Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports David Malukas driver the No.18 Honda returns to Barber Motorsports this weekend for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The circuit in Birmingham, Alabama was the scene of his very NTT IndyCar Series test with Dale Coyne Racing and looking ahead to the race he says:
“Other than Road America, which is like my home race, I think Barber is the race weekend I’m looking forward to the most and that I’m most excited about. Mainly because that’s where I tested with Dale Coyne Racing for the first time, and it was my first ever test in an Indy car. I did my first two laps there and I was just screaming the whole time with excitement because I finally was able to feel the speed of an Indy car. I’m also excited because when we were there we had a really good test. I’ve also done well at Barber in Indy Lights and Indy Pro and I’ve always enjoyed the track so much. Plus, I know that we have a very good car for Barber, so that’s encouraging. I think we have a very good chance of picking up our best result so far. I can’t wait to get there and see how it goes. The hopes and dreams are high for this weekend!”
Takuma Sato in the No.51 Nurtec Dale Coyne Honda with RWR has scored three top-ten finishes in his last four outings at Barber Motorsports Park including a win from pole here in 2019. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner said:
“Barber Motorsports Park has a fantastic facility and it’s truly a great venue. The museum is amazing. It has some unbelievably rare and stunning collections of cars and motorcycles from all over the world. It’s simply impressive. It’s a must-see venue and it’s a great place to be for enthusiastic fans. The track is just as sweet too! Continuously sweeping high speed corners gives us a good but tough time and some of the elevation change makes it even more challenging. Since most of the track flows into each corner, it’s quite difficult to overtake but it’s not impossible. As I have a special memory at this place, I always enjoy racing at Barber. Also, the team had a good test there with David (Malukas) in the fall so that was very encouraging. It will be my first time driving the #51 Nurtec ODT car on the road course so I’m very much looking forward to this weekend.”