Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
• Race 3 of Verizon IndyCar Series season (April 25-27)
• Fifth race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
Click it: Entrant list || Driver performances || Tickets and spectator information
2013: Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 series champion, won from the pole by .6363 of a second over Scott Dixon, who went on to win the series title.
Twitter: @BarberMotorPark, #HIGPA; @IndyCar, #IndyCar
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny each day with highs in low 80s
Circuit: 2.3 miles, 17 turns (seven left and 10 right) ... 80 feet of elevation change
Race laps: 90 (214.2 miles) in clockwise direction
Pit box dimensions: 40 x 15 feet
Race day fuel: 70 U.S. gallons of E85 (70 gallons for practice/qualifying)
Verizon IndyCar Series on-track times (all times local/Central):
Friday, April 25: 10-10:45 a.m. (Practice 1)
2-2:45 p.m. (Practice 2)
Saturday, April 26: 10-10:45 a.m. (Practice 3)
2-3:10 p.m. (Qualifications, including Firestone Fast Six)
Sunday, April 27: 9:45-10:15 a.m. (Warm-up)
2:12 p.m. race green flag
Qualifications: Three rounds of knockout qualifying to determine the Verizon P1 Award winner and set the first three rows. Twelve cars from 10-minute Segment 1 (six quickest from Groups 1 and 2) advance to 10-minute Segment 2. Top six advance to 10-minute Firestone Fast Six session to determine Verizon P1 Award.
Start: Rolling start.
TV: NBCSN telecasts taped qualifications (11:30 p.m., April 26, Central time) and the race live (1:30-4:30, Central, April 27). Leigh Diffey is the chief announcer. … Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires telecast of doubleheader race weekend on NBCSN (4:30 p.m., Central, April 27).
Radio/web: All Verizon IndyCar Series and Indy Lights sessions are on IMS Radio Network in conjunction with real-time Timing & Scoring on www.indycar.com and INDYCAR 14 app. Race broadcast on IMS Radio Network affiliates, www.indycar.com, INDYCAR 14 app and XM 209 and Sirius 213. Paul Page is the chief announcer for Verizon IndyCar Series.
He said it: "It seems like it’s impossible to overtake there, but in the race as the tires start to wear out – we abuse them because of the high G Forces – there is a lot of movement and usually makes for an exciting and interesting race,” said Justin Wilson, driver of the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car.
Of note: A Verizon IndyCar Series autograph session is scheduled from 12:15-1:15 p.m. April 26 in the INDYCAR Fan Village. Also, Graham Rahal, Mikhail Aleshin and Carlos Huertas are scheduled to greet fans at the Outlet Shops at Grand River from 5:30-6:30 p.m. April 25. … Firestone will award $10,000 to the entrant of the car in pit lane the shortest amount of accumulated time during the race. The car must complete 95 percent of the 90 race laps to be eligible. The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car driven by Will power earned the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award at Long Beach. … Sunoco will present $5,000 to the entrant of the driver who completes the fastest lap of the race. Helio Castroneves in the No. 3 AAA Southern California Team Penske car posted the quickest race lap at Long Beach. … Power won the race in 2011 and 2012 (2011 from the pole). Team Penske has earned the pole in three of the four races at Barber (2010 and '11 by Power, 2012 by Castroneves). ... Since 1994, the third race of the season has been won by the eventual champion 10 times (Sebastien Bourdais in 2007 at Monterrey the most recent). ... Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, who played at the University of Alabama, is the grand marshal. A winning bid of $1,200 was submitted for a meet and greet with Namath on race day. Proceeds go to the Arthritis Foundation. ... Children 12 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult.