AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci in the No.14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet and Sting Ray Robb in the No.41 Pray.com Chevrolet are looking forward to this weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES event, the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix of Alabama.
Barber Motorsports Park, 17-turn circuit that plays host to the race is commonly known as the Augusta of Motorsports.
AJ Foyt Racing asked their drivers about Barber.
Thoughts on Barber Motorsports Park?
SF: “The track is just very unique on its own, super elevated, very blind, very quick, a lot of the big braking zones, which was familiar to me as I was coming back from Europe so I did quite well. And we had a test day there so I could understand the dynamics of the track. Last year we didn’t qualify because we had a mechanical issue. So, that kind of prevented us from doing anything. It’s very difficult to progress in the season now unless you qualify very well.”
You tested at Barber this year, how did it go?
SF: “I want to say Turn 1 — and Turn 2 is quite difficult. Because turn one is completely blind on turn in and it’s very high speed, and then it’s followed up by turn two which is very long pull and it’s very difficult to get the speed right because if you under push, you lose a lot of time. And if you over push, you risk spinning and going off the track. So it’s just a very challenging corner to get the timing right.”
What were the benefits from testing in March?
SF: “The test was very helpful from a procedural standpoint. Because most of the engineering staff is still quite new and we didn’t have much testing before St. Pete, so it was very helpful to kind of get to work through a couple of issues that we saw. Then going from the Barber test into Thermal and then testing at Indy, was helpful because we were able to keep learning. So it was really good to have that succession of tests on the road courses.”
What is your favorite sculpture on the track?
SF: “I’d probably say the hanging girl from the bridge near Turn 9. Once you see it in a race car, you can’t unsee it, it kinda freaks you out.”
Have you been to the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum?
SF: “No, I haven’t been, but I’m going to try and make it over this year though
Your thoughts on Barber Motorsports Park?
SRR: “Barber is one of my favorite tracks, even though it is quite different from any other track we go to. The elevation changes, varying radius corners, and track surface make it a great place to drive. There are some unique corners like the uphill section at Turns 12 and 13, that make the track physically challenging. It is high grip, fast, and hilly.”
Looking ahead to the race this weekend, Sting Ray Robb in the No.41 Pray.com Chevrolet says:
Barber is one of my favorite tracks, even though it is quite different from any other track we go to. The elevation changes, varying radius corners, and track surface make it a great place to drive. There are some unique corners like the uphill section at Turns 12 and 13, that make the track physically challenging. It is high grip, fast, and hilly.”