BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – If you need an indication of the level of competition three races into the Verizon IndyCar Series season, check the championship standings. The top six drivers are employed by six different teams.
As they prepare for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First, drivers see the parity as both a welcome change and a continuation of the competition of previous years. In recent years, Team Penske dominated the final standings, but this year teams like Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan have started strong.
“It just shows the diversity of the championship,” Alexander Rossi said after today’s second practice session at Barber Motorsports Park. “That’s been a characteristic of the Verizon IndyCar Series since I’ve joined (in 2016). It doesn’t surprise me at all.”
HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA: Combined practice results
Andretti’s Rossi leads Penske’s Josef Newgarden by 22 points. RLL’s Graham Rahal is third, 33 points behind Rossi. Coyne’s Sebastien Bourdais is fourth, followed by SPM’s James Hinchcliffe and CGR’s Scott Dixon.
Today’s two practice sessions illustrated the competitiveness. Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot recorded the 16th-fastest lap in the morning session. In the afternoon, he shot up to second fastest – at 1 minute 7.5372 seconds (122.599 mph) around the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course.
“It's been a good track for me,” Pigot said. “I love coming here. I love the high-speed corners and just the flow that you can get into around here. So I don't know if it suits my driving style or what, but it definitely gives me the confidence I know I can be fast here.”
Rahal said his No. 15 Total Honda felt strong in the morning session but had the eighth-best time. He didn’t feel as strong during the afternoon session, but only slipped to 10th on the combined time sheet.
“It is competitive, there’s no doubt about that,” said Rahal. “We went from being really strong in Practice 1 to 10th in Practice 2. I know 10th isn’t bad, but it feels bad. You can’t miss at all.”
Last year, led by Newgarden’s championship, Team Penske took four of the top five positions in the final standings. In 2016, led by Simon Pagenaud’s championship. Penske took three of the top four.
Newgarden, who won last year’s race at Barber, had the fastest lap today – 1:07.4345 (122.786 mph) in the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. He indicated the tighter competition should aid his chance to repeat.
“We had a pretty good start for the most part,” Newgarden said. “We had some issues in the first session, just kind of been dealing with a couple things that I think we got sorted out for the second session there. But we seem like we've got some speed. I think our other (Team Penske) cars got some speed, as well. … Team Penske, I think, is going to be strong tomorrow, I'm sure.”
Bottom line? This thing is close. Very close.
“It’s the most competitive that it’s ever been,” Rahal said. “I don’t see that letting up any time soon.”
The final practice session of the weekend starts at 11:50 a.m. ET Saturday and streams live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Verizon P1 Award qualifying, featuring three knockout rounds concluding with the Firestone Fast Six to determine the pole winner, airs live at 4 p.m. on CNBC with a same-day replay at 6:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is the fourth of 17 races on the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Coverage of the 90-lap race begins at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.