Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
• Race 3 of 18 of Verizon IndyCar Series season
• Fifth Verizon IndyCar Series race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
Weather: Severe weather moved through Central Alabama midday.
Twitter: @BarberMotorPark, #HIGPA; @IndyCar, #IndyCar
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 ... rolling start, single-file restarts
Pit box dimensions: 40 x 15 feet
Race day fuel: 70 U.S. gallons of E85
Click it: Starting lineup || Final practice results || Qualifying results
TV: NBCSN telecast live (1:30-4:30, Central). Leigh Diffey is the chief announcer. … Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires telecast of doubleheader race weekend on NBCSN (4:30 p.m., Central).
Radio/web: All Verizon IndyCar Series sessions are on IMS Radio Network in conjunction with real-time Timing & Scoring on www.indycar.com and INDYCAR 14 app. Race broadcast also on IMS Radio Network affiliates andd XM 209 and Sirius 213. Paul Page is the chief announcer.
Qualifications: Will Power earned his third Verizon P1 Award at Barber with a quick lap of 1:08.3120 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. James Hinchcliffe tied his best qualifying effort of second on a road/street course in the No. 27 United Fiber & Data car for Andretti Autosport. Three-tenths of a second separated the drivers in the Firestone Fast Six.
He said it: "I think it's all pretty close, to be honest," Power said of the 23-car field. "I was thinking it was going to be very tough to beat the Andretti boys, they've been so fast around here. But I was able to do one lap each time on my tires, so I had two shots at it. It was awfully close. Nothing between everyone. But very happy to be on pole. It was definitely the aim. Puts you in a much better position to keep out of trouble on the start."
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.
Of note: Power earned his 33rd pole, breaking a tie with Michael Andretti for eighth all time. Power won from the pole in 2011 at Barber and followed with a victory in 2012 after starting ninth. ... Scott Dixon (qualified fifth) and Helio Castroneves (sixth) are the only drivers who have competed in the Firestone Fast Six all five years. ... Pro Football Hall of Famer and former University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath is the grand marshal. ... Many of the drivers will participate in an Open Test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course April 30 to prepare for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10. The 10 a.m.-noon and 2-5 p.m. sessions are free and open to the public to watch from the South Terrace grandstand and Turn 2 mounds.