by Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net– Indy Car gets back to business after tough week for Team Penske- This column will not be about the penalties to series leader Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. Between the penalties including disqualifications, points and raised eyebrows in the paddock, this issue has been beaten to death.
Today, we will look at the winners and losers of the race. After the winners and losers, we have the Indy story on the NXT race won by Jacob Abel.
Checkered Flag–Scott McLaughlin- McLaughlin won the pole and quickly took charge of the race. He led the first 29 laps before a green flag stop that was a flawless power play stop getting him right back on the track. McLaughlin cycled back to the lead a few laps later at lap 36. McLaughlin quickly built his lead to over seven seconds over Lundgaard and nine seconds over Will Power before McLaughlin pitted and went to the faster Firestone tires. He fell back to just inside the top ten but picked off competitors and he was second with just 25 laps to go. McLaughlin went back into lead around 70 of 90 with a final strategic decision. McLaughlin pitted with 16 laps to go with Power following him into the pits. Both drivers picked up several second on competitors before the final pit stop and they quickly cycled to the front. McLaughlin holds off all comers following the caution and wins the race.
A pretty good wingman– Will Power stayed right behind his teammate McLaughlin in second place in the race. Power was docked ten series points and had penalties along with Newgarden. With a qualifying run of second putting him on the front row, Power went off course on lap 23 but quickly returned losing only one spot to Christian Lungaard who then pitted and Power went to second trailing McLaughlin. Power spent the day one spot behind McLaughlin for most of the afternoon. A late spin by Rasmussen with five laps to go brought both Power and Palou back into a sprint to the finish. Power had no answer for his teammate and finishes second.
Alex Palou had the lead from laps 29-31 until he came in for a scheduled stop. Palou cycled back to the leader position after the Rossi caution and leader pits. Palou took the lead through lap 55 before he pitted. Palou cycles behind the Penske drivers McLaughlin and Power with 15 laps to go. The late Rasmussen spin with five laps to go gives Palou fresh life but he had no late race magic. He finishes fifth.
Photos by Karl Zemlin and Chris Jones
Testy Racing– The racing itself was testy and wide open with drivers dumping each other or cutting each other off at various points around the track. Pato O’Ward, Pietro Fittapaldi and Alexander Rossi all ran off the track and several other drivers were very aggressive or were the aggressors. Scott Dixon left the track on lap 18 and fell from 7th to 18th place.
Sting Ray Robb had his steering wheel break on lap 55 which sent him into a safer barrier. The AJ Foyt Enterprises driver was never a factor in the race. Robb is ranked 25th in points out of 27 drivers going into the race. Robb goes to the medical center and he was ok. Robb said later the steering wheel came off in his hand. Scary stuff going at 110+MPH.
Santino Ferrucci, unlike his teammate Sting Ray Robb from AJ Foyt Enterprises, led the race with less than 30 laps to go. With several drivers including Palou and McLaughlin trying to run down Ferrucci. Santino pitted and sank to 17th. Ferrucci gave the Foyt team a rare lead toward the end of the race.
Three wheel racing never works– Alexander Rossi had a tough Alabama day. He pitted midway through the race and his left rear wheel came off drawing a caution. His ARROW MCLAREN Chevy was finished and his car was towed to the garage and his day ended.
Very Strange– Georgina, the mannequin, yes a mannequin fell from a bridge over the track while the race was live and was clipped by a car. Yes, this mannequin and many other odd track acquisitions are littered around the track. The thought is that the race would go to yellow to pick up the wayward prop. Nope, they continued racing. Not sure if her name is spelled right. She was still in the infield care center after the race.
The American Legion executed its BE THE ONE campaign with drivers, teams and fans. The goal of the program is to have educated members of the public ask armed force veterans if they are ok and if they can help them. This initiative is to help prevent veteran suicide. One of the best public service initiatives ever.
NTT- Grand Prix of Alabama Results
Abel Earns First Career Victory after Perfect Weekend
Abel Earns First Career Victory after Perfect Weekend
Photos by Karl Zemlin and Chris Jones
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sunday, April 28, 2024) – The wait finally is over for Jacob Abel.
Abel led all 35 laps from pole to claim his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.
SEE: Race Results
The win came in Abel’s 30th career start in the INDYCAR development series and was the first win for the family-owned Abel Motorsports team. His previous best result was second, three times, including in the 2024 season opener March 10 at St. Petersburg, Florida.
Abel led both practices and qualifying at Barber before completing his dream weekend with a win.
“I’m speechless, man,” Abel said. “This team has been working for this for so long now, and to finally get it done and on such a picture-perfect weekend, it’s been lights out all weekend long. It was just up to me to deliver it.
“A lot of nerves all weekend long, but I can finally say that yes, everything went right this weekend. Super happy with it.”
Abel won under caution in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry when Jamie Chadwick spun into the gravel in Turn 1 on Lap 34 and got stuck, triggering a race-ending yellow flag. Abel led Siegel’s No. 39 HMD Motorsports car by about a second when the yellow flew.
James Roe placed third in the No. 29 TopCon car of Andretti Global to earn his second career podium finish. Caio Collet was the highest-placing rookie, finishing fourth in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car.
Louis Foster completed a stirring drive from 21st and last on the starting grid to round out the top five in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies entry fielded by Andretti Global.
Siegel, who started second, ran in that position for the entire race. But he did pull side by side with Abel in Turn 5 on Lap 10 after gaining ground after a Lap 6 restart. Abel parried that move by Siegel, who fell back to .5510 of a second behind at the end of that lap.
Abel then controlled the race from that point, but it wasn’t without some anxiety.
Siegel conserved his Firestone Firehawk tires and Push to Pass and started to close in on Abel with 10 laps remaining on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile circuit. Siegel pulled his machine within .479 of a second on Lap 27, but Abel was able to expand that gap to .840 of a second by Lap 30 and held on for the win.
“Congrats to Jacob,” Siegel said. “He did a great job all weekend. Honestly, I think we were faster today. The car was fantastic. We saved everything for the last lap; we saved all our P2P (Push to Pass), saved our tires the entire race sitting there, and right as I started to go for it, that yellow came out.
“Super disappointed, but I think it’s a good day when you’re disappointed with second.”
The duel between Abel and Siegel not only was compelling for the fans watching from Barber’s manicured grounds, but it also set the stage for a potential championship battle all season. Abel and Siegel are tied atop the standings with 95 points after two races.
“Props to Nolan,” Abel said. “He kept me honest. The whole entire race, he was right there. He’s a great competitor, and I look forward to many battles like that throughout the season.”
Foster may have salvaged his championship hopes with a terrific drive from the back of the field. He barely completed any practice laps this weekend and didn’t participate in qualifying due to nagging electrical problems.
But the Andretti Global crew diagnosed and fixed the gremlins, and Foster diced through the field for a strong recovery. He is third in the standings, 30 points behind Abel and Siegel.
The next events for INDY NXT by Firestone are the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader May 10-11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road course.
