INDYCAR: Alex Palou on Pole at Barber
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alex Palou makes it four different pole sitters in four NTT INDYCAR Series races this season as he takes the top spot at Barber.
This is his second consecutive pole at the track and launches his hunt to retake the championship lead on the right note.
Six different teams competed for pole in the Firestone Fast Six but it was the Chip Ganassi Racing driver who delivered when it mattered most.
David Malukas starts in second alongside Palou. Graham Rahal starts an impressive third after he did his flying lap on a set of used red’s.
Marcus Armstrong will start beside Rahal in fourth with the championship leader, Kyle Kirkwood, starting a season high fifth.
Grosjean converts his fourth-place showing in final practice into sixth on the grid, though an off-road excursion on his build lap cost him on his fast lap.
He knows Barber well and still holds the fastest pole time in track history but could not replicate that form today.
Below is a breakdown of the first two rounds of the qualifying session.
Qualifying Round 2
Both of the remaining McLarens fizzled out of the second round. Pato O’Ward could not find the lap when it counted and will start 12th.
His teammate Christian Lundgaard just squeezed his way into tenth but out of the session as McLaren continued their qualifying woes.
Santino Ferrucci did well to advance his AJ Foyt Racing entry to the second round but it ended a very Ferrucci way, in the grass and out of the session in seventh.
Arlington’s pole sitter did not make it two in a row. Marcus Ericsson missed the cutoff by 25 thousandths of a second in eighth.
Josef Newgarden continued his recent struggles to find the Firestone Fast six at Barber and starts ninth.
Finally, Alexander Rossi, the lone Ed Carpenter Racing entry to survive the first round, will start 11th.
Qualifying Round 1
The opening round of qualifying was headlined by a frightening moment for Will Power, whose heavy impact into the barriers brought out the red flag with five minutes remaining.
“The brake just went to the floor” said a dejected Power after his rear brake failure. There is no word on if he will go to a backup car or not, regardless his No. 26 TWG Honda will start in the rear.
Scott Dixon continued his miserable qualifying form this season with another first-round exit, the first driver down on the cutline in his group.
It marks the first time in four years Dixon has qualified outside the top 12 in the opening races of a season.
Other drivers who failed to advance from the first group included Nolan Siegel, Christian Rasmussen, Kyffin Simpson, and Caio Collet.
In the second group, Romain Grosjean was on a flying lap with a real shot at advancing when Sting Ray Robb interfered as his crew failing to warn him of the incoming car.
Rather than unravel, it lit a fire under the Swiss-born Frenchman, who delivered another strong lap on used reds to advance.
Scott McLaughlin suffered a massive crash as he careened through the fence in the final practice session.
But Team Penske’s crew worked tirelessly to assemble a backup car in time, giving him another shot. He finished seventh in the session, just outside the cutline.
Mick Schumacher had a close chance to escape the first round but the final set of corners proved too difficult to maintain the positive time as he failed to advance.
The final drivers with a first round exit were Rinus VeeKay, Felix Rosenqvist, Louis Foster, Sting Ray Robb, and Dennis Hauger.
Below is the full starting lineup for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
Starting Lineup
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Ryan Kemna View All
Ryan Kemna is a photojournalist for The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2025.
Currently residing in the Minneapolis, MN, area, Kemna brings his passion for motorsports, photography, and a good story to readers.