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2019 IndyCar Series: Alabama talking points

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Roar Guru
10th April, 2019
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Two weeks after a history-making venture deep into the heart of Texas, the stars and cars of the IndyCar Series headed deep into the heartland of NASCAR racing for the tenth annual visit to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Missed the race? Here’s all you need to know from IndyCar’s trip into stock car racing territory.

Sato dominates and wins
For the second time in the last four IndyCar Series races dating back to 2018, Japan’s Takuma Sato is a race winner. He dominated the 90-lap race on Sunday afternoon after starting from the pole. He led 74 laps, only relinquishing the top spot during pit stop cycles. It was as dominating a race as we’ve ever seen from the affable veteran in what has been an up and down IndyCar career.

It was the IndyCar youth movement taking care of business at Circuit of the Americas in Austin last race out, but the old guys struck back in Alabama, with New Zealand’s Scott Dixon and Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais finishing on the podium. Bourdais’ third placing was desperately needed after the Dale Coyne Racing driver suffered through a frustrating start to the season.

Unfortunately for Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal, who was the other half of the Rahal 1-2 in qualifying, his #15 Honda stopped dead on the long back straight, relegating him to a twenty-third placed finish.

Australia’s Will Power had an uneven sort of day, recovering from a spin to finish eleventh.

Australian IndyCar driver Will Power

You don’t race with Will Power. You strap yourself in and feel the Gs. (SarahStierch / Wikimedia Commons)

Another Aussie in IndyCar
Sort of, anyway. DragonSpeed Racing, the team that’s part-time in 2019 (with a goal to move to full time status as soon as next year) with Englishman Ben Hanley behind the wheel, announced that little-known Australian James Allen will be involved in the team’s testing program alongside Hanley.

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He will be doing the same sort of work for the team’s World Endurance Championship LMP2 sports car program. Hopefully this will lead to Allen being given a race seat with any DragonSpeed expansion.

Rahal 1-2 in Qualifying
Of all the permutations you might’ve had in mind as far as team 1-2’s go in qualifying – Andretti, Penske or Ganassi – anyone who suggested that the team to fill out the front row of the grid would be Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing… well, take a bow because you’re a far more learned scholar than I am. Yet, it was Takuma Sato on pole narrowly from teammate Graham Rahal.

Saturday’s qualifying was noteworthy not just for the first Rahal team 1-2 in IndyCar qualifying since Chicagoland Speedway in 2005 – back then, it was Danica Patrick and 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice sitting atop the time sheets – but for a Fast Six that, shockingly, didn’t feature either Team Penske or Andretti Autosport cars.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Danica Patrick attending Indianapolis
Both will be working for new broadcaster, NBC. Patrick will work as a studio analyst alongside broadcast host Mike Tirico and it appears that Earnhardt, whose favourite driver growing up was IndyCar star Gordon Johncock, will be reporting from all over the speedway on race day.

It will be interesting to see what Earnhardt, most definitely a NASCAR guy, makes of the Indianapolis 500. And the best news of all? We’ll get to see it all unfold live on TV in Australia.

Speaking of Australia and NBC, exciting news for one of our home-grown talents: NBC named Australian Leigh Diffey, the regular play-by-play voice of IndyCar, as lead announcer for it’s first Indianapolis 500 broadcast.

We talk of Fernando Alonso trying to complete the unofficial motorsports Triple Crown of Indianapolis, the Monaco GP and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Well, after May, Diffey will be able to lay claim to being the only broadcaster in modern times to call all three events. That’s quite an achievement.

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Will Power. Great name

Will Power (12), of Australia, leads Alexander Rossi, rear, through a turn during the IndyCar Classic auto race, Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

New sponsorship for Harding Steinbrenner Racing
This, my friends, is how it’s meant to work. Your teenage rookie phenom wins a race and within seven days, you’re throwing a new livery onto the side pods. GESS International, who are in the field of green energy and energy efficiency, were major sponsors on the No. 88 Chevrolet for Colton Herta after being an associate sponsor prior to this announcement.

It’s either a very scary coincidence, or GESS International were so impressed by Herta’s memorable win last time out in Austin – who wasn’t? – that they decided to up their commitment to major sponsor. It’s been well noted that HSR has had issues finding sponsors, so fingers crossed this is a sign of things to come for the fledgling team.

Next Up
We don’t have to wait long for another IndyCar race as the month of May and on-track activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway approaches. From Alabama to sunny Southern California in seven days, for the iconic (and newly-branded) Acura Grand Prix on the streets of Long Beach.

Without question, outside of the Indianapolis 500, the Long Beach GP is the biggest and most prestigious event on the IndyCar Series schedule. California native Alexander Rossi is the defending champion.

Also of note at Long Beach, Will Power and Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais will be inducted into the race’s Walk of Fame, joining many other famous motorsports names.

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