Today's IndyCar iRacing at Barber: Start time, TV info, more

The IndyCar iRacing Challenge will head to Barber Motorsports Park today (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) for the the second round of the six-race series.

Sage Karam of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing dominated the opener, leading 43 of 45 laps at Watkins Glen International last week and finishing 3.6174 seconds ahead of Felix Rosenqvist.

Will Power finished third, and the Team Penske driver will be one of the favorites this week with more than 1,500 starts and 150 wins on iRacing road courses.

RESULTS: Where everyone finished at Watkins Glen

Teammate Josef Newgarden, who finished seventh at the Glen, also could be a factor as the winningest IndyCar driver at real-world Barber (2015, 2017 and 2018).

There are 29 drivers in the field for today’s race at Barber, including seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Four new entrants to the iRacing Challenge are five-time series champion Scott Dixon, Robert Wickens (returning to competition for the first time since his August 2018 crash at Pocono Raceway), Ed Carpenter and Jack Harvey.

After a caution-free run at Watkins Glen, Barber will feature a competition caution to guarantee a restart.

Here is the information on today’s virtual race:

START: The command to start engines will be given by NBA legend Charles Barkley, who starred at Auburn University, at 2:43 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 2:45 p.m.

TV: The race will be shown live on NBCSN starting at 2:30 p.m. ET and also via the NBCSN stream here. The IndyCar on NBC booth of Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will have the call of the race, and Katie Hargitt will interview the race winner on IndyCar’s Instagram Live postrace.

The race also can be viewed through drivers’ individual Twitch channels.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Performed at 2:39 p.m. by Tiara Pennington, Miss Alabama 2019

COMPETITION CAUTION: A new wrinkle in this race will be a planned competition caution to bunch the field on Lap 15. It will consist of three laps, followed by a single-file restart.

DISTANCE: The Virtual Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is 45 laps (107.1 miles) around the virtual 17-turn, 2.38-mile road course.

PUSH TO PASS: There are 10 activations for a 10-second duration.

SETUPS: Fixed; no changes allowed for drivers.

PIT STOPS: One. Cars will be allowed two “Fast Repairs” during the race.

QUALIFYING: The starting lineup will be set through a qualifying session at 2:30 p.m.

REAL WORLD AT BARBER: There have been 10 IndyCar races at the road course. Takuma Sato won the most recent race in 2019. Helio Castroneves won the first Indy car race at Barber in 2010.

NEXT: The Virtual Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be the second of six events to be held each Saturday through May 2. Next week is a “Driver’s Choice” track (April 11), then a “Random Draw” track (April 18), Circuit of The Americas (April 25) and a non-INDYCAR “Dream” track (May 2).

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the entry list for the second round of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge.

SPOTTER’S GUIDE: Click here to see the paint schemes being used in today’s race at Barber Motorsports Park.

The focus of the Detroit Monster Energy Supercross round was on the mid-pack battle while Aaron Plessinger pulled away from the field, but when he crashed after hooking his foot in the dirt, the results once more looked like we’ve come to expect, with Chase Sexton, Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac sharing the podium for the fifth time in 10 rounds.

Supercross Results Detroit — *Justin Barcia was part of an exciting, four-rider battle in the middle of Detroit’s A-Main. – Feld Motor Sports*

For Sexton, Plessinger’s late-race crash was a vindication of sorts. Several times already this season, Sexton has crashed while battling for the lead and the points that has cost him keeps him sporting the red plate. He lost points in Detroit for a different reason, however.

Sexton was allowed to keep the win, but was penalized seven points for jumping in a red cross section of the course. As a result, he dropped four points to Webb and two to Tomac. Sexton is now 17 points behind Webb in the championship hunt.

RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Overall Results; Click here for 250 Overall Results

One week after snatching the red plate from Tomac for the first time in 2023, Webb stretched his advantage by two. With his second-place finish, Webb holds a three-point lead over Tomac, which essentially means both riders control their fate in the coming weeks. Webb continues to have a sweep of the top five this season with his sixth consecutive podium.

Coming off his worst finish of the season, Tomac rebounded to finish third. His eighth-place result last week was partially attributed to a stiff neck that hindered him in traffic and he still suffered some of those same effects in Detroit. Before Plessinger’s crash, he was destined to be the only rider in the three-man title scrum to finish off the podium in Detroit.

It is surprising what one position can do for one’s confidence.

Click here for 450 Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Last Chance Qualifier | Lap Chart

Justin Barcia scored his fourth top-five of the season. He was part of the exciting four-man battle that dominated the middle stages of the race before Sexton and Webb gained a little separation. Finishing less than three seconds behind Tomac, he kept that rider honest for the entire race.

Coming off his first win of the season, Ken Roczen finished fifth. It was his seventh top-five of the season and it elevated him to fifth in the standings.

Plessinger’s fall took the wind from his sails. He attempted to right his bike after a hard crash, but as it smoked and pinged, he dropped to 13th in the final rundown.

Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points

Hunter Lawrence tied his brother Jett Lawrence with 10 wins each after another dominating ride in the Detroit Supercross race and the results in the points continue to widen. With his fifth win in six rounds and a worst finish of third, Lawrence now has a 35-point advantage over Nate Thrasher with four rounds remaining. Finishes of 14th or better in the final four mains will give him his first 250 championship.

Jett will have an opportunity to retake his wins’ lead as Supercross heads west for the next two rounds in Seattle and Glendale, Arizona.

Nate Thrasher earned his third second-place finish of the season with a gap of 7.6 seconds to Lawrence. He won the overall in Arlington earlier this season, but a 15th-place finish in the opening round in Houston and 10th in Daytona hurts his championship chances.

Click here for 250 Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Last Chance Qualifier | Lap Chart

Haiden Deegan scored his second podium and fourth top-five in six rounds of his young career. On his way to that finish, he rode aggressively against his teammate Jordon Smith in the heat race. Fans are getting a glimpse of what his on-track personality might be.

Jeremy Martin continues to be the model of consistency. He has not finished worse than sixth or better than fourth in six rounds now and that has allowed him to close to within two points of third in the 250 East championship standings.

Rounding out the top five is Chris Blose, who was pressed into service at the start of the season because of a rash of injuries at Pro Circuit Kawasaki. This is Blose’s first top-five of the season, although he’s steadily improved over the past five rounds.

Click here for 250 Overall results | 250 East Rider Points | 250 Combined Rider Points

Max Anstie entered the race weekend second in the points, but a hard crash in heavy traffic early in the main forced him to retire after two laps. Earning only one point for the round, he plummeted to fifth in the standings.

The news was worse for Smith, who was dropped out of the top nine in his heat after the altercation with Deegan and failed to advance through the LCQ. In the last chance race, he stalled his engine and had to mount a determined charge. He got only as high as seventh in that race after crashing while attempting to make a pass on fourth-place Jack Chambers.

2023 Results

Round 10: Chace Sexton wins, penalized
Round 9: Ken Roczen wins
Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona
Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Race 5: Webb, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 4: Tomac, H Lawrence win
Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win
Race 2: Tomac, J Lawrence win
Round 1: Tomac, J Lawrence win