Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Adrian Newey could be on the move from Red Bull. Ferrari will be sporting blue. Formula One has delayed giving points out down to 12th. There were a handful of missing competitors due to injury in a variety of series. Aero blocking was the key to victory in Dover. Formula E has had seven different winners from eight races. There was some racing in Germany. I missed practically all the two-wheel action from this weekend. Romain Grosjean got yelled at for not wearing a helmet. Tristan Vautier was in the paddock. A technical infraction dominated IndyCar's week. But, this is a chance to speak about where the race was, because it does not receive enough recognition.
Doing Barber a Favor
If you aren’t running to purchase tickets for next year’s IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park, you should because it is undoubtedly one of the finest motorsports venues in the United States.
Barber had been a track I wanted to visit for well over a decade, and things aligned for this weekend to be open for a trip to Birmingham. It is a place that truly needs three days to appreciate.
For starters, the grounds are immaculate. I have never been to Augusta National Golf Club, and I likely never will, but Barber Motorsports Park is a picturesque parcel of land that has race cars zooming over its undulating hills and allows spectators a much more relaxed dress code.
Come for the racetrack but stay for the park feel. Bring your own chair or blanket and lounge on the hillside, absorbing some sun and having a refreshing beverage. Once you have had enough sun, there is plenty of shade in the trees on the hillside.
Don’t worry. There are plenty of locations to view from. If you want the most, the backside of the track covers four straightaways and the action-packed turn five. If you want an amphitheater feel and see a few hair-raising moments, the turns one, two and three section is a good place. Even there you have options. Sit high to see it all or get low and watch the cars slam through turn one and brake into turn two before they fall out of sight going into turn three. Or walk around and downhill to see the cars fall through turn three and then ascend over turn four.
There is also the turns 13, 14 and 15 section, the final set of corners, a smaller version of the opening corners but still a good view.
You could explore on your own. Turns 11 and 12 do not have their own dedicated section but there are more trees to hung under and watch in the shade. You can even find a small patch and watch the cars go up through turn 13 before swinging through turn 14. From that location you can also see the cars brake into turn five dead ahead.
The bridges were only accessible to museum members on race day, but they were open to everyone on Friday and Saturday. It is arguably the best place to watch, worth much more than the $22 price of a museum tickets, but let’s not tell them that. Besides seeing the cars go through turns seven and eight, you can see the cars fully go through turns one, four, five and six, but it is more than the views of the track. With the bridges comes a path along the pond with the straightaway from turn eight to nine in full view. All of this in the comfort of the shade.
Mixed in all of this is an assortment of statues that only add to the viewing pleasure along with benches to rest your legs.
Somehow I have gone this far without mentioning the museum, a phenomenal collection of motorcycles that span back to the end of the 19th century with a litter of Lotus race cars and special displays honoring John Surtees and Dan Gurney. The museum in its own right deserves at least two hours. My suggestion would be to arrive first thing on Friday or Saturday and stroll the five floors plus basement and time it so once you have seen it all inside, you can head out to the bridges to watch a practice.
It really is a park. If you aren’t a motorsports fan, it is a good place to hike around. Maybe it is the statues, perhaps it is the flowers, or it could be a good chance just to sunbathe in the grass, Barber provides something few racetracks can. If Indianapolis wasn’t Indianapolis, I would say it is the best venue on the IndyCar schedule. In terms of park feel, Road America is the only one I imagine being close. A trip to Wisconsin must be in order for a comparison. Laguna Seca is gorgeous, and the weather usually complies, but the dryness takes cannot match the lush location off exit 140 near Leeds, Alabama.
Even better for IndyCar, the race attracts spectators. Reports are 86,000 attendees showed up over the three days. You may note that is over 100,000 fewer than Long Beach got over the weekend prior, but Barber was full. I don’t know the exact breakdown, but let’s say 50,000 showed up on race day, that is more than most Major League Baseball games this past weekend. Unless it is Seattle or Atlanta, no Major League Soccer game would be drawing that. As much as we want mammoth crowds for IndyCar, we must acknowledge what is realistic, what is a good showing and if Barber Motorsports Park can make a weekend with at least 80,000 spectators into a financial success that has kept IndyCar there for 14 years with no signs of the series leaving, we should be happy.
Walking the grounds on Saturday during practice, I thought this should be the venue for the finale. It has a great crowd, great atmosphere, people are happy to be there, and the place is stunning. It is worthy of a finale and would provide IndyCar with the finale it has not had in a long time. Of course, I don’t want Barber to move from April. Move this race to football season in September and you kill it. But it goes to show IndyCar has big events.
Through three races, you cannot knock any of St. Petersburg, Long Beach or Barber for not drawing people. They all have, and the timing goes with it. These races are in their sweet spots and are allowed to flourish. There will be more races with great crowds to come, Road America, Iowa, Mid-Ohio will be highlights of the summer. The events are there for IndyCar. It is now a matter of building one at the end of the year that matches the strong ones in the opening half of the season and take root as the championship-deciding location.
I don’t know if I will ever making it back to Barber. I hope I will, but you should go, and don’t wait. It doesn’t have to be IndyCar. MotoAmerica races there in three weeks. GT World Challenge America is there September 6-8. If you want to see IndyCar, go in 2025. You will fall in love and think you have found your yearly spring getaway.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Scott McLaughlin, but did you know...
Jacob Abel won the Indy Lights race from Barber.
Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's Spanish Grand Prix. Jorge Martìn won the sprint race. Fermín Aldeguer won the Moto2 race. Off the back of three consecutive runner-up finishes, American Joe Roberts leads the Moto2 championship. Collin Veijer won the Moto3 race.
Mitch Evans won the Monaco ePrix.
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup race from Dover, his third victory of the season. Ryan Truex won the Grand National Series race.
Jack Aitken and Luca Engstler split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Oschersleben.
Jett Lawrence won the Supercross race from Philadelphia, his sixth victory of the season. Max Antsie won the 250cc race.
Coming Up This Weekend
Another Miami Formula One race.
NASCAR will be in Kansas.
Super GT has its Golden Week race on Friday from Fuji.
European Le Mans Series holds its second round of the season at Circuit Paul Ricard.
GT World Challenge America is at Sebring.
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup is at Brands Hatch.
It is Supercross' penultimate weekend from Denver.
