The NTT IndyCar Series tackled the 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park on Friday afternoon, with 25 drivers completing the first practice session of the weekend.
A demanding course set among the beautiful hillsides, Barber is always a favorite of drivers and fans alike.
Firestone brought a new tire compound this weekend, so teams were testing multiple setups attempting to allow their drivers to deliver the grip to the tarmac.
The driver that had the best pace early in the weekend was Scott McLaughlin, who completed a lap of 1:07.384 in his Team Penske Chevy.
McLaughlin has an impressive history at this course, and looks to be off to a good start as he pursues a third Barber victory in four years.
Kyle Kirkwood was fast right off the truck, and looked like he would easily set the fastest time on Friday. A late lap by the Kiwi relegated Kirkwood to second, but he was still very pleased with his pace.
The third fastest time was set by Pato O’Ward, who was just 0.003 seconds away from the second best time.
Christian Lundgaard was not far off his team-mate, completing the fourth best lap in his own Arrow McLaren machine.
He was surprised by the pace he found at the end of the session, with the alternate tires working better than expected.
David Malukas rounded out the top five, just ahead of Josef Newgarden. Team Penske had all three representatives in the top six, and the hoped that would set the tone for Saturday and Sunday as well.
The reigning champion and last year’s Barber winner Alex Palou was seventh quick, never far from people’s minds.
Playing it safe
Although multiple drivers took trips through the runoff areas and kicked up dirt clouds in the process, none suffered damaging crashes.
Drivers were mostly content to stay on the safe side of the limit on Friday in order to not cause issues for the team early in the weekend.
There was one red flag period, however, as Alexander Rossi stopped on course early in the session with fuel pressure issues.
After being towed back to the pits and then sitting for five minutes as a penalty for creating a stoppage, the team was able to fix the issue and send him back on course.
Rossi ended the day in 16th, two positions ahead of his team-mate Christian Rasmussen.
The three rookies were all grouped together near the back of the field, with Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger, and Mick Schumacher filling the 21st, 2nd, and 23rd positions on the timesheets respectively.
There is a second practice session scheduled for Saturday morning, followed by qualifying a short time later.
Cooler and drier weather will move into the area before then, however, which could shake up the order as teams look to adapt to the changes.
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