Scott McLauglin – Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix – Photo by Aaron Skillman

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin continued to master his unofficial home away from New Zealand Friday, pacing P1 for the Children’s 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 64-minute session.

“Pretty good start for us,” said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of Christchurch, N.Z., and driver of the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet. “We were all strong, which is a good sign for the team. We’ve done a lot of hard work in the offseason to figure out where we can be better. We’ve still got a lot to learn and be better and stronger.

“Overall, a pretty good start for us. Bring on tomorrow.”

 SEE: Practice Results

BMP has 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.

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.

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’s 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’s best finish at BMP to-date is 10th in 2024.

O’Ward, 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.

“Barber is a favorite on the calendar, and it’s a circuit I really enjoy because of how rewarding it is,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “Overall, 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.

“We 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.”

Lundgaard’s hot lap of 67.4379-seconds/122.780 mph led the first 12-minute session on Firestone’s alternate (red) rubber, with Malukas second-quick.

“I’ve always liked this place since the first time I came here in 2022,” said Lundgaard, a 24-year-old native of Denmark. “Technically in 2021 this is the place I did my first INDYCAR test. I’ve always liked the place. I felt like that (lap) wasn’t in the bag today. On the primaries, we didn’t really have pace. I think the track is very different to what it was last year. With the new alternates, we’re trying to figure it out and we got it right.

“Again, 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, ‘I don’t know where I’m going to find half-a-second.’ Put on the alternates and there it was.”

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.

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.

Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci was 12^th 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.

“I think it’s a really fun track, very historic, quite entertaining,” said Ferrucci, who logged 21 laps. “Personally, 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.”

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’s first on a permanent road-course.

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

“Barber is an amazing track. It’s 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’s one of those tracks where you need to be hooked up every lap.”

Series rookie Mick Schumacher was 25^th 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.

“It’s a beautiful circuit for sure,” Schumacher said after completing 29 laps. “I 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’t have the ability to run in the sim either so I needed all the laps that I could get and I’m happy with the results so far.

“Obviously, we’re not where we want to be but we’re happy with the results of the run-plan and the approach to the free practice. We’re still on the learning side of things and I hope that by tomorrow we’ll have a better base and we’ll be able to also be higher up in the rank. Nonetheless, it’s a treat driving here.”

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.

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’s part of the challenge of INDYCAR.

“Absolutely. I think that’s life, really,” Lundgaard said. “You always get stuff thrown at you. I think we’ve done well in some areas trying to figure those things out.

“But 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.”

Myles Rowe – INDY NXT by Firestone – Grand Prix of Alabama – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Myles Rowe needed this. The INDY NXT by Firestone 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.

SEE: Practice Results

Rowe entered his third season in INDYCAR’s 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.

“Happy with P1, no doubt, especially with a couple of performances we weren’t happy with in Round 1 and Round 2,” said Rowe, a 25-year-old native of Powder Springs, Ga. “Coming 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).

“I’m happy with the performance. Very grateful for the team, ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy and looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”

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.

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’ top returning driver this season, completed the top-five at 1:12.2004-seconds/114.681 mph in the No. 26 Andretti Global machine.

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’ most recent event on the Streets of Arlington, Texas, on March 15^th.

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’s 45-minute practice.

Each driver’s quickest lap set the field for Saturday’s 35-lap/80.5-mile/55-minute race at 1 p.m. (EDT). Each driver’s 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.

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, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 1

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