Alex Palou will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
The winner of last year’s event raced his No. 10 DHL Honda around the 17-turn road course at a brisk pace of 01:06.2341 seconds. Meanwhile, starting second on the grid is Team Penske’s newest addition, David Malukas. He trailed the four-time champion by just over a tenth of a second. The third fastest for the NTT IndyCar Series qualifying session was Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The Columbus, Ohio native will hope to keep his No. 10 Fifth Third Bank Honda in the hunt for a podium on Sunday, which would mark his first top-three result since 2023.
Perhaps most notable during this qualifying session in Birmingham, Alabama was the pace that returning driver Romain Grosjean brought to the table. Returning to the NTT IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing this season, the former Formula 1 competitor was able to drive his No. 18 Honda into the Fast Six for the second time this season to line up sixth for Sunday’s festivities.
INDYCAR qualifying has proven to produce interesting moments so far in 2026. Notably, Andretti Global’s Will Power crushed his No. 26 TWG Honda into the Turn 5 wall following a suspected brake failure. He will start Sunday’s event, broadcasting on FOX at 1:00 p.m. ET in a backup car.
"The brake just went to the floor."
Will Power has been seen and released after his incident in Round 1 of qualifying. pic.twitter.com/btalN4kwGt
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 28, 2026
Official Results:
| Position | Car | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | 01:06.2341 |
| 2 | 12 | David Malukas | Team Penske | 01:06.3478 |
| 3 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 01:06.5181 |
| 4 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | 01:06.5312 |
| 5 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian | 01:06.8326 |
| 6 | 18 | Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing | 01:06.8363 |
| 7 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 01:06.3769 |
| 8 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | 01:06.3900 |
| 9 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 01:06.4256 |
| 10 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | 01:06.5102 |
| 11 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | ECR | 01:06.6873 |
| 12 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren | 01:06.8186 |
| 13 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 01:06.5267 |
| 14 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | 01:06.7313 |
| 15 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | 01:06.5881 |
| 16 | 76 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 01:06.7411 |
| 17 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | ECR | 01:06.7124 |
| 18 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | 01:06.8104 |
| 19 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 01:06.7938 |
| 20 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 01:06.8140 |
| 21 | 4 | Caio Collet | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 01:06.8444 |
| 22 | 45 | Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 01:06.9445 |
| 23 | 26 | Will Power | Andretti Global | 01:09.9808 |
| 24 | 19 | Dennis Hauger | Dale Coyne Racing | 01:07.3414 |
| 25 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 01:07.6109 |
