Fast Facts: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

By Apr 20, 2016, 2:30 PM EDT
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Courtesy of INDYCAR PR, here’s all you need to know ahead of this weekend’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the Verizon IndyCar Series’ fourth round of the 2016 season:

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Fast Facts

Track: Barber Motorsports Park, a 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course (clockwise)

Race distance: 90 laps / 207 miles

Entry List:  Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (PDF)

Push-to-pass parameters: 10 activations for 20 seconds each

Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, three sets alternate

Twitter: @BarberMotorPark @IndyCar, #HIGPA, #IndyCar

Event website: www.barbermotorsports.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2015 race winner: Josef Newgarden (No. 67 Hartman Oil/CFH Racing Chevrolet)

2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Helio Castroneves (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet),1:07.1925, 123.228 mph

Qualifying lap record: Scott Dixon, 1:06.7750, 123.999 mph, April 2013

NBCSN race broadcast: Sunday, April 24 (3 p.m. ET, live)

NBCSN qualifying broadcast: Saturday, April 23 (4 p.m. ET, live)

NBCSN practice broadcast: Friday, April 22 (Noon ET, live)

Rick Allen will be the play-by-play announcer for NBCSN’s broadcast of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller are the pit reporters.

Radio broadcasts: The Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network is led by chief announcer Mark Jaynes, with analyst Davey Hamilton. Turn reporters are Jake Query and Nick Yeoman, with Dave Furst, Rob Howden and Michael Young reporting from the pits. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209,IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Qualifying broadcasts are available on Sirius 212, XM 209, I IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Practice sessions are on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

Video Streaming: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama track activity not covered live on television (Practice 2 on April 22, Practice 3 on April 23 and race day warmup on April 24) will be available on the INDYCAR YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/indycar) andRaceControl.IndyCar.com.

INDYCAR Mobile App: Verizon Wireless puts fans around the world in the driver’s seat with its INDYCAR Mobile app. The app has been enhanced with new features to keep fans in the know of the latest race-day action. Exclusive features of the INDYCAR Mobile app for Verizon Wireless customers will stream live through the app and includes enhanced real-time leaderboard and car telemetry; the ability to follow the race in real time with the interactive 3D track; live in-car camera video streaming for select drivers during Verizon IndyCar Series races; live driver and pit crew radio transmissions during races and live Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network audio streaming during all track activities.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, April 22
11 a.m. -12:15 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, NBCSN (Live)
3-4:15 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com(Live)

Saturday, April 23
11-11:45 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #3, streaming onRaceControl.IndyCar.com (live)
3 p.m. – Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (three rounds of Verizon IndyCar Series knockout qualifications), NBCSN (live)

Sunday, April 24
10:30-11 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series warm-up, streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com(Live)
2 p.m. – NBCSN on air
2:45 p.m. – Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (90 laps/207 miles), NBCSN (Live)

Race Notes:

* Simon Pagenaud continued his hot start to 2016 claiming his first win of the season – and first as a member of Team Penske – at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17. The Frenchman, who made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in 2011, leads four-time series champion Scott Dixon by 14 points heading into this weekend’s race.

* The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be the seventh Indy car event conducted at Barber Motorsports Park.

* Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden are the only drivers to have won at Barber Motorsports Park. Castroneves won the inaugural race in 2010, Power won the race in 2011 and 2012, Hunter-Reay won in 2013 and 2014 and Newgarden won the race in 2015.

* Castroneves, Hunter-Reay and Power are the only drivers to have won the pole position at Barber Motorsports Park. Power claimed the pole position in 2010, 2011 and 2014; Castroneves won the pole in 2012 and 2015 and Hunter-Reay in 2013

* Two drivers have won the race from the pole – Power in 2011 and Hunter-Reay in 2013.

* Dixon has finished on the podium in each of his six previous starts at Barber Motorsports Park – including four runner-up finishes – but he has yet to finish on the top step of the podium at the picturesque road circuit. Dixon won at Phoenix earlier this season and is tied for fourth with Al Unser on the all-time Indy car victory list with 39.

* Eight drivers have competed in every Indy car race at Barber – Marco Andretti, Castroneves, Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Power, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. All are entered this year.

* Team Penske has three wins at Barber Motorsports Park (2010, 2011 and 2012). Andretti Autosport and Ed Carpenter Racing are the only other teams to win at the track. Andretti Autosport won in 2013 and 2014 with Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ed Carpenter Racing won with Josef Newgarden in 2015.

* Rookies Max Chilton, Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi will compete in their first Verizon IndyCar Series race at Barber Motorsports Park. Chilton, who leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by six points over Daly and 11 points over Rossi, earned his first podium in Indy Lights in 2015. Daly competed on the circuit in Indy Lights in 2011.

* Kanaan seeks to start his 253rd consecutive race, which would extend his Indy car-record streak that began in 2001 at Portland. Teammate Dixon has made 194 consecutive starts, which is the third-longest streak in Indy car racing.

* The 2016 season is the second in which aerodynamic bodywork component kits are used. The aero kits, produced by engine manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda for their respective supplied teams, are the latest technical innovation to enhance on-track performance through competitive aerodynamic development. Each manufacturer produces two kits for teams – one for short ovals/road courses/street courses and another for superspeedway ovals – but within each kit, teams have multiple component options available.

* The second season of aero kit competition complements the fifth year of engine manufacturer competition between Chevrolet and Honda with their 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines. It will be another season testing speed and durability to determine the manufacturer champion.

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”