Everything to Know For INDYCAR's Trip to Eclectic Barber Track

Barber Motorsports Park (Leeds, Ala.) — They say a picture is worth a thousand words. At Barber Motorsports Park, a picture is worth a thousand double-takes. From a big spider statue in one turn to a huge figurine of a lady’s head in a lake to a mannequin hanging from one of the bridges, this 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course is picturesque and eclectic like no other. Drivers will try not to pay attention to the artwork around the track. Well, that's unless the mannequin Georgina falls and gets clipped by one of the cars like it did two years ago. They will likely pay most attention to Alex Palou, who led 81 of the 90 laps last year. The Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix is part of a FOX-FS1 doubleheader of racing with coverage of Barber beginning at 1 p.m. ET on FOX and then the NASCAR race at Martinsville set for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Here’s what to know about this race weekend at Barber: Is Alex Palou the points leader? No. No he is not for the second race in a row. Kyle Kirkwood, for the first time in his five seasons in the series, leads the standings. Yes, it is only after three races of an 18-race schedule, but he is the leader. "Hopefully it's not just for one weekend," Kirkwood told me and other reporters Friday morning. "It’s a good feeling to be the points leader for the first time ever in an INDYCAR championship. I haven't led a points championship since Indy Lights in 2021 so it's a pretty big deal. "It's a fun time to be alive in INDYCAR racing. Given that, we're three races in. It's not really a big focus right now, but it is a nice feather in my cap to say I had led an INDYCAR championship. And hopefully that trend does continue." Prior to coming over to the media, Palou talked to Kirkwood. He said they weren’t talking about points. They were talking about the IMSA race at Sebring last weekend. "It’s rough," the three-time defending series champion Palou sarcastically told me and other reporters Friday morning about not being the points leader. "It’s tough." [INDYCAR INSIGHTS: Rotating Points Leaders Means More INDYCAR Parity] Can Palou lead 81 laps again? He can. But much like the way he views his overall dominance from last year, he views a repeat performance as tough. "Last year was great for the 10 car [of me]," Palou said. "Who knows [if it will be the same]. We will try. I think it changes every year. Two years ago, we're not like that. Then last year we were. So hopefully [we are]. "It's a place I love. I'm excited to be back on a road course. Finally, first one of 2026." Can Andretti Have Clean Pit Stops? Andretti Global teams had a rough day on pit road at Arlington. The organization did not make changes for Barber. "Pit stops are not my job, so I just drive the car, hit the marks, and that's it," Kirkwood said. "On our car, we were having an issue with the right rear, and we know exactly what was happening. "We’ve been really good at pit stops at the beginning of the year. Across the board, we're all faster than we have been. But we just need the consistency now and to tie it all together." Kirkwood doesn’t get into suggesting what they can do better. He just tries to keep his crew motivated. "When I saw our rear right guy, Adam [Martin] after the race, I just was like: Listen, dude, you've been great all season, yes, there's a couple of hiccups this weekend, but we know how good you are. Don't be too hard on yourself. We know we're going to rebound here at Barber, and everything's going to be fine," Kirkwood said. Who Might Surprise Fans? Nolan Siegel started sixth and finished ninth at Barber last year. The Arrow McLaren driver could really use that type of day as he has had finishes of 20th, 20th and 24th this year. "It's interesting and almost more frustrating in a way because I actually feel like this year has felt much better than the majority of the races last year," Siegel told me and other reporters Friday morning. "I feel like the team has worked well together. I feel like the execution has actually been quite good, and the results have been just really poor. We have not matched kind of the way that I felt. It’s exciting to come here where we know we'll be strong and just try to kind of get the results going and get some momentum building." [INSIDE THE GARAGE: How Bad do Drivers Want to Beat Former Teammates?] How Is Mick Schumacher Doing? Former F1 driver Mick Schumacher sits last in the standings but he’s optimistic. He never got a chance to race at St. Pete after getting taken out on a first-lap crash. Phoenix was his first oval. And then he had a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact at Arlington. "Overall, I think that the results don't really speak for the performance that we've shown," Schumacher told me and other reporters Friday morning. Was There A Penalty From Arlington? Yes, INDYCAR explained on Wednesday afternoon that Kyffin Simpson would be penalized to the tail end of the lead lap for unavoidable contact on the restart before the one-lap dash to the finish March 15 at Arlington. Simpson finished 19th, as he was able to continue after the wreck, finishing ahead of Felix Rosenqvist. They ended up switching positions with Rosenqvist 19th and Simpson 20th. "I get it," Simpson told me and other reporters on Friday morning. "The incident was my fault. I take responsibility for it, so I understand the penalty." Will The Same Format As Arlington Be Used For Qualifying? No. The final round of the six fastest drivers will be a group session. INDYCAR experimented at Arlington by sending them out one at a time for one lap. The sanctioning body is still evaluating whether to use that format again. The issue at Arlington was because they went from slowest to fastest in the final round. The sixth-fastest driver from the previous round got to go out first and had more heat in his tires. Do they give an extra set of tires for use in the final round if they go single-car? Is it that big a benefit? The biggest benefit is that those drivers and teams get the attention for a couple of minutes with no other cars on the track. "[Those cars] should get exposure for that. ... People talking about them, it creates this excitement, Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin told me and other reporters Friday morning. Are The Tire Rules The Same As Arlington? No. There are different tire-use rules on permanent road courses than on street courses. The rule for street courses is that teams must use at least two sets of soft tires (used or new) and at least one set of primary tires (used or new) during the race. The rule for road courses is that teams must use at least one set of new soft tires and at least one set of primary tires (used or new) during the race. What Else Should Fans Watch For? There will be tributes throughout the weekend to track founder George Barber, who died in February. He was 85. His passionate advocacy for INDYCAR and motorsports is seen throughout the course, which in some ways is one big tribute to him and his vision.