Honda Indy GP of Alabama – facts, figures, entry list
All you need to know ahead of the first round of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series – the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.
Event date: Saturday, Apr. 17 – Sunday, Apr. 18
Track: Barber Motorsports Park, 2.38-mile 17-turn natural road course in Leeds, Alabama
Race distance: 90 laps (214.2 miles)
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate, one additional set available for rookies for use in first practice.
Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation.
At-track IndyCar schedule (local/Central Time) and broadcast details
Saturday, Apr. 17
10.00-10.45am – First practice – Peacock
1.40-2.25pm – Second practice – Peacock
4.55-6.10pm – Qualifying – Peacock
9.00pm – Qualifying broadcast encore – Peacock
Sunday, Apr. 18
10.30-11.00 – Warm-up – Peacock
2.00pm – Pre-race – NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
2.30pm – “Drivers, start your engines” – NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
2.42pm – Green flag: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
4.30pm – IndyCar post-race – NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
*For full on-track schedule, click here
Leigh Diffey is the announcer alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy, while pit reporters will be Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns.
IndyCar Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton and Nick Yeoman. Jake Query is the turn announcer. The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama race (3.00pm ET) airs live on network affiliates, XM 205, Sirius 211, indycar.com and the IndyCar Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. All NTT IndyCar Series practices and qualifying are available on indycar.com and the IndyCar Mobile app, with qualifying also airing on XM 205.
Race Notes
2019 race winner: Takuma Sato, 1:55:46.8076, 107.272 mph. No race in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2019 NTT P1 Award winner: Takuma Sato, 1:08.5934, 120.711 mph. No race in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualifying lap record: Sebastien Bourdais, 1:06.6001, 124.324 mph, April 23, 2016
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be the 11th NTT IndyCar Series event at Barber Motorsports Park. Helio Castroneves won the inaugural race in 2010.
Josef Newgarden won in 2015, ’17 and ’18, Will Power won in 2011 and ’12, Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2013 and ’14, Simon Pagenaud in 2016 and Takuma Sato in 2019.
Power claimed pole position in 2010, ’11, ’14 and ’17, Hunter-Reay in 2013, Pagenaud in ’16, Newgarden in ’18, and Sato in ’19.
Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in eight of his 10 starts at Barber Motorsports Park – including six runner-up finishes – but Chip Ganassi Racing as a whole has never won here, while Team Penske has six wins here.
Eighteen of this weekend’s 24 drivers have previously competed in NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Barber Motorsports Park, with ten having led laps: Power 208, Newgarden 133, Hunter-Reay 93, Pagenaud 87, Sato 74, Dixon 46, Graham Rahal 25, Sebastien Bourdais 19, James Hinchcliffe 4 and Alexander Rossi 3.
Entry list
| No. | Driver | Hometown | Car name | Team-Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Josef Newgarden | Nashville, Tennessee | Hitachi Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 3 | Scott McLaughlin (R) | Christchurch, New Zealand | PPG Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 4 | Dalton Kellett | Stouffville, Canada | AJ Foyt Racing | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet |
| 5 | Pato O'Ward | Monterrey, Mexico | Arrow McLaren SP | Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet |
| 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Varnamo, Sweden | Arrow McLaren SP | Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Kumla, Sweden | Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 9 | Scott Dixon | Auckland, New Zealand | PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 10 | Alex Palou | Barcelona, Spain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 12 | Will Power | Toowoomba, Australia | Verizon 5G Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | Le Mans, France | AJ Foyt Racing | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet |
| 15 | Graham Rahal | New Albany, Ohio | Code 3 Associates | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 18 | Ed Jones | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | SealMaster | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan-Honda |
| 20 | Conor Daly | Noblesville, Indiana | U.S. Air Force | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Hoofddorp, Netherlands | Sonax / Autogeek | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 22 | Simon Pagenaud | Montmorillon, France | Menards Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 26 | Colton Herta | Valencia, California | Gainbridge | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 27 | Alexander Rossi | Nevada City, California | NAPA AUTO PARTS / AutoNation | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | DHL | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Toronto, Canada | Genesys | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport-Honda |
| 30 | Takuma Sato | Tokyo, Japan | Panasonic / Shield Cleansers | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson (R) | El Cajon, California | Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 51 | Romain Grosjean (R) | Geneva, Switzerland | Nurtec ODT | Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda |
| 59 | Max Chilton | Reigate, England | Carlin | Carlin-Chevrolet |
| 60 | Jack Harvey | Bassingham, England | AutoNation/SiriusXM | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda |
Related video
Previous article
IndyCar commentator line-up for NBC + Peacock in 2021
Next article
Toronto contingency plan “most likely” a double-header event
About this article
| Series | IndyCar |
| Author | David Malsher-Lopez |
Why IndyCar is satisfying Grosjean’s appetite for his second life
After spending the majority of his 179-race Formula 1 career in middling to tail-end machinery, Romain Grosjean finds himself once again with an underdog team in IndyCar. While not without its challenges, he's relishing the more level playing field that means his Dale Coyne Racing crew can expect to claim a few scalps...
Why IndyCar's new aero parts should improve racing at Indy
Tino Belli, IndyCar’s director of aerodynamic development, believes the changes to the underside of the cars will allow them to run closer at Indy and make passes. The moment of truth comes on its biggest stage, writes David Malsher-Lopez.
Colton Herta – America's next racing hero
Last Sunday, Colton Herta demolished his IndyCar opposition in the second round of the season. David Malsher-Lopez explains why Andretti Autosport’s youngest ace bears all the hallmarks of becoming the country’s next homegrown motorsport hero.
How good is Palou and is he Dixon’s strongest title rival?
Last Sunday, Alex Palou delivered his first IndyCar victory on his Chip Ganassi Racing debut. Is the young Spaniard going to become his legendary teammate Scott Dixon’s biggest title threat? David Malsher-Lopez reports.
Preview: Why IndyCar in 2021 is too close to call
The fight for supremacy in the NTT IndyCar Series will be as intense as ever. David Malsher-Lopez is your guide to the main contenders and six intriguing sub-plots.
Is Arrow McLaren SP ready for IndyCar’s title fight?
With Patricio O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist leading its line-up, 2021 could be the year Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet joins the IndyCar elite, writes David Malsher-Lopez.
Dale Coyne picks the Top 10 drivers in his giant-slaying team
Over 37 seasons, Dale Coyne has run no fewer than 80 Indy car drivers – including himself! Ahead of his first season running Romain Grosjean, we asked Coyne to pick the best 10 drivers ever to compete for him. By David Malsher-Lopez.
Why enigmatic Marco Andretti will be missed
Last Friday, Marco Andretti announced he is withdrawing from fulltime IndyCar racing. David Malsher-Lopez explains how this third-gen racer was a puzzle in the car, but a straight shooter off-track.
