IndyCar : 2011 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Will Power wins at Barber
Team Penske's Will Power put together a perfect performance to win the IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, contested on the rolling hills of Barber Motorsports Park, just outside of Birmingham. Power, starting on the pole, lead every lap, with Target Chip Ganassi drivers, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti spending most of their time in second and third positions. The win was the first of 2011 for Power, who won the IZOD IndyCar Series Road Course Championship in 2010.

Clean starts
Concerns that double wide restarts would result in a repeat of the crash fest in St. Petersburg, two weeks ago, were laid to rest. Perhaps because of the decision to extend the acceleration point from 200 feet to 325 feet before the start finish line, drivers were able to cleanly navigate turn one, with only a few bumps and bruised egos. While there wasn't any direct contact between the Ganassi and Penske drivers up front, owner Chip Ganassi did complain that Power was chopping Dixon off on restarts, telling Penske that if it happened again he will have Dixon take Power out. Power, after getting out in front, was using Dixons line to set up for turn one, which he did successfully on every start.  No action was taken by officials.  While turn one was relatively clean for lap one, rookie JR Hildebrand spun and Raphel Mato contacted rookie James Hinchcliffe in later corners.

TK + KV continue to impress
Most of the action on lap one was at the back of the pack, where KV Racing Technology veteren driver Tony Kannan passed 10 cars, moving up from 24th to 14th position in a single lap. Kannan ("TK") would ultimately finish 6th, an impressive showing after a frustrating day of qualifying. Kannan would pull off dynamic moves on most every restart, including getting around both Helio Castroneves and Vitor Meira in one similar move.

Kannans KV Racing teammates did not fair as well.  EJ Viso got caught up in turn 6 contact on lap 41, involving Simona de Silvestro, Viso, and Hinchcliffe. Teammate Takuma Sato finished 16th, falling back 5 positions from his starting spot of 11th. Sato had been moving up, passing Graham Rahal, before touching wheels with Castroneves on lap 26. The resulting spin most likely took a degree of performance out of Sato's car. Castroneves, however, was able to recover, and finished strong in 7th.

Further aches and pains
Team Penske's Ryan Brisco was knocked out of the second race in a row, having contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay on lap 58, near turn 7. While trying to pass on the inside, Hunter-Reay locked up the right front brake and hit the inside curb, causing him to launch straight into Brisco. Hunter-Reay continued on, but was penalized for "avoidable contact." Brisco, who nearly won the 2009 IZOD IndyCar Championship, currently lingers at 23rd in the points standings.

Graham Rahal was also involved in a crash for the second straight race. Rahal was struck when he moved to the inside of rookie JR Hildebrand, who was a lap down. Rahal probably expected him to give room, but Hildebrand didn't seem to see Rahal coming.  Rahal was able to continue, but finished two laps behind the leaders in 18th.

Justin Wilson, driving for Dreyer & Rienbold Racing, started the race with a carbon fiber brace on his left wrist. Wheel to wheel contact at the St. Petersburg race had violently cranked his steering wheel and caused cracked bones in his wrist. The brace didn't make it half way through this weeks race, when it also broke. Wilson threw it out of the car and picked up a new one at the next pit stop. Ultimately, Wilson would retire from the race, following contact with Matos that ripped the rear wing from his car.

Andretti Autosport driver Mike Conway was hit hard on the lap 46 restart by teammate Danica Patrick, causing Conway to climb from the car holding his left leg that he broke in last years Indy 500. Patrick would continue, moving up as high as 3rd when she didn't take new tires on the last regularly scheduled pit stop. However, she rapidly fell back, having to pit and take on new tires, and finished 17th.

Solid performances
Marco Andretti had a solid race, finishing in 4th position, improving five spots after starting 9th. Oriol Servia finished a strong 5th. Simon Pagenaud, the current AMLS Champion, who was racing in his first IZOD IndyCar Series race, impressed with a 8th place finish after starting 23rd. Pagenaud was filling in for the injured Ana Beatriz. Ganassi rookie Charlie Kimble posted a career best 10th place finish. Simona de Silvestro posted another top 10 finish, placing 9th. Sebastien Bourdais started 20th and wrestled a loose race car up to an 11th place finish, showing his championship caliber driving skills.

Top Ten Race Results
1- Will Power
2 - Scott Dixon
3 - Dario Franchitti
4 - Marco Andretti
5 - Oriol Servia
6 - Tony Kannan
7 - Helio Castroneves
8 - Simon Pagenaud (R)
9 - Simona de Silvestro
10 - Charlie Kimball (R)

IZOD IndyCar Series Point Standings
Will Power now leads, 7 ahead of Franchitti. Kannan stays in 3rd. de Silvestro stays in 4th, but now tied with Dixon who moved up 12 positions. Servia moves up to 6th.