IndyCar teams have a quick turnaround and return to action this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala. Barber is a beautifully landscaped 2.3-mile (3.7-kilometre) road course with 17 turns that challenge drivers, providing some dramatic races over the last six years and there are plenty of good storylines heading into year seven.
Josef Newgarden collected his first series win a year ago and, after a best result of sixth so far this year, hopes to defend his title and kick his season into gear.
Overall championship leader Simon Pagenaud is coming off his first victory of the season and his first for Team Penske and has finished no worse than second in three races this year. Pagenaud qualified third last year but fell back during the race and came home ninth.
Ganassi driver Scott Dixon also had a victory at Phoenix and was runner-up to Pagenaud last week after a ruling by officials that was met with mixed reviews. Dixon sits 14 points behind Pagenaud in the title fight and has finished on the podium in all six of the previous races at Barber, second on four occasions and third in two others however he’s yet to snag a win here.
Third in the standings is Penske runner Juan Pablo Montoya who has a best result of 14th in his two previous Barber events. Teammate Helio Castroneves started on pole a year ago as well as 2012 and was the inaugural winner in 2010. Castroneves sits fourth in the championship but has not had a victory since Toronto in 2014. If he’s serious about getting that first series title he’s going to have to close the deal at some point. He had a chance to win here last season but a mix up with the team in fuel mileage took him out of contention.
The fourth Penske driver is also worth keeping an eye on this weekend. Will Power has qualified on pole three times and won back-to-back races in 2011 and 2012. After missing the first event of the year due to illness, this weekend’s race at Barber is an excellent opportunity for him to make up some ground in the championship fight.
After his best performance of the year last week at Long Beach, Canadian James Hinchcliffe is looking to take another step forward. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsport driver was quick all weekend, was the highest qualifying Honda driver and collected his first top 10 result of the season with an eighth place finish. And that result could have been better if the Oakville, Ont., native wasn’t held up on exit during the first round of pit stops.
Again this week the battle between Honda and Chevrolet will be in focus. Chevy has been the better of the two manufacturers again this year, the difference in performance on the first two street courses has been noticeable however Honda drivers have worked hard and been competitive.
Despite the track being narrow and tight in a few areas, IndyCar drivers have demonstrated that there are areas to pass for position and that provides great action for the fans. Sometimes those attempts, though, result in contact and that means cautions periods to tighten up the field and offers opportunity for alternate pit strategy. Expect more of the same this weekend.