So, like, you know how there’s this whole IndyCar Series thing happening, right? Well, if you take a peek at the top 10 in the drivers’ championship before the big Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, you’ll notice that Alex Palou is totally killing it. He’s won three times and has a massive 34-point lead over everyone else. But, hey, that’s where the normal stuff ends. The other drivers chasing him are totally different from last year, which makes things kinda interesting.
Last season, it was Colton Herta from Andretti Global who almost caught up to Palou in the final races. But now, Herta is way back in seventh place, 69 points behind the leader. Instead, it’s Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti who’s been doing great recently, winning the last race in Long Beach. And in third place, we have a driver from Arrow McLaren, which is not who you’d expect.
Pato O’Ward, the big face of the series and Arrow McLaren, is in sixth place, 62 points behind Palou. His new teammate Christian Lundgaard is actually leading the team with two podium finishes in a row, and he’s in third place, 46 points behind the Ganassi driver.
In fourth place, we’ve got Felix Rosenqvist from Meyer Shank Racing, who’s 54 points behind Palou. He’s also the second-best driver in the Ganassi crew, thanks to some deal they made in the offseason. And in fifth place, it’s Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, who’s 56 points behind Palou.
So, after O’Ward in sixth and Herta in seventh, the rest of the top 10 is all Team Penske. Scott McLaughlin is in eighth place, Will Power is ninth, and Josef Newgarden is tenth. It’s kinda weird how things have turned out this year, right?
The top three drivers in the championship are all young guns, with an average age of 25.6. And it’s a completely different top five from last year’s championship. Palou is like way ahead, with a full race’s worth of points over anyone from fourth place down.
Now, when it comes to Barber Motorsports Park, it’s been a good track for McLaughlin in the past. He’s won there the last two years, and he’s hoping to keep that streak going to climb out of his 73-point hole in the championship.
I’m not really sure why all this matters, but if Palou has a bad day at Barber, his big lead could totally disappear in a flash. He’s been lucky so far, but you know luck can change. If his rivals can catch up, we might see a repeat of last year where late misfortunes didn’t hurt his title run too much.
McLaughlin thinks catching Palou is possible. He’s all about focusing on what he can control and making things happen. And hey, maybe a bad race is bound to happen at some point, right?
Barber is like the best chance for a normal race this year. St. Petersburg only had one caution at the start, and the rest of the races have been all about tires, tires, and more tires. Let’s hope Barber brings back some good old-fashioned racing without the tire drama.
So, Kirkwood is looking forward to a break from all the tire talk and just wants to see some awesome wheel-to-wheel action on Sunday. He thinks things will be more normal at Barber, with some split strategies and maybe a two- or three-stop race.
Man, this season has been so strange. After Barber, we’ll be a quarter of the way through, and then it’s off to Indianapolis. Who’s gonna be on fire heading into the Speedway, and who’s gonna be struggling to get back in the championship hunt? Can’t wait to find out!
