Old Glory: American drivers score a 1-2 in IndyCar race at Barber

LEEDS, Alabama – Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal gave the Verizon IndyCar Series a Red-White-and-Blue celebration in Victory Lane after the two American drivers swept the top two positions in Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Newgarden, a 24-year-old driver from Hendersonville, Tennessee, drove to his first career IndyCar win while Rahal, a 26 year-old racer from Columbus, Ohio finished second.

At one time IndyCar racing was as American as motorsports could be, with big-name drivers from all over the United States competing. Legends such as A.J. Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser, Michael Andretti, Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal and Tom Sneva all came from the USA. But over the past 30 years, the sport has become increasingly dominated by drivers from around the world such as former racing great Dario Franchitti of Scotland, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves of Brazil and three-time IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon of New Zealand.

Will Power, the defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion, is from Australia.

American drivers such as defending Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay have won races but - for racers from the United States to take first and second in a race - has became a rarity. It happened just twice last season with Hunter-Reay defeating Marco Andretti at Barber and Hunter-Reay-defeating Newgarden at Iowa.

The Verizon IndyCar Series has found a true home deep in America’s South at Barber Motorsports Park – a beautiful road course located just outside Alabama’s largest city of Birmingham. The Sixth Honda Grand Prix of Alabama drew a huge crowd to Barber Motorsports Park as spectators sat on the tree-lined hillsides to witness the best IndyCar Series race of the season – one that featured 10 lead changes among eight drivers and was slowed just two times for only nine laps.

Newgarden, who grew up three hours up the road in Hendersonville, Tennessee, had the best car in the race leading three times for 46 laps and made his big move at the start of the race, passing Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud for third place entering the first turn of the first lap. He picked off Power by the end of that first lap to take over second place and chase pole-winner Castroneves.

Once Newgarden was in the lead, the rest of the field was chasing him. Rahal had the fastest car at the end of the race but finished 2.2061 seconds behind the popular first-time IndyCar winner.

“I thought Graham did a great job,” Newgarden said. “Graham obviously just had a storming last stint to get up in front of Scott Dixon. I think having successful Americans in this series is great. I don't know if that's what you have to have. The IndyCar Series is all about diversity and bringing the best of the world to race in a great North American championship.

“I don't know if it's necessary that you have to have an American win. I think it's just nice. Certainly people here in Birmingham thought it was cool maybe a Nashville guy won the race. That's kind of cool.

“I don't think it's necessary. I think it just adds to the cool factor of IndyCar.”

Bobby Rahal won 25 races in his IndyCar career including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. Although it’s not necessary for a driver form the United States to win in IndyCar it certainly adds some impact to a series that lags far behind NASCAR in terms of acceptance in the United States.

“I think it’s great for IndyCar,” Rahal said. “We have other Americans like Ryan Hunter-Reay. We have a lot of good guys in this series – good American guys – and I think you are going to see a lot more of these guys win this year.”

When Graham Rahal drove to victory in his first IndyCar race at St. Petersburg in 2008 he became the youngest driver in history to win in the series, as he was just a few weeks past his 19th birthday. Seven long years later, Rahal continues to search for that second career win.

“I’m going to win another race one of these decades,” Rahal said as he sat on pit wall. “It feels great. The guys have done a great job putting us back in this position. I think we are breaking through here. I feel really good about it. I wish we could have won today. It was a good drive. I passed a lot of guys and drove my heart out. I’m going to sleep well, tonight.

“That’s as good as it gets. I haven’t been in a race that good in a long time.”

Young Rahal is engaged to an American racing star, drag racing’s Courtney Force. But Rahal wants to have a chance to celebrate his own victory with her.

“It's a track I love,” Rahal said of Barber. “I’ve always had a lot of fun running around this place. It's very physical; it's very demanding. It's a place that to go fast you got to drive it on the ragged edge. I think that's a lot of fun.

“We've had some good years here and some bad ones. This will be my best memory, clearly, but 2012, my last year with Ganassi, was a really good run as well. I don't know why. I just really enjoy this one.

(From left) Ashley Welch (Newgarden's girlfriend), Tina Newgarden (mother) and Joey Newgarden (father) celebrate as Josef Newgarden scores his first career IndyCar victory.

“I think the tire degradation here is always worse. I remember when we first came here and tested, everybody was like, ‘Oh, man, we're not going to pass, it's going to be terrible.’ It's probably one of the most entertaining races of the year every single year. It's a lot of fun.”

Now the fun moves on to the biggest thrill show on earth, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for the “Month of May” culminating with the 99th Indianapolis 500 on May 24. Opening Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is Sunday, May 3 and that is the first day teams will test the oval Aero Kits at the Speedway. Activity resumes on Thursday, May 7 with practice for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis – a road course race on Saturday, May 9.

Newgarden’s team owner is Ed Carpenter, who has won the pole for the Indy 500 the past two years.

“Man, I'm excited about Indy specifically because of Ed,” Newgarden said. “He's so cool. I love Ed. We're great friends. We spend a lot of time together. He's just been really good to me as a young driver. I'm excited to work with him because he's so good at what he does on the oval. He has such a great craft. I've not even been exposed to it up close and personal. I've seen it from an outside view. Excited to see that closely, learn from it and match him and better him.

“That's what's going to be fun. We're going to be teammates working together trying to get the most, but we're going to be looking to beat each other, too. On Pole Day, he's obviously the King right now setting back-to-back poles. I'm looking to beat him. We're going to have a good time as a group trying not only to beat each other but the whole field at IndyCar. Ultimately we want to win the Indianapolis 500. It's not just about speed, but for this team it's about winning the Indy 500.

“There's no better group than I'd want to be with than this one. I really feel confident in their abilities and I think we'll have a great shot at doing well at that event.”

Even with American drivers sweeping the top-two positions in a race it’s not like a “Magic Wand” that will return IndyCar to past glory, but it’s days like Sunday at Barber that give this sport a few small steps in a positive direction.

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