MCLAUGHLIN AND PALOU LEAD INTERRUPTED PRACTICE SESSIONS AT BARBER
The first practice session for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park was led by Scott McLaughlin, who continued his strong form at the start of race weekends in the 2026 season. The session began with all drivers on track together before being split into two smaller groups to test the softer tire compound.
McLaughlin set the fastest lap of the day during the second phase, finishing just ahead of Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward, with Christian Lundgaard also showing good pace. David Malukas and Josef Newgarden completed the top six, confirming a strong start for Team Penske.
Speaking after the session, McLaughlin said the team had made good progress and felt confident after the work done during the off-season, although he admitted there is still more to improve. The session itself was mostly clean, with only minor spins, but Alexander Rossi caused a red flag after stopping on track due to a fuel issue.
In the second practice session, held on Saturday morning, Alex Palou set the fastest time. The defending race winner showed strong pace early on, leading a group that included Kirkwood once again, as well as Rinus VeeKay, Romain Grosjean, Marcus Armstrong and Graham Rahal.
However, the session did not run as planned. A heavy crash for McLaughlin at Turn 1 caused significant damage to the barriers, forcing officials to stop the session early. Because of this, the final part of practice was cancelled, meaning teams lost valuable time to prepare before qualifying.
Aside from the crash, the session was relatively calm, with only a few small mistakes from drivers. Even so, the early end to practice leaves some uncertainty heading into qualifying, as teams were not able to complete their full programs.
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