INDYCAR RACE REPORT: Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Race Notes
- Following Max Taylor’s INDY NXT podium finish in INDY NXT this morning, Andretti INDYCAR took the green flag at Barber Motorsports Park for the first road course of the 2026 season.
- The 90-lap race saw all three Andretti cars finish inside the top 12, led by Kyle Kirkwood in fifth, Marcus Ericsson in eighth and Will Power in 12th.
- Today’s result marks the team’s best combined finish at Barber Motorsports Park since 2015.
- Today’s race saw no yellow flags or caution laps.
- After a four-race March stretch, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES now takes a two-week break before heading to the Streets of Long Beach for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17.
Race Results
Will Power
No. 26 TWG AI Honda
P12
| Started | P23 |
| Standings | 13th (77 points) |
- Will Power took the green from 23rd for his 16th start at Barber Motorsports Park this afternoon.
- Despite limited passing opportunities early in the race, the Australian took advantage of the various strategies across the field to work his way up.
- The TWG AI Honda broke into the top 10 by Lap 24 and climbed into the top five before his first pit stop on Lap 26.
- Power ultimately took the checkered in 12th, earning the title of Jostens Biggest Mover of the Race.
“Today was about as good as we could do today. We had very good execution on strategy and a bit of a slow stop at the end. I think we had the potential for 10th, but we got close to our full potential today. The TWG AI Honda was great. Once again, we have the ability to win races for sure. We’ve got a very good team here, so looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 JM Bullion / Gold.com Honda
P5
| Started | P5 |
| Standings | 1st (156 points) |
- Leading the Andretti INDYCAR team to green, Kyle Kirkwood started from a career-best fifth at Barber Motorsports Park and moved up to fourth on the first lap of the race.
- The Florida driver remained in fourth until the JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda was called to the pits for his stop of the day on Lap 19.
- Following the pit stop, Kirkwood lost a few spots, but quickly worked his way back into the top five by Lap 26.
- He moved as high as fourth by Lap 43, and remained inside the top five for the duration of the race to finish fifth.
- Today’s result marks Kirkwood’s best finish at Barber Motorsports Park and his fourth consecutive top-five finish. He continues to lead the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship Standings.
“It was a solid day for us. We had really strong pace, especially on the primary tires, so we’re happy with the performance. It was a physically tough race with no yellows to take a break, but another top five is good for the championship. We’ve been consistent to start the year and we’ll take every top five, podium and win we can get.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Allegra Honda
P9
| Started | P8 |
| Standings | 8th (99 points) |
- Starting today’s race on primary tires, Marcus Ericsson lined up behind teammate Kyle Kirkwood for his seventh start on the Alabama Rollercoaster.
- The Swede moved the Allegra Honda up one position by Lap 3 and stayed inside the top 10 as the opening laps progressed until understeer forced the No. 28 to pit earlier than anticipated on Lap 14.
- Despite the early pit stop shifting strategy, Ericsson remained inside the top 10 through the remainder of the race to finish ninth.
- This marks the Swede’s 63rd top 10 of his career.
“It was a decent day for us in the No. 28 Allegra. The only issue we had was that first stint. We started off with a good start and managed to overtake a car, but then, for some reason, our tires just died on us. And we were on the primaries, so that was really strange. It was looking like we were going to have a good day, and then we had that issue after only 10 laps on the primaries, so we had to change our plan quite a bit for the rest of the race. We had to go to pit lane early, and then it was a bit of a tougher strategy situation for the rest of the race. I think we did a good job of recovering from that and still executed a good race. The car felt really good for the rest of the race. So, it was just a shame about that first stint. We need to understand what went wrong there because it was so different from the other three stints. It’s a bit of a head scratcher, but overall, it’s been a very solid weekend. We’ve been in the top 10 the whole time. We want better results than P9, but if a day like today yields a top-10 result, it means we’re making progress. It’s something to build on. I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Ron Ruzewski
INDYCAR Team Principal
“It was a good day today. All three cars finished in the top 12, and it looked like Kyle and Marcus had decent races. We moved Will up through the field and got the Jostens Biggest Mover Award, so that was promising. I think our road course program has improved from last year, so looking forward to the next permanent road course.”
