IndyCar Series at Barber in Alabama: Today's schedule, start time, starting grid, expert prediction

[ASFN Admin]

The IndyCar Series continues May 4 with a 90-lap race on the 16-turn, 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park road course featuring 80 feet of elevation change.

• For starters: Alex Palou won the pole for the race, and Scott McLaughlin joins him on the front row.
• Thirsty 3: Scott McLaughlin, who drives the No. 3 car, has won the past two races in Alabama, while Team Penske teammate Will Power finished 3rd (2023) and 2nd ('24). Also, in last year's race, a mannequin fell onto the track. Really.
• Push-to-pass: Drivers will have 200 seconds of push-to-pass, enabled in 20-second increments.
• Tire allotment: Cars get five sets of primary hard tires and five sets of alternate soft tires for the weekend. Rookie drivers are allowed one more set of primary tires in the first practice session. Cars must use at least one set of new alternate tires for at least two laps during the race.
• 2025 season update: Alex Palou maintains a commanding points lead through three races with wins at St. Petersburg and Thermal, but Kyle Kirkwood won the most recent race at Long Beach.

Nathan Brown is your best IndyCar follow, and sign up for IndyStar's motor sports newsletter.

IndyCar starting grid; starting lineup at Barber in Alabama​

Row 1

1. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi

2. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

Row 2

3. Colton Herta, Andretti Global

4. Will Power, Team Penske

Row 3

5. Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne

6. Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren

Row 4

7. Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren

8. Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren

Row 5

9. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske

10. Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi

Row 6

11. Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank

12. Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 7

13. Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt

14. Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank

Row 8

15. Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter

16. Callum Ilott, Prema

Row 9

17. Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter

18. Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global

Row 10

19. Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger

20. David Malukas, A.J. Foyt

Row 11

21. Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

22. Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger

Row 12

23. Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global

24. Robert Shwartzman, Prema

Row 13

25. Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne

26. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi

Row 14

27. Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

'Those guys are crazy': Formula 1 points leader respects IndyCar, but Indy 500 not for him

Going green: Why has IndyCar had 1 caution? Drivers weigh in

IndyCar at Barber expert picks, predictions​

From Nathan Brown, IndyStar

Race winner: Six pole position winners have won the 14 IndyCar stops at Barber Motorsports Park, and 11 winners have started on the first two rows). Expect Christian Lundgaard’s Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward to start toward the front, too (O’Ward has made the Fast Six the last four years at Barber). Other teams will have a tough time working around them. The 1-2 finish Arrow McLaren personnel dreamed of at Thermal comes through at Barber.

Something you might not expect: Felix Rosenqvist logs his first podium finish since joining Meyer Shank Racing. This isn’t entirely unexpected – the Swedish driver has snagged top-5 finishes each of the last two races and four overall with the team – but it will mark MSR’s first podium in nearly three years (Simon Pagenaud, 2022 IMS road course), coming at a track Rosenqvist finished 4th at a year ago.

IndyCar Series schedule at Barber​

(All times ET; all IndyCar sessions are on IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio and Sirius XM Channel 218)

IndyCar at Barber schedule today, May 4​

10 a.m.: IndyCar Warmup, FS1

1:30 p.m.: IndyCar race, Fox

What channel is IndyCar race at Barber on today?​

TV: Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, May 4, 2025, on Fox. Green flag is scheduled for 1:47 p.m. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.

How can I stream the IndyCar race at Barber today, May 4?​

FoxSports.com, Fox Sports app.

Watch free with a Fubo trial

How can I listen to IndyCar race at Barber today, May 4?​

IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race)

2025 IndyCar Series schedule​

The 2025 IndyCar Series schedule includes 17 races, all televised on Fox. (Times are ET; %-downtown street course, &-road course, *-oval)

March 2, St. Petersburg, Florida % (Winner: Alex Palou)

March 23, Thermal, California & (Winner: Alex Palou)

April 13, Long Beach, California % (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood)

May 4, Birmingham, Alabama &, 1:47 p.m.

May 10, Indianapolis &, 4:30 p.m.

May 25, Indianapolis 500 *, 12:45 p.m.

June 1, Detroit %, 12:30 p.m.

June 15, St. Louis *, 3 p.m.

June 22, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin &, 2:30 p.m.

July 6, Lexington, Ohio &, 2 p.m.

July 12, Newton, Iowa *, 5 p.m.

July 13, Newton, Iowa *, 2 p.m.

July 20, Toronto %, 2 p.m.

July 27, Monterey, California &, 3 p.m.

Aug. 10, Portland &, 3 p.m.

Aug. 24, Milwaukee *, 2 p.m.

Aug. 31, Nashville *, 2:30 p.m.

Also on track today: Here are the key differences between F1 and IndyCar in 2025

IndyCar drivers for 2025​

(Team and drivers; *-Indianapolis 500 only)

• A.J. Foyt: Santino Ferrucci, David Malukas
• Andretti Global: Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson, Marco Andretti*
• Arrow McLaren: Pato O'Ward, Nolan Siegel, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Larson* (with Rick Hendrick)
• Chip Ganassi: Kyffin Simpson, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou
• Dale Coyne: Jacob Abel, Rinus VeeKay
• Dreyer & Reinbold: Ryan Hunter-Reay*, Jack Harvey*
• Ed Carpenter: Alexander Rossi, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter*
• Juncos Hollinger: Conor Daly, Sting Ray Robb
• Meyer Shank: Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong, Helio Castroneves*
• Prema: Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman, Romain Grosjean (reserve)
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan: Graham Rahal, Louis Foster, Devlin DeFrancesco, Takuma Sato* Toby Sowery (reserve)
• Team Penske: Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power

IndyCar Series 2025 points championship points​

(Through three of 17 races)

1. Alex Palou, 142 points
2. Kyle Kirkwood, 108
3. Christian Lundgaard, 96
4. Felix Rosenqvist, 88
5. Scott Dixon, 86
6. Pato O'Ward, 80
7. Colton Herta, 73
8. Scott McLaughlin, 69
9. Will Power, 63
10. Josef Newgarden, 58
11. Alexander Rossi, 58
12. Marcus Ericsson, 55
13. Santino Ferrucci, 51
14. Marcus Armstrong, 50
15. Kyffin Simpson, 48
16. Rinus Veekay, 46
17. Graham Rahal, 45
18. David Malukas, 42
19. Christian Rasmussen, 40
20. Sting Ray Robb, 39
21. Conor Daly, 32
22. Robert Shwartzman, 30
23. Nolan Siegel, 26
24. Louis Foster, 25
25. Callum Ilott, 25
26. Devlin DeFrancesco, 24
27. Jacob Abel, 17

IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year points​

1. Robert Schwartzman, 30 points
2. Louis Foster, 25
3. Jacob Abel, 17

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar Series at Barber schedule, start time, starting grid, expert pick

Continue reading...