IndyCar entry list Barber Motorsports 2021 season opener

Featuring one of its most diverse rookie classes in history, there are 24 cars on the NTT IndyCar Series entry list for Sunday’s season opener at Barber Motorsports Park (3 p.m. ET, NBC).

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (who will be running 13 road and street courses this season but could make his Indy 500 debut next year), three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin and Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean comprise the trio of famous newcomers to IndyCar in 2021.

There also will be some familiar names in new places to start the new season as Felix Rosenqvist moves from Chip Ganassi Racing to Arrow McLaren SP. Alex Palou will take Rosenqvist’s spot in the No. 10 Dallara-Honda at Ganassi. Returning to full-time schedules are James Hinchcliffe (with Andretti Autosport) and four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais (AJ Foyt Racing).

ENTRY LIST: Click here for who will be racing in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Brazilian Indy 500 winners Helio Castroneves (with Meyer Shank Racing after 20 seasons with Team Penske) and Tony Kanaan (reuniting with Ganassi) also will race with new teams in part-time schedules for 2022.

This will be the 11th IndyCar race at the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course east of Birmingham, Alabama, but the first since 2019 at Barber, whose 2020 date was scrubbed because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

We're ready to bring the action to @BarberMotorPark this weekend.

Who is tuning in live on Sunday at 3 PM ET on @NBC to watch our season opener? #INDYCAR https://t.co/7V78h9I4My

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 13, 2021

Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is the most recent winner at Barber.

Six-time and defending series champion Scott Dixon still is seeking his first victory at Barber, where he has six runner-up finishes (including to Sato in 2019). Josef Newgarden leads the series with three victories at Barber.

In addition to the NTT IndyCar Series, all three Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires ladder series also will be racing at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend. Here are links to the entry lists for Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000.

START TIMES AND TV INFO FOR HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA (all times ET):

Saturday

11-11:45 a.m.: IndyCar practice, Peacock Premium

2:40-3:25 p.m.: IndyCar practice, Peacock Premium

5:55-7:10 p.m.: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama qualifying, Peacock Premium (live); NBCSN (Tape delayed at 10 p.m. ET)

Sunday

11:30 a.m.-noon: IndyCar warmup, Peacock Premium

3 p.m.: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (90 laps/207 miles), NBC

3:35 p.m.: Command to start engines

3:42 p.m.: Green flag

*Will Power won consecutive races at Barber in 2011-12 (James Black/IndyCar).*

Benny Bloss will race for the factory Beta Motorcycles team in 2024 as that manufacturer joins SuperMotocross as the ninth brand to compete in the series. Beta Motorcycles will make their debut in the Monster Energy Supercross opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California in January.

*Benny Bloss finished among the top 10 twice in Pro Motocross, in 2016 and 2018. – Beta Motorcycles*

“The wait is over and we can finally share everything we have been working towards,” said Carlen Gardner, Race Team Manager in a press release. “It has been a great experience being a part of this development and seeing the progression. The only missing part was finding a rider that would mesh well with our Beta Family.

“After a one phone call with Benny, we knew it would be a good fit for him, and for us. We are happy to have him on board for the next two years and can’t wait to see everyone at Anaheim in January.”

Bloss debuted in the 450 class in 2015 with a 15th-place finish overall at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Bloss has a pair of top-10 rankings in the division with a sixth-place finish in the Pro Motocross Championship in 2016 and a seventh in 2018. His best Supercross season ended 15th in the standings in 2018.

“I’m extremely excited to join the Beta Factory Racing team,” Bloss said. “It’s cool to see a brand with such a rich history in off-road racing to come into the US Supercross and Motocross space. I know this team will be capable of great things as we build and go racing in 2024.”

Bloss is currently 22nd in the SuperMotocross rankings and has not raced in the first two rounds of the Motocross season.

Testing for Beta Motorcycles is scheduled to begin in August and the team expects to announce a second rider at that time.

The family-owned brand adds to the international flare of the sport. The company was founded in Florence, Italy in 1905 as Società Giuseppe Bianchi as they built handmade bicycles, The transition to motorcycle production in the late 1940s.

Beta Motorcycles competed and won in motocross competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s with Jim Pomeroy and other riders.

Beta will join Triumph Motorcycles as a second historic brand to join the sport in 2024. First established in 1902, Triumph has won in nearly every division they have competed in, dating back to their first victory in the 1908 Isle of Man TT. Triumph will debut in the 250 class in 2024 and plans to expand into 450s in 2025.

IndyCar entry list for 2021 season opener Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park

START TIMES AND TV INFO FOR HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA (all times ET):

Beta Motorcycles joins SuperMotocross in 2024, Benny Bloss named first factory rider

START TIMES AND TV INFO FOR HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA (all times ET):

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