IndyCar: Children’s of Alabama Grand-Prix Review

With 17-turns and 2.3 miles around the road-course at Barber Motorsports Park, the IndyCar Grand-Prix of Alabama saw defending series champion, Alex Palou, dominate the weekend by clinching pole-position and ultimately going on to win the race. 

(Image credit to @Indycar on Instagram)

Practice:

The first practice session, which took place on March 27, was topped by Scott McLaughlin driving for Team Penske, setting a lap time of 1:07:7245 around the 2.3 mile circuit. Having previously won the race in 2023 and 2024, McLaughlin appeared comfortable around the track (Kelly, 2026). Kyle Kirkwood came in second place, followed by Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard, David Malukas, and in sixth place Joseph Newgarden with a lap time of 1:07:5600.

The pre-qualifying practice session, which took place on Saturday morning, ended abruptly after Scott McLaughlin experienced a crash. Alex Palou topped the time sheets at the end of that practice session.

Qualifying:

Following a dominant practice session, Alex Palou continued with his dominance streak by earning his first NTT P1 Award of the 2026 season. Palou led the Firestone Fast Six with a lap time of 1:06:2341, achieving pole position ahead of David Malukas (Team Penske), with Graham Rahal starting in third place. Rounding out the top six were Marcus Armstorong, current championship leader Kyle Kirkwood, and Romain Grosjean.

 Race Day: 

Palou’s dominance continued into race day where he led 79 out of the 90 lap caution-free grand-prix, winning with a 13.2775 second gap to his closest rival Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lungaard, who finished in second place. Graham Rahal finished the race in third place, his first podium finish since 2023 (Kelly, 2026). 

While Palou appears to have dominated the race, the number 10 Chip Ganassi Team faced challenges during their middle stint on used black Firestone primary tires. On Lap 52, Palou led the race with a 7.2 second gap to Christian Lundgaard; however, due to the struggles Palou faced on the primary tires, Lundgaard was able to inch closer to the lead. On lap 65, Palou pitted to take another set of used primary tires, giving the lead up to Lundgaard who led for four laps before entering the pits for a slow pitstop, putting him in third place behind Rahal, with Palou back in the lead. 

In the closing stages of the race, Lundgaard fought hard against Rahal for second place, and ultimately was able to complete the overtake, placing him in second place. 

The championship is still led by Kyle Kirkwood, who finished in fifth place; however, Palau’s win has brought him to just 2-points behind Kirkwood in the championship fight (Kelly, 2026).  

Article Written By Israa Ihab