The 2022 INDYCAR season continues with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES 2022 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. OpenWheel.com will be covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.

Photo by OpenWheel.com’s Parker Hall/Fly By Wire Photography

Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Circuit Map – Tickets

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Preview: Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama – Sunday, May 1, 2022 10:55AM (ET) Peacock – Indy Lights returns this weekend after a long layoff since the INDYCAR season-opener at St. Pete. Andretti Autosport dominated the opening weekend with veteran Matthew Brabham winning his return to the series after misfortune knocked out his teammates Christian Rasmussen and Hunter McElrea. HMD Motorsports and Global Racing Group were strong at Barber last year so their returning duo of Benjamin Pedersen and Linus Lundqvist could be the favorites this weekend after solid race results at St. Pete.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Preview: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Sunday, May 1, 2022 1:00PM (ET) NBC – The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back this weekend at beautiful Barber Motorsports Park. After the first three races of the season the championship battle remains close despite Team Penske domination with just 16 points separating the Top 4 of Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou, and Will Power.

Previous driver experience at Barber shows six former winners in the field in Newgarden (3), Power (2), Helio Castroneves (1), Simon Pagenaud (1), Palou (1), and Takuma Sato (1). Palou and Sato are the last two winners at the circuit. Looking at the box scores from 2021 and 2019, only Scott Dixon has finished in the Top 5 of the last two races. If that’s expanded to the Top 10, Dixon is joined by only Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi. The active Top 5 in laps led at the circuit are Power (212), Newgarden (133), Castroneves (93), Pagenaud (87), and Sato (74).

My pick to win: Josef Newgarden – With the momentum of winning the last two races and heading to one of his strongest tracks, it just feels silly to not pick Josef Newgarden this weekend.

My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Scott McLaughlin $29, Pato O’Ward $28, Alexander Rossi $24, & Kyle Kirkwood $19 – I love Newgarden this weekend but his $34 price is steep. McLaughlin has been ultra quick this season and fairly affordable at $29. I’d go with the highest qualifier between he or Power in the race. O’Ward won the pole at Barber last year, but struggled to make his tires last so we’ll see if he and his Arrow McLaren SP team have figured that out for this year. Rossi isn’t the biggest fan of this track, but performed well in offseason testing and had a solid, if not spectacular, weekend at the circuit last season. Kirkwood remains good value at just $19.

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The INDYCAR season officially starts this weekend with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. The Open Wheel will be covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.

Photo by Riley Bridges/The Open Wheel

Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Circuit Map – Tickets

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Preview: Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires – Spotter Guide – Race 1 Saturday, April 17th, 2021 1:05PM (ET) Peacock & Race 2 Sunday, April 18, 2021 1:10PM (ET) Peacock – Indy Lights returns for 2021 after a one-year hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19 with a stacked lineup with 13 full-time entries. This should be an exciting series all season long. Andretti Autosport rookie Kyle Kirkwood is thought to be the series favorite but a legitimate case could be made championship contenders could comprise over half the field. Preseason testing results at Barber showed the HMD Motorsports Team along with their Global Racing Group partners were extremely quick in the test with David Malukas posting the fast time.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Preview: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Sunday, April 18, 2021 3:00PM (ET) NBC – The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off this weekend for the series’ first race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park since 2019. There are numerous storylines for the weekend as there always are for a season opener, but there may be even more this year. The driver and team lineup is as deep as ever with arguably eight legitimate championship contenders and nearly a full-field of drivers you wouldn’t be surprised to see win a race any given weekend. The series should get some big attention from new or different viewers with the debut of NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson with Chip Ganassi Racing and Formula 1 veteran Romain Grosjean with Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing.

Previous driver experience at Barber shows five former winners in the field in Josef Newgarden (3), Will Power (2), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2), Simon Pagenaud (1), and Takuma Sato (1). The two most recent winners are Sato (2019) and Newgarden (2018). Looking at the box scores from the last two Barber races in 2019 and 2018, only Sebastien Bourdais and Newgarden finished in the Top 5 in each of the last two races. If that’s expanded to the Top 10, those two are joined by Sato, Hinchcliffe, Hunter-Reay, and Pagenaud.

My pick to win: Race: Josef Newgarden – Josef Newgarden has been dominant at Barber with three wins, one pole, and five Top 5’s in his last five appearances. Factor in his Team Penske backing and hunger to reclaim a championship after missing out in 2020 and he’s a big favorite to me this weekend.

My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Scott McLaughlin, & Sebastien Bourdais – You know my thoughts on Newgarden. O’Ward has been ultra fast all through testing and has two Indy Lights wins at Barber. McLaughlin may be a rookie but I’ll take him at $20 for sure with a Penske car and all the sim and testing work he’s put in. Bourdais has finishes of P3, P5, and P8 in his last three Barber races and should be good value at $23.

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The INDYCAR season continues this weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. The Open Wheel will be on-site covering the action all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.

Photo by Parker Hall/The Open Wheel

Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map – Tickets

NTT IndyCar Series Preview: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama – Sunday, April 7, 2019 4:00PM (ET) NBCSN – Rain wreaked havoc last year during INDYCAR’s visit to Barber Motorsports Park and it appears it could be a factor once again this weekend. Previous driver experience at Barber shows four former winners in the field in Josef Newgarden (3), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2), Will Power (2), and Simon Pagenaud (1). Newgarden has won in each of the last two years and three of the last four. Team Penske has won the last three races at Barber and six of the nine races overall. Looking at box scores from 2018 and 2017, Newgarden is the only driver to finish in the Top 5 in each of the last two years. If that’s expanded to the Top 10, Newgarden is joined by James Hinchcliffe, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, and Pagenaud. My pick to win: Will Power – Power has won the pole at the first two races of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season and four times in nine tries at Barber (with eight Top 5 starts). He’s already well past due to win this season after various types of misfortune at St. Pete and COTA and I’m calling for him to finish the deal this weekend.

My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Will Power, Scott Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais, & Patricio O’Ward – You know my thoughts on Power. Dixon has never won at Barber but he has finished in the Top 3 in an absurd seven out of nine starts. Bourdais’ career at Barber isn’t necessarily as impressive as you’d hope as far as Top 5’s, but I’ll take his five Top 10’s in combination with a lineup of these other three drivers. O’Ward should be a good value pick at just $18 after his impressive performance at COTA and weekend sweep at Barber last year in Lights.

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