{"id":57049,"date":"2026-03-28T15:27:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=57049"},"modified":"2026-03-28T15:29:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:29:36","slug":"penskes-mclaughlin-paces-opening-indycar-practice-at-barber-motorsports-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/28\/penskes-mclaughlin-paces-opening-indycar-practice-at-barber-motorsports-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Penske’s McLaughlin paces opening INDYCAR practice at Barber Motorsports Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Scott McLauglin – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix – Photo by Aaron Skillman<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

Team Penske\u2019s Scott McLaughlin continued to master his unofficial home away from New Zealand Friday, pacing P1 for the Children\u2019s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst.<\/p>\n

McLaughlin posted a top lap of 1-minute, 7.7245-seconds\/122.878 mph around the picturesque, 2.3-mile\/17-turn natural-terrain road-course in Birmingham, Ala., during a 64-minute session.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty good start for us,\u201d said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of Christchurch, N.Z., and driver of the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet. \u201cWe were all strong, which is a good sign for the team. We\u2019ve done a lot of hard work in the offseason to figure out where we can be better. We\u2019ve still got a lot to learn and be better and stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, a pretty good start for us. Bring on tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

 SEE:<\/strong> Practice Results<\/a><\/p>\n

BMP has emerged as one of \u201cScotty Mac\u2019s\u201d 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

McLaughlin also was quickest at 68.0903-seconds\/121.603 mph on the Firestone Firehawk primary racing (black) tires during the first 40 minutes of the opening practice, with all 25 drivers on-track. David Malukas of Team Penske, Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren, Josef Newgarden of Team Penske and Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren also were Chevrolet-powered drivers on blacks.<\/p>\n

Series point-leader Kyle Kirkwood _ winner of the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, Texas, on March 15 _ was second in a session split into three groups. Kirkwood\u2019s best lap of 20 completed was 1:07.4128-seconds\/122.825 mph in the No. 28 JM Bullion\/Gold.com Honda of Andretti Global. A three-time winner in 2025, Kirkwood\u2019s best finish at BMP to-date is 10th in 2024.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Ward, the 2022 Barber winner, was third at 1:07.4158-seconds\/122.820 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, followed by teammate Lundgaard at 1:07.4379-seconds\/122.780 mph in the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Malukas completed the top-five at 1:07.5456-seconds\/122.584 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarber is a favorite on the calendar, and it’s a circuit I really enjoy because of how rewarding it is,\u201d said O\u2019Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. \u201cOverall, we’re off to a solid start with three top-fives but obviously, I want to take that next step and fight for a win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rolled off strong and I’m pretty pleased with where we’re at currently. We’re in a much better spot than we were last year, so I’m looking forward to this weekend.”<\/p>\n

Lundgaard\u2019s hot lap of 67.4379-seconds\/122.780 mph led the first 12-minute session on Firestone\u2019s alternate (red) rubber, with Malukas second-quick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked this place since the first time I came here in 2022,\u201d said Lundgaard, a 24-year-old native of Denmark. \u201cTechnically in 2021 this is the place I did my first INDYCAR test. I\u2019ve always liked the place. I felt like that (lap) wasn\u2019t in the bag today. On the primaries, we didn\u2019t really have pace. I think the track is very different to what it was last year. With the new alternates, we\u2019re trying to figure it out and we got it right.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I didn’t really think we had it in the beginning of practice. It looks like the alternates are a little stronger than I anticipated. I mean, we were only fast on the alternates. We weren’t fast on the primaries. Obviously, Pato was a lot faster than we were. That’s really where the surprise was, the shift from alternates to primaries on the No. 7 car. Every time I’d come into the box, I’d be like, \u2018I don’t know where I’m going to find half-a-second.\u2019 Put on the alternates and there it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newgarden, a three-time Barber winner, was sixth at 1:07.5600-seconds\/122.558 mph in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet as Team Penske and Arrow McLaren combined to take five of the top six spots. Still, just 0.1760-seconds separated that group of six.<\/p>\n

Four-time\/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain, who scored a dominant victory last season at Barber, was seventh at 1:07.6733-seconds\/122.353 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, who won the season-opener on March 1 on the Streets of St. Petersburgh, Fla., trails Kirkwood by 26 points in the championship standings.<\/p>\n

Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci was 12th<\/sup> at 1:07.9038-seconds\/121.937 mph in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet fielded by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s a really fun track, very historic, quite entertaining,\u201d said Ferrucci, who logged 21 laps. \u201cPersonally, I prefer the fact that it’s got a lot of high-risk, high-reward corners. It’s a proper racetrack _ long undulations, all types of corners _ so that just makes it more interesting for a driver and it makes it more fun. And it’s probably mid-range as far as physicality goes.”<\/p>\n

Native Brazilian Caio Collet was the quickest of three series rookies on the fast and flowing circuit, 21st at 1:08.2692-seconds\/121.285 mph after completing a session-high 36 laps in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet fielded by Foyt Racing. Race No. 4 of his INDYCAR career will be Collet\u2019s first on a permanent road-course.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m really looking forward to it,\u201d said Collet, a 23-year-old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and championship runnerup in the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone series. \u201cPermanent road-courses are where I\u2019ve spent most of my career, so it feels a bit more natural for me. INDYCAR is obviously a different challenge but I\u2019m excited to apply the experience that I\u2019m gaining and keep building race-by-race.<\/p>\n

“Barber is an amazing track. It\u2019s very technical, super-smooth and has a great flow to it. The elevation changes make it even more challenging and it really rewards precision. It\u2019s one of those tracks where you need to be hooked up every lap.”<\/p>\n

Series rookie Mick Schumacher was 25th<\/sup> after lapping at 1:08.3972-seconds\/121.058 mph in the No. 47 ENVE Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Mick is the 27-year-old son of Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion from Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful circuit for sure,\u201d Schumacher said after completing 29 laps. \u201cI really enjoyed the sessions. As a rookie, we get to run all (split) sessions, which is great. I got more time to drive on-track which was a positive feeling for us because truly I needed it. I didn\u2019t have the ability to run in the sim either so I needed all the laps that I could get and I\u2019m happy with the results so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we\u2019re not where we want to be but we\u2019re happy with the results of the run-plan and the approach to the free practice. We\u2019re still on the learning side of things and I hope that by tomorrow we\u2019ll have a better base and we\u2019ll be able to also be higher up in the rank. Nonetheless, it\u2019s a treat driving here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up next on the schedule was the second practice late Saturday morning, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. (EDT) on FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports App and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls for both sessions. Live coverage of the 90-lap\/207-mile race will start at 1 p.m. Sunday on FOX, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.<\/p>\n

The series schedule began with three back-to-back races, followed by last weekend off. Lundgaard noted while it has been difficult to compartmentalize each race weekend, it\u2019s part of the challenge of INDYCAR.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely. I think that’s life, really,\u201d Lundgaard said. \u201cYou always get stuff thrown at you. I think we’ve done well in some areas trying to figure those things out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it’s also difficult to really focus. If you’re really good in the race, what do you really need to focus on throughout a weekend? We’ve struggled in qualifying, so that’s where we’ve been putting our focus. It’s easy to lose track of some of the other areas, which is nice to have a weekend off, obviously regroup, refresh (and) come back to Barber where we’ve been strong in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Myles Rowe – INDY NXT by Firestone – Grand Prix of Alabama – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Myles Rowe needed this. The INDY NXT by Firestone <\/strong>veteran paced the only practice for the Grand Prix of Alabama double-header Friday at Barber Motorsports Park, turning a top lap of 1-minute, 12.0345- seconds\/114.945 mph after 25 laps in the No. 99 ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy car.<\/p>\n

SEE:<\/strong> Practice Results<\/a><\/p>\n

Rowe entered his third season in INDYCAR\u2019s developmental series as a championship favorite after finishing fourth in the standings in 2025, boosted by his first two career INDY NXT victories. But his early 2026 season has been a grinder, as Rowe finished seventh and 10th, respectively, in the first two events and currently sits eighth in the standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy with P1, no doubt, especially with a couple of performances we weren\u2019t happy with in Round 1 and Round 2,\u201d said Rowe, a 25-year-old native of Powder Springs, Ga. \u201cComing into our first double-header weekend, it definitely makes it easier on the team knowing we have pace coming into qualifying in a weekend where we have double points (two races).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy with the performance. Very grateful for the team, ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy and looking forward to the rest of the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rowe kept the top spot by just seven 10-thousandths of a second over Juan Manuel Correa, a 26-year-old American-Ecuadorian who stopped the clocks in second at 1:12.0352-seconds\/114.944 mph in the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports entry. Josh Pierson, a 20-year-old native of Portland, Ore., was third at 1:12.1283-seconds\/114.795 mph in the No. 29 Starchive car fielded by Andretti Global.<\/p>\n

Enzo Fittipaldi, a 24-year-old native of Miami and grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil, was fourth _ and the quickest rookie _ at 1:12.1869-seconds\/114.702 mph in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car. Australian Lochie Hughes, the series\u2019 top returning driver this season, completed the top-five at 1:12.2004-seconds\/114.681 mph in the No. 26 Andretti Global machine.<\/p>\n

Andretti Global drivers took three of the top six spots on the speed chart. Series-leader Max Taylor, an 18-year-old native of Greenwich, Conn., was sixth at 1:12.2265-seconds\/114.639 mph in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen car. Taylor won the series\u2019 most recent event on the Streets of Arlington, Texas, on March 15th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Qualifying for Race No. 1 of the double-header was scheduled for Saturday morning with broadcast coverage on FS2, FOX One, FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls on the 2.3-mile\/17-turn natural-terrain road-course. Competition should be tight, as just 0.1920-seconds separated the top six drivers among a field of 24 entries after Friday\u2019s 45-minute practice.<\/p>\n

Each driver\u2019s quickest lap set the field for Saturday\u2019s 35-lap\/80.5-mile\/55-minute race at 1 p.m. (EDT). Each driver\u2019s second-quickest lap will set the starting grid for the second 30-lap\/69-mile\/50-minute race at 11 a.m. Sunday. Live coverage of both races will be available on FS1, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.<\/p>\n

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _<\/strong> 1, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 126; 2, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 100; 3, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 93; 4, Pato O\u2019Ward, 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;<\/p>\n

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;<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

FOX SPORTS\u2019 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE\/(RACE WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note _ All times Eastern<\/em><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 24 _ 110th<\/sup> Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit, 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA<\/p>\n

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.<\/em><\/p>\n

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE\/(RACE-WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 2<\/p>\n

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.<\/p>\n

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2<\/p>\n

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team Penske\u2019s Scott McLaughlin continued to master his unofficial home away from New Zealand Friday, pacing P1 for the Children\u2019s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst. McLaughlin posted a top lap of 1-minute, 7.7245-seconds\/122.878 mph around the picturesque, 2.3-mile\/17-turn natural-terrain road-course in Birmingham, Ala., during a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":57052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[190,22,672,862],"class_list":["post-57049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","tag-barber-motorsports-park","tag-indycar","tag-ntt-indycar-series","tag-scott-mclaughlin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Scott-McLauglin-Children_s-of-Alabama-Indy-Grand-Prix-By_-Aaron-Skillman_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m149320.jpg?fit=1079%2C720","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-eQ9","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57049"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57055,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57049\/revisions\/57055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}