Alex Palou – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix – Photo by Chris Owens

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

INDYCAR ace Alex Palou has plugged into “super-hero” mode at Barber Motorsports Park, where the field for today’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst should be super-concerned.

Palou earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season and 13th of his brilliant career by leading Saturday’s Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1-minute, 6.2341-seconds/125.011 mph around BMP’s picturesque, 2.3-mile/17-turn natural-terrain road-course in Birmingham, Ala.

The four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion, Palou won this race last season by a massive 16.0035-seconds _ largest margin of victory in the series during 2025 _ after starting from, where else, P1. Palou also paced Saturday morning’s second practice in his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“Honestly, one of the best cars I’ve driven,” said Palou, a 28-year-old native of Spain. “This morning (in practice) I already felt the car was really, really good, really well-balanced. We just wanted to start up front, capitalize on a really good car we had and see for (Sunday’s race). Really happy to get our first pole this year.

“I just love this place. It’s one of these tracks that allows you to just push really, really hard. There’s really high-speed corners, kind of you feel like, yeah, a super-hero driving the car. Qualifying laps, it’s incredible, especially if they allow you to use a brand-new set of alternates (Firestone Firehawk soft compound tires).

“I’m just very comfortable with both the car and the track. Yeah, it’s not that it feels easy or anything like that. It just feels like I’m confident with what I have.”

SEE: Qualifying Results

Live coverage of the 90-lap/207-mile race is scheduled for 1 p.m. (EDT) today on FOX, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls. A 30-minute warmup will precede the race.

David Malukas continued the strong start to his Team Penske tenure, joining Palou in Row 1 by qualifying second at 1:06.3478-seconds/124.797 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

“Obviously we had the opportunity to go for pole,” said Malukas, a 24-year-old native of Chicago. “It was actually my call to make a big setup swing change going into the Fast Six. Overdid it. It was a bit on me. Very happy with everything. Yeah, front row is fantastic. From Practice 1, Practice 2, our pace on primary (Firestone’s black) tires…we seem to have pace. Lap time was there. I think we’re in for a good race.”

Series veteran Graham Rahal delivered the surprise of the session by qualifying third _ tying his season best set on the 1-mile oval at Phoenix Raceway _ after a hot lap of 1:06.5181-seconds/124.477 mph in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“I didn’t realize I was the only person to run used alternate tires in Round 3,” said Rahal, alluding to the various tire strategies along pit road. “This is a race that tires are really important. I get that it was only one run, but it’s still one run so it’s a good situation to be in. I felt like we were in the hunt. I was glad to make it through to Round 3 because I didn’t drive too good in Q2, to be honest. I felt like I gave away a tenth or two, so to squeak. It was good for Fifth Third, Honda, for all of our partners, just to have a good result.”

Sunday’s race will be Rahal’s 16^th at BMP. His best start in the event is second in 2019; his best finish also is second on two occasions (2015-2016). In 2025, Graham started 21st and finished 14th.

“We know we can race well here so qualifying well is going to help a lot,” said Rahal, the 37-year-old son of team founder and 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Rahal. “It’s just a wonderful place. And the grip this weekend is great. The tire Firestone brought is faster than hell, so it’s been a lot of fun. It’s physical; (the race) is going to be a bruiser and hopefully we can take the battle to them. Obviously, with Alex, who knows? But we’re going to try.”

Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand qualified fourth at 1:06.5312-seconds/124.453 mph in the No. 66 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.

Series leader Kyle Kirkwood qualified fifth at 1:06.8326-seconds/123.892 mph in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Kirkwood pulled off an interesting strategic ploy by running the entire Fast Six on used Firestone tires, saving a valuable, grippier pair of new Firehawk alternates for the race. Kirkwood will be chasing a second consecutive victory after winning the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, Texas, on March 15.

Former Formula One regular Romain Grosjean of France qualified sixth _ tying his season best from the opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. _ at 1:06.8363-seconds/123.885 mph in the No. 18 Bmax Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.

Tremendous team parity emerged throughout the starting grid, as seven different organizations were represented among the top seven qualifiers. Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci will start seventh for Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing after lapping at 1:06.3769-seconds/124.742 mph in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. Andretti Global was the first repeat team on the grid, with Marcus Ericsson of Sweden qualifying eighth at 1:06.3900-seconds/124.718 mph in the No. 28 Allegra Honda.

“Honestly, one of our new things this year is try and start with the car we rolled out with and just build on it,” said Ferrucci, a 27-year-old native of Greenwich, Conn. “We had it, we’ve been missing time in Turn 12 and 13 and it’s been on me to fix that. I just kind of sent it through (Turn) 13 and I think I sent it too far because I passed the line off the track. It sucks, because that’s what cost us sixth.

“I can’t thank everybody at A.J. Foyt Racing, HFOT.org and Chevy. We’ve come a long way in the last few years. We’re trying to make this the new normal. We made the Fast 12 in Arlington and almost in the Fast Six this weekend. We’ve had great race cars, but I just want to pass less cars. I like being the pass- master, but it feels good to start up front.”

Pato O’Ward placed 12^th after his best lap of 1:06.8186-seconds/123.918 mph saw the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet eliminated in Round 2.

“It was a very frustrating day,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “No explanation to what happened in qualifying. We had the exact same reads for what happened to the No. 5 and the No. 7 car (of teammate Christian Lundgaard of Denmark). Obviously, we need to get to the bottom of it because these days can’t be happening when we feel like we have a chance for pole and are then eight-tenths behind.”

Group 1 in the opening session of qualifying was halted when Australian Will Power’s star-crossed start to his Andretti Global tenure continued. A two-time series champion and BMP winner with Team Penske, Power rode-out a high-speed crash after his rear brakes failed entering the downhill approach to the tight Turn 5 hairpin. Power’s No. 26 TWG AI Honda speared head-first into the energy-absorbing foam barrier behind the gravel trap and Armco barrier. Power, 45, was uninjured and will start 23rd.

Two-time Barber winner Scott McLaughlin rebounded from a frightening high-speed crash in Turn 1 during Practice 2 to qualify a backup No. 3 Odyssey Batteries Team Penske Chevrolet in 14th.

“First off, massive thanks to the Odyssey Battery Chevy team,” said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of New Zealand. “I put us behind with the big shunt in practice and these guys just always answer the bell. Can’t thank them enough for their hard work. It was great just to be able to get out for qualifying. Really proud of the effort.”

McLaughlin began the weekend on Friday by posting a top lap of 1-minute, 7.7245-seconds/122.878 mph during the opening 64-minute practice. BMP had emerged as one of “Scotty Mac’s” favorite tracks in North America since he left the Supercars championship in Australia after three consecutive titles and joined the NTT IndyCar Series fulltime with Roger S. Penske’s juggernaut in 2021. McLaughlin won this race in 2023 and 2024, finished third last year and has placed sixth or better in four of his five Barber starts.

Mick Schumacher, the 27-year-old son of seven-time F1 World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany, was quickest among the three rookies in the 25-driver field, qualifying 20th at 1:06.8140-seconds/123.926 mph in the No. 45 ENVE Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“Qualifying was not quite as clean as what I was hoping,” Schumacher said. “We didn’t manage to utilize the tires on that first lap and the second lap was a bit squirmy. Obviously, there was not much missing to go and advance into the next group (one-tenth of a second). We lost a couple tenths for sure in Turn 5 on my second lap and from the fact that the tires were already used up from that moment to still be this close (to progressing) is good.

“The feeling on the track is amazing; it’s a great track to drive. Hopefully we’ll have a better race car. Nonetheless, I think as a team we can be really proud of what Graham has achieved. He’s done an amazing job and I’m really happy for him. He has a great race car and he seems very confident and comfortable. In the race, it’s always one of those things that you never know what is going to happen until you get there. We’ll take it step-by-step and hopefully we’ll be there.”

Today’s race will be Schumacher’s first INDYCAR start on a permanent road-course. Mick’s best series start is fourth and best finish is 18th _ both on Phoenix Raceway’s 1-mile oval.

Palou, who won the season-opener on March 1 on the Streets of St. Pete, trails Kirkwood by 26 points in the championship standings. Palou, who led this event from the green flag last spring, said maintaining his advantage over Malukas heading into Turn 1 will be critical.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s huge. It’s the goal,” Palou said. “I don’t think it’s the end of the race if I don’t lead after Lap 1. But yeah, I mean, starting on pole and having the side where we started, I need to do a good job to keep that position. Not easy here because of Turn 2 and 3, how it is, then also going to Turn 5.

“Yeah, I’ll do my best. I feel like last year was a perfect race for me. It was no cautions. Almost no traffic. I got a little bit, but not much. I kind of had one of these amazing days. It will be tough to replicate.”

Nikita Johnson – INDY NXT by Firestone – Grand Prix of Alabama – Photo by Paul Hurley

Nikita Johnson had a hunch opportunity might present itself late in Saturday’s first race of the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama double-header, and his youthful instincts helped secure a dramatic victory at Barber Motorsports Park.

Johnson posted his second victory of the 2026 season and took the point lead in INDYCAR’s developmental series in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry after race-leader and pole-sitter Alessandro de Tullio and second-place Max Taylor tangled and spun with eight laps remaining in the 35-lap/80.5-mile race.

SEE: Race Results

“I kind of expected it,” Johnson said of the incident that vaulted him into P1. “I knew who was up front; I know those two guys battle really hard. I’ve raced them forever, so I knew something was going to happen.”

Johnson, a 17-year-old native of Florida, won by 0.7687-seconds over fellow-series rookie Enzo Fittipaldi in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car. Fittipaldi’s teammate, Tymek Kucharczyk of Poland, finished third in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports machine. Fittipaldi is a 24-year-old Brazilian-American native of Miami and grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil.

Native Floridian Max Garcia placed fourth in the No. 12 ABEL Motorsports car, as series rookies took the top four finishing spots. Series veteran Myles Rowe of Georgia completed the top-five in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine.

Johnson, who won the season-opener in his native St. Petersburg, Fla., leads second-place Kucharczyk by 28 points in the championship standings. Race No. 2 of the weekend, a 30-lap/69-mile/50-minute event, was scheduled for late Sunday morning.

De Tullio, a 19-year-old of Argentinian-American descent, pulled away from pole at the start and maintained a steady gap of around seven- to eight-tenths of a second on Taylor, who started second. That pair then started to encounter Chip Ganassi Racing teammates James Roe of Ireland and Californian Carson Etter, who were dueling for position at the tail end of the lead lap with less than 10 laps to go on the 2.3-mile/17-turn natural-terrain road-course.

That joust ahead slowed de Tullio on Lap 27, allowing Taylor to close ranks. De Tullio dove inside in Turn 9, with his car slowing when his right-side wheels touched the dirt inside the racing surface, with Roe and Etter right ahead of him.

Taylor pounced, taking the lead with an outside move and lapping Etter. De Tullio then fought back on the same lap, regaining the lead in Turn 12 through the “esses section” of the circuit.

The race’s biggest flashpoint occurred just four turns later. Taylor looked inside de Tullio in Turn 16, but his left front wheel touched the right rear wheel of de Tullio. Both drivers spun and Johnson _ who trailed de Tullio by 1.8-seconds the previous time past the flag stand _ squeezed through to take a lead he would not relinquish.

“When I saw those lapped cars, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s about to get messy,’^” Johnson said. “So, I just maintained my tires, left them a good gap and made sure I could avoid any trouble.”

De Tullio was beached in the gravel trap, while Taylor drove out of the gravel and continued. De Tullio eventually finished 20th in the No. 14 entry of Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing, one lap down. Taylor was penalized for avoidable contact and ended up 19th in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen machine of Andretti Global.

There was one small moment of suspense for Johnson en route to the checkered flag. The incident between de Tullio and Taylor triggered the day’s second and final caution period, bunching the field for a restart on Lap 30. Johnson, however, pulled away on the restart and never was threatened.

The race featured 96 on-track passes, including 83 for position _ both track records for INDY NXT competition.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 126; 2, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 100; 3, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 93; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 93; 5, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 85; 6, David Malukas, Team Penske, 84; 7, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 80; 8, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 77; 9, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 70; 10, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 64;

11, Will Power, Andretti Global, 59; 12, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 59; 13, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 50; 14, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 47; 15, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 46; 16, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 46; 17, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 46; 18, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 42; 19, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 41; 20, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 38;

21, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 36; 22, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 33; 23, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 27; 24, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 26; 25, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 25.

FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)

Note _ All times Eastern

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 24 _ 110^th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 2

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2