Saturday’s story at Barber Motorsports Park was presented by rookie Romain Grosjean, who humiliated some of the best in the NTT IndyCar Series on the way to seventh place.
Directly behind the 34-year-old Frenchman were Penske team player Josef Newgarden, two-time champion of the series, and Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport, who were also drivers who finished second and third in the standings. of 2020.
Grosjean was two places behind defending championship winner and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon in fifth and CGR’s Marcus Ericsson in sixth, where he spoke where his No. 51 Honda debuted. It was a baffling performance for the former Formula 1 driver that led the modest Dale Coyne Racing organization with Rick Ware Racing to an astonishing result; his partner Ed Jones was 13 years oldth at No. 18 DCR with Vasser Sullivan Honda.
“Which day, seventh in the standings, is clearly above expectations,” Grosjean said. “But being so close to the [Firestone] Fast Six, obviously, really expected us to get in, but it’s still fantastic. “
The feeling of achievement of a driver whose life was threatened late last year in an unforgettable accident and fire was palpable. And while the seventh-place finish won’t guarantee a big 90-lap race on Sunday, Grosjean was delighted to unleash the brute speed after spending his final years in F1 mired in disappointing machinery.
“Dale Coyne Racing with the RWR team really helped me understand the qualifying tires,” he said. “We have done a very good job with the configuration and I think we know where to look to go faster, which is very positive. We’ll enjoy it today, but focus on tomorrow. We have 90 laps of racing to do, I have to learn tire degradation, fuel saving, refueling, pit stops, how an IndyCar race goes. So, there is still a lot to learn tomorrow, but I am very happy today ”.