2023 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Race Notes

• The 2023 Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix was 90 laps on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park road course. The pit road speed limit was 50 mph and the race started the third time past the flag stand. Pole sitter Romain Grosjean gridded drivers' left.
• All cars but those of Scott McLaughlin, Christian Lundgaard, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Graham Rahal, Conor Daly, Helio Castroneves, Jack Harvey and Marcus Armstrong started on red-sidewalled Firestone alternate tires. Each car was required to use one set of new alternate tires and one set of primary tires during the race.
• At 2:15 p.m. CDT, 15 minutes before the scheduled green-flag time, the ambient temperature in Birmingham was 70 degrees with sunny skies. The track temperature was 112 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 2:23 p.m., author and sports commentator Paul Finebaum gave the command, "Gentlemen, start your engines." All engines fired and all cars rolled on the grid.
• The No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda of Grosjean led the field into start-finish as Lap 1 began. Behind the leader, there was contact involving the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist but the car was able to continue.
• Grosjean dominated the first segment of the race, which featured a strategy split of drivers on a two-stop strategy led by Grosjean and drivers on a three-stop strategy, initiated by Newgarden but run to perfection by McLaughlin.
• The race's only caution flag flew on Lap 39 for the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda of Sting Ray Robb, which was stopped on course in Turn 9. The caution period lasted for three laps.
• Grosjean led the field on the restart and continued at the front of the field until Lap 60, when he pitted for the second time. At this point, McLaughlin assumed the race lead until his own pit stop on Lap 63. Grosjean resumed the race lead on Lap 66 and went on to earn two bonus points for leading the most laps.
• On Lap 72, McLaughlin passed Grosjean for the lead exiting Turn 6 and led the remainder of the race.
• McLaughlin took the white flag with a 2.5441-second lead over Grosjean.
• McLaughlin took the checkered flag with a 1.7854-second margin of victory. The result marked his first win of 2023 and the fourth victory of his NTT IndyCar Series career.
• Championship points after the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix:
  1. Ericsson 130
  2. O'Ward 127
  3. Palou 121
  4. McLaughlin 119
  5. Grosjean 115
  6. Newgarden 105
  7. Power 104
  8. Dixon 98
  9. Kirkwood 92
  10. Herta 85
      

Session Notes

• Morning warm-up for the 2023 Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix started on time at 11 a.m. CDT and was 30 minutes in duration.
• The session ran without incident.
• At the conclusion of warm-up, Arrow McLaren's Alexander Rossi was fastest with a 1:06.6677.
  

Qualifying Notes

• Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award consists of three segments. In the first round, each group receives 10 minutes of track time with the clock starting when the first car hits the alternate start-finish line. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Round 2 while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13 to 27. Group 1 drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions while Group 2 drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions based on their fastest lap times. During Round 2, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time with the fastest six cars advancing to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining cars are ranked in positions seven through 12 based on their fastest laps. During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive six minutes of guaranteed green-flag time. At the end of session, cars are ranked one through six based on their fastest laps.
• Qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park began on time at 2 p.m. CDT.
• Five minutes prior to the start time, the ambient temperature was 72 degrees with overcast skies. The track temperature was 94 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• All rounds of qualifying ran without red flags.
• Group 2 qualifying featured a penalty against Marcus Armstrong, who was judged to have interfered with the qualifying effort of Christian Lundgaard. Armstrong was stripped of his two fastest laps and the ability to advance.
• The following drivers advanced to the Firestone Fast Six: Romain Grosjean, Pato O'Ward, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou, Christian Lundgaard and Scott Dixon.
• At the conclusion of Round 3, Grosjean had the fastest lap and secured his second NTT P1 Award of 2023 and the third pole of his NTT IndyCar Series career.
• Grosjean was the eighth different pole winner in the last eight races at Barber.
  

Session Notes

• The start of Practice 2 was delayed by three minutes for cleanup following the previous session. Practice was still 45 minutes in duration within a one-hour window.
• Practice 2 was free of major incidents until 45 seconds remained on the clock when the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves spun and stopped on track in Turn 9. The incident brought out a red flag and stopped the clock. Castroneves was penalized five minutes of practice time for causing the red flag.
• The session resumed for a final 45 seconds, but the majority of drivers elected not to participate.
• Alex Palou's 1:06.2781 in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was the fastest lap of the session.
  

Session Notes

• Practice 1 for the 2023 Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix began on time at 2:40 p.m. CDT and ran for its full 75-minute duration.
• The session was slowed by three red flags:
  • Fifteen minutes after the green flag, the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves ran off course and made contact with the barrier in Turn 9. The red flag lasted for six minutes.
  • At 3:20 p.m., the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda of Romain Grosjean stopped on track in Turn 9 after emitting smoke, causing a six-minute red flag.
  • Thirteen minutes before the session's scheduled end time, the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power ran off course and made contact with the tire barrier in Turn 2. The resulting red flag was five minutes in duration.
• Scott McLaughed ended practice with the fastest lap: a 1:06.6610 in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet.