 seconds back.

An incredible race, from start to finish!

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Notable:

• While all bets were off due to conditions, MxElrea committed the worst sin and almost took out his teammate. Brabham was likely to finish P4 but had to accept P7 instead. It might get very frosty tonight in the Andretti camp.

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Linus in victory

INDY NXT

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Your happy podium - That’s Benjamin Pedersen in P2 on the left, Linus Lundqvist in P1 in the middle and Sting Ray Robb in P3 on the right:

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With this result here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Barber:

1 - Linus Lundqvist, 88
2 - Benjamin Pedersen, 80
3 - Matthew Brabham, 78
4 - Sting Ray Robb, 67
5 - Danial Frost, 62

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The next outing for Indy Lights will be at IMS at the Road Course in support of the IndyCars, May 13th. Next, USF2000 holds Race 2. The grid for that is in post # 15…
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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at Barber - USF2000 holds Race 2…

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The track was pretty much dried out by the time the kids from USF2000 took to it for their fourth race of the season and when it was over the WINNER was 3rd generation driver Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports from a P3 start. Taking P2 was teammate Michael d’Orlando from a P5 start and P3 went to pole-sitter Christian Weir for Turn 3 Motorsports.

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Lap 1 was run under yellow but there was just enough water left on the track to make Lap 2 very interesting in Turn 5 as Jagger jumped from P3 to P1, Michael jumped from P5 to P2 and Thomas Nepveu for DEForce Racing went from P7 to P5. Dropping down were pole-sitter Christian Weir to P3, Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing from P2 to P4 and Simon Sikes for Legacy Autosport from P4 to P6. Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport got the worst of it all, knocking off his front wing and dropping from P9 to need to pit for a new one. On lap 4 Simon was able to take P5 from Nepveu and set Fastest Lap in the doing. Nicky Hays for Cape Motorsports took P7 from Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing. On lap 6 Jagger set his own Fastest Lap, but a lap later Simon RESET Fastest Lap.

On lap 9 Nicky went off and on in Turn 1, going from P7 to P9. On lap 10 Jagger reset Fastest Lap but on lap 12 Billy Frazer set it attempting to unlap himself. On lap 14 Danny Dyszelski for Jay Howard Driver Development spun in Turn 4, going off and on, but the yellow came out anyway.

The race restarted on lap 15 and one lap later Jace went off in Turn 5 but got back on after dropping to P17. Nicky Hays took P7 from Jacob Douglas for Exclusive Autosport and that was the last pass of the race, which was timed and stopped at lap 18. Jagger beat Michael by only 0.54 seconds, while Michael beat Christian by 0.74 seconds - close podium!

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Jagger speaks:

USF2000 Series

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Your happy podium - That’s Michael d’Orlando in P2 on the left, Jagger Jones in P1 in the middle and Christian Weir in P3 on the right:

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With these results here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Barber:

1 - Myles Rowe, 86
1 - Michael d’Orlando, 86
3 - Jagger Jones, 78
4 - Billy Frazer, 70
4 - Jace Denmark, 70

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The next outings for USF2000 will be in support of the big cars at Indianapolis for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, on the IMS Road Course, May 12-14.

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Next, the IndyCars race! The grid for this is in post # 17…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday Noon at Barber - The IndyCar race…

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…will be remembered for the excellent run to the checkers by Arrow McLaren SP driver Pato O’Ward from his P2 start, following what seemed to be a dominant run by Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter in the first 2/3rds of the race. VeeKay not only succumbed to the young Mexican but also eventually fell off P2 to Alex Palou for Chip Ganassi Racing and ended up 3rd on the podium.

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The first third of the race was all about whether or not a two-stop or a three-stop strategy was going to WIN, but that was eventually settled to a large degree by the off-course excursion of rookie Callum Ilott for Juncos Hollinger Racing, bringing out the one full-course caution after a stellar run through the field to a P7 spot from his P11 start. At that point the two-stoppers who had just pitted prior were in command.

VeeKay held the lead until the final pit stop about 30 laps from the end. O’Ward put in a fantastic in-lap and closed to within a small fraction of a second as the two pitted together. Rinus got out ahead of Pato but O’Ward then put it all on the line with a bold pass on cold tires in Turn 5. A few laps later Palou in 3rd put in a terrific in-lap and out-lap on his own pit stop and managed to jump Rinus with the difference, taking over P2.

Another great race with a ton of action at a track that is supposed to be hard to pass on.

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Notable:

• Ilott was certainly a star of the event but veteran Will Power made by far the biggest impression by going from his P19 start to a P4 finish, driving the two-stop strategy.

• Josef Newgarden, who started 7th, was a three-stopper and ended up in P14 at the end. He will have to wait for another day on another natural road course to collect a possible million dollar prize for WINNING at an oval, a street course and a road course, all in one season.

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Here are some of the race highlights:

2022 RACE HIGHLIGHTS // HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA

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Your happy podium - That’s Alex Palou in P2 on the left, Pato O’Ward in P1 in the middle and Rinus VeeKay in P3 on the right:

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With this result here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Barber:

1 - Alex Palou, 144
2 - Scott McLaughlin, 141
3 - Josef Newgarden, 135
4 - Will Power, 134
5 - Pato O’Ward, 114

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Next up for the IndyCars is the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis, on the IMS Road Course, with support from the Road to Indy, May 13-15.

Next, Indy Pro 2000 closes out their weekend with Race 2. The grid for this is in post # 22…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday afternoon at Barber - Indy Pro 2000 closes out the event…

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…with their 4th race of the season and taking his 2nd WIN in the season, so far, is rookie Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing with a strong drive from pole. P2 went to P2 starter Braden Eves for Jay Howard Driver Development while P3 went to Louis Foster from his P6 start for Exclusive Autosport.

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The race started with a huge gaggle of cars all trying to occupy Turn 5 at the same time and there were winners and losers, in that. Nolan got through cleanly, as did Braden Eves, but Louis Foster made a bold move around the outside and went from P6 to P3 while Enaam Ahmed for Juncos Hollinger went from P3 to P4, Reece Gold for Juncos from P4 to P5, Kiko Porto for DEForce from P5 to P8 and poor Colin Kaminsky for Pabst went from P7 to P14. Josh Green for Turn 3 Motorsports gained a spot from P7 to P8 and Salvador de Alba went all the way from P-14 to P9, while Jordan Missig for Pabst went from P10 to P6. Crazy stuff.

On lap 2 Louis set Fastest Lap trying to catch Braden. On lap 3 Josh took Jordan Missig for P6 while Enaam reset Fastest Lap but a lap later Braden set it himself to escape Louie Foster. Sensing they were coming, Nolan then set his own Fastest lap in lap 6 and started to inch away. Jordan Missig went off and on and lost all he had gained and then some, winding up in P14. Lap 7 saw Nolan go yet faster for another Fastest Lap. Next lap, it was Braden’s turn for another Fastest Lap and unbelievably, on lap 10 Louis reset it once again.

The effect was the top four leaders were all going faster and faster but not making up any ground on each other. By lap 18 Nolan was about 2 seconds to the lead when Enaam reset Fastest Lap. Several times, Louis tried to take Braden in Turn 5 but each time he would not be able to seal the deal. AGAIN, he set Fastest Lap on lap 21.

For the remaining laps the leaders were all running their fastest laps of the race and were closer and closer to each other. On lap 29 Louis did it again - the final Fastest Lap of the race - but it wasn’t enough to make it past Eves and one lap later Nolan WON by 0.75 seconds over Braden who was 0.43 seconds over Louis.

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Notable:

• With the WIN Nolan regains the points lead with Louis in 2nd and Braden in 3rd, as all the points leaders were on the podium in this one.

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Your happy podium - That’s Braden Eves on the left in P2, Nolan Siegel in P1 in the middle and Louie Foster in P3 on the right:

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With these results here are the TOP five in points leaving Barber:

1 - Nolan Siegel, 96

2 - Louis Foster, 91

3 - Braden Eves, 83

4 - Reece Gold, 74

4 - Enaam Ahmed, 74

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Next up for Indy Pro 2000 is the Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the IMS Road Course, as they support the big cars, May12-14.

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This was the final event of the great race weekend. The rain came this morning and was around just long enough to create a fantastic Indy Lights race, but not spoil the whole day for fans in attendance. Thank you, Barber Motorsports Park for another GREAT racing weekend!

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