By David Morgan, Associate Editor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Another race, another fast Honda.
Thus far through the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season, it’s been all Honda with wins in the first three races of the year and the manufacturer has kept up the momentum heading into the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park as Marcus Ericsson topped the board in his Andretti Global Honda.
The Swede posted the quick time of one minute, 7.747 seconds around the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course to strike the first blow of the weekend.
Three-time and defending series champion Alex Palou was fast once again as he put up the second fastest time of the day, followed by another Honda in Colton Herta to round out the top-three.
“I’m happy with it,” Herta said. “We were it feels like the only team that didn’t test here in the winter. So, the team really made a statement to be able to roll off the trucks like that and that fast. I felt really comfortable with the car, so I’m happy.”
The remainder of the top-10 went to Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Devlin DeFrancesco, Scott McLaughlin, Nolan Siegel, and Scott Dixon.
Power, who has two wins at Barber under his belt, looked ahead to Saturday, noting that he would love nothing more than to reverse the qualifying woes that Team Penske has had this year to put himself in a good position to go for another Barber win on Sunday.
“If we can qualify in the top-six, we’ll have podiums for sure,” Power said. “Top four, a shot at the win. That’s sort of what we’ve struggled with this season is qualifying. It’s funny you go through those cycles. Last year, I was quite strong in qualifying. This year, a bit of a softer tire and things change a little.
“It’s always a circumstance. It hasn’t necessarily been pace. Definitely quick in all of the practices and in the race. Just that one lap that matters on reds. That’s the goal for tomorrow, see if we can make it in the Fast Six, that would be amazing. Just make it in the top-12 to start with because we haven’t done that this year.”
Watching the Weather
With inclement weather looming for Saturday, all of the drivers involved noted the importance of being able to get track time on Friday in preparation for the changing conditions over the next two days ahead of the race.
Sunday appears to be trending toward a good weather day, but the second practice session and qualifying on Saturday could throw teams for a loop as they continue to try and dial in their cars for race day.
“I kind of just go with the flow. We are expecting rain tomorrow, but it’s obviously under no one’s control beside Mother Nature,” Pato O’Ward said of having to deal with the possible weather on Saturday.
“It can say that it’s going to be maybe crazy, and then it decides to kind of clean up a little bit or maybe a window opens up in qualifying where half of it’s going to be dry and half of it not. It doesn’t look like that, but you can’t count any of that out.
“So, we’re just going on with our program. Tomorrow obviously if it rains, it’s going to change things a lot, but for everyone. So, it’s the same for everybody. We just need to stay on top of it and really just kind of know what we need from — or at least I need to know what I need from the car in order to get it done in qualifying.”
Rocking and Rolling on the Alabama Rollercoaster
As has become commonplace at Barber Motorsports Park, the opening practice session wasn’t without its share of off-track excursions, and while there were no cars that sustained any substantial damage, it wasn’t without excitement for those that left the asphalt surface.
Scott McLaughlin, who has won the last two races at Barber and is looking to make it three in a row this weekend, found himself swatting flies behind the wheel of his Team Penske Chevrolet shortly after practice began, running off track not once, but twice and living to see another day with a pair of saves to keep his car in one piece.
Most drivers can catch it once…
If you're @smclaughlin93, you can do it TWICE 🤯
📺: #INDYBHM practice on FS2 pic.twitter.com/RapGyJxwvt
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 2, 2025
Asked about it afterwards, his strategist Kyle Moyer chalked it up to McLaughlin being a little over eager to start the day.
“Maybe lucky driving,” Moyer said with a laugh. “He was a little over anxious to start. He’s excited. He loves this place. It’s a good track for him. We didn’t test here great, so coming back here, the car is much better. The guys have done a really good job getting the car more baseline. It came off the truck really good, so pretty helpful.”
Once the field was split into groups to round out the session, it was Felix Rosenqvist turn to take a detour through the gravel trap. He was luckily able to escape to the grass on the other side and extricate himself, but not without first showering the track with gravel on his way back to the pits.
Like McLaughlin, it was no harm, no foul for the driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, who finished the day 17th on the board.
An impressive rock collection for Felix Rosenqvist 👀 #INDYCAR | @BarberMotorPark pic.twitter.com/FB8lriCaX4
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 2, 2025
The next on track activity will be second practice at 11:30 am ET Saturday, followed by qualifying at 2:30 pm, both televised on FOX Sports 1.
Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix is scheduled for May 4 at 1:30 pm ET on FOX.
Be the first to comment