IndyCar News: Palou Wins Pole for Children's of Alabama Indy GP

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Álex Palou (pictured) delivered a statement performance on Saturday, March 28, 2026, claiming the pole position for Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. The two-time reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2025 title winner clocked a lap of 1m06.2341s in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, securing his first pole of the young 2026 season and the 13th of his IndyCar career.

The 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course proved once again to be Palou’s playground. He edged out Team Penske’s David Malukas by just 0.1137 seconds in a tightly contested Firestone Fast Six, where the top spot changed hands multiple times in the final minutes. Malukas, making his mark early in his Penske tenure, posted a strong 1m06.3478s to line up second on the grid.

David Malukas Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal will start third after a solid 1m06.5181s, while Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong slotted into fourth with a 1m06.5312s. Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood—currently leading the championship standings—qualified fifth at 1m06.8326s, and Dale Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean rounded out the front row in sixth with a 1m06.8363s.

3rd quick – Graham Rahal Photo courtesy of Penske Entertainment/Joe Skibinski

Drama in Qualifying: Power’s Costly Crash

Not all stories from the session were positive. Andretti Global’s Will Power encountered brake issues during the first segment of qualifying and slammed into the tire barrier at Turn 5. The Australian will now start 23rd on the grid, facing an uphill battle from the back of the 25-car field tomorrow.

Will Power does not look happy at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Palou’s lap time not only gave him the NTT P1 Award but also highlighted his continued excellence on permanent road courses—venues where he has historically dominated. The Spaniard enters the weekend as one of the championship’s hottest drivers, sitting just 26 points behind current points leader Kyle Kirkwood after three races. With one win and two top-five finishes already in 2026, a strong result here could ignite his bid for a fifth series title (and fourth in five years).

What It Means for Sunday’s 90-Lap Race

Palou heads into the 207-mile contest as the clear favorite on a track where he has previously won by a commanding 16-second margin. Starting from pole on a permanent road course plays perfectly into the strengths of the Ganassi driver, who has now won 15 of his 20 career IndyCar victories on such circuits.

“Honestly, one of the best cars I’ve driven,” Palou said. “This morning (in practice) I already felt the car was really, really good, really well balanced. We just wanted to start up front, capitalize on a really good car we had today, and see for tomorrow. Really happy to get our first pole this year.”

Alex Palou Photo courtesy of Penske Entertainment/Joe Skibinski

Yet the field is stacked with contenders. Malukas and Rahal showed impressive pace, while Kirkwood—the current points leader—and O’Ward (12th) will be looking to charge forward. Power’s recovery drive from near the rear will add extra intrigue, as the two-time champion hates starting anywhere but the front.

With the Alabama sun expected to shine and a packed house of fans at the iconic Barber facility, Sunday’s race (1:00 p.m. ET on FOX) promises high-stakes action from the drop of the green flag. Palou has the pole and the pedigree—now it’s time to see if he can convert it into another dominant victory on one of his favorite tracks.

Stay tuned to AutoRacing1.com for full race coverage, results, and post-race analysis from the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix.

IndyCar Qualifying Results

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Engine	Time	Behind	Gap	Speed
1	10	Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	1m06.2341s	0.0000s	0.0000s	125.011
2	12	David Malukas	Team Penske	Chevy	1m06.3478s	0.1137s	0.1137s	124.797
3	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	1m06.5181s	0.2840s	0.1703s	124.477
4	66	Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda	1m06.5312s	0.2971s	0.0131s	124.453
5	27	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda	1m06.8326s	0.5985s	0.3014s	123.892
6	18	Romain Grosjean	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	1m06.8363s	0.6022s	0.0037s	123.885
Firestone Fast Six Cutoff
7	14	Santino Ferrucci	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevy	1m06.3769s	0.3380s	0.0117s	124.742
8	28	Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global	Honda	1m06.3900s	0.3511s	0.0131s	124.718
9	2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevy	1m06.4256s	0.3867s	0.0356s	124.651
10	7	Christian Lundgaard	Arrow McLaren	Chevy	1m06.5102s	0.4713s	0.0846s	124.492
11	20	Alexander Rossi	ECR	Chevy	1m06.6873s	0.6484s	0.1771s	124.162
12	5	Pato O’Ward	Arrow McLaren	Chevy	1m06.8186s	0.7797s	0.1313s	123.918
Top-12 Round Cutoff
13	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	1m06.5267s	0.4235s	0.0628s	124.461
14	3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevy	1m06.7313s	0.5183s	0.0142s	124.080
15	6	Nolan Siegel	Arrow McLaren	Chevy	1m06.5881s	0.4849s	0.0614s	124.347
16	76	Rinus VeeKay	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevy	1m06.7411s	0.5281s	0.0098s	124.061
17	21	Christian Rasmussen	ECR	Chevy	1m06.7124s	0.6092s	0.1243s	124.115
18	60	Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda	1m06.8104s	0.5974s	0.0693s	123.933
19	8	Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	1m06.7938s	0.6906s	0.0814s	123.964
20	47	Mick Schumacher	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	1m06.8140s	0.6010s	0.0036s	123.926
21	4	Caio Collet	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevy	1m06.8444s	0.7412s	0.0506s	123.870
22	45	Louis Foster	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	1m06.9445s	0.7315s	0.1305s	123.685
23	26	Will Power	Andretti Global	Honda	1m09.9808s	3.8776s	3.1364s	118.318
24	19	Dennis Hauger	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	1m07.3414s	1.1284s	0.3969s	122.956
25	77	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevy	1m07.6109s	1.3979s	0.2695s	122.465

PENALTY – Loss of 2 Fast Laps and not Advance, Car 26 – QUALS – Causing a Red Flag (8.3.6). Loss of 2 Fast Laps and not Advance, Car 77 – Qualifying Interference – Segment 1/2 (8.3.7.1).

Indy NXT Race 1: Johnson Dodges Leaders’ Mayhem To Win at Barber

Nikita Johnson had a hunch opportunity might present itself late in the first race of the Grand Prix of Alabama doubleheader, and his accurate instincts helped him earn a dramatic victory Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.

Johnson earned his second victory of the season and took the lead in the INDYCAR development series in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry after race leader and pole sitter Alessandro de Tullio and second-place Max Taylor tangled and spun with eight laps remaining in the 35-lap race.

SEE: Race Results

“I kind of expected it,” Johnson said of the incident that vaulted him to the lead. “I knew who was up front; I know those two guys battle really hard. I’ve raced them forever, so I knew something was going to happen.”

Johnson, 17, won by 0.7687 of a second over fellow series rookie Enzo Fittipaldi in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car. Fittipaldi’s teammate Tymek Kucharczyk finished third in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports machine.

Max Garcia placed fourth in the No. 12 ABEL Motorsports car, as series rookies took the top four spots at the finish. Myles Rowe rounded out the top five in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine as the top veteran finisher.

Johnson, who won the season opener in his native St. Petersburg, Fla., leads second-place Kucharczyk by 28 points in the standings. The second race of the weekend, a 30-lap event, is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

De Tullio pulled away from pole at the start and maintained a steady gap of around seven- to eight-tenths of a second on Taylor, who started second. Then that pair started to encounter Chip Ganassi Racing teammates James Roe and Carson Etter, who were dueling for position at the tail end of the lead lap with less than 10 laps to go on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course.

That joust ahead of him slowed de Tullio on Lap 27, allowing Taylor to close quickly. De Tullio dove inside in Turn 9, with his car slowing when his right-side wheels touched the dirt inside the racing surface, with Roe and Etter right ahead of him.

Taylor pounced, taking the lead with an outside move and lapping Etter. Then de Tullio fought back on the same lap, regaining the lead in Turn 12 through the esses section of the circuit.

The race’s biggest flashpoint occurred just four turns later. Taylor looked inside de Tullio in Turn 16, but his left front wheel touched the right rear wheel of de Tullio. Both drivers spun, and Johnson – who trailed de Tullio by 1.8 seconds the previous time past the flag stand – squeezed through to take a lead he would not relinquish.

“When I saw those lapped cars, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s about to get messy,’ Johnson said. “So, I just maintained my tires, left them a good gap and made sure I could avoid any trouble.”

De Tullio was beached in the gravel trap, while Taylor drove out of the gravel and continued. De Tullio eventually finished 20th in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry, one lap down. Taylor was penalized for avoidable contact and ended up 19th in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen machine of Andretti Global.

There was one small moment of suspense for Johnson en route to the checkered flag. The incident between de Tullio and Taylor triggered the second and final caution period of the race, bunching the field for a restart on Lap 30.

But Johnson pulled away on the restart and never was threatened to the finish.

The race featured 96 on-track passes, including 83 for position—both track records for INDY NXT competition.