Honda Racing Birmingham test summary

IndyCar Series Open Test
Circuit: Barber Motorsports Park (2.3-mile road course) Birmingham, AL
Weather: Mild, mostly sunny, 70 degrees F

Power Leads Final IndyCar Series Pre-Season Test

The IndyCar Series visited challenging Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama, for its final "Open Test" prior to the start of the 2009 season, and Team Penske's Will Power led the field after two days of testing around the flowing 2.3-mile road course.

With just over two hours remaining on Monday, Power eked out a margin of three-tenths of a second over previous pace-setter Dario Franchitti, who also improved in the final hours but not enough to regain overall honors. Ryan Briscoe, in the second Team Penske entry, was third fastest on Monday and overall while Franchitti's teammate, Scott Dixon, led the field on Sunday and finished the test in fourth.

Newman Haas Lanigan Racing teammates Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos ran fifth and sixth, respectively, with Marco Andretti heading the four-car Andretti Green Racing effort in seventh, just ahead of teammate Tony Kanaan. Justin Wilson produced a strong result for the small Dale Coyne Racing operation in ninth, with AGR's Hideki Mutoh rounding out the top 10.

The two-day test at Barber completes preparations for the 2009 IndyCar Season, which opens April 5 on the west coast of Florida with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Will Power (#3 Team Penske Honda) quickest in IndyCar road-course testing: "This is a track that requires a lot of commitment. You've got to be brave, but it's a technical circuit as well. It's got everything that a race-car driver wants. I love it. Right now, we're just starting to jell with the team. The preseason for me has been all about learning how Team Penske operates, and getting them to understand what I need to do the job for them. It's great to see how competitive this season is shaping up to be. I can see great things for IndyCar this year."

-credit: honda racing