2013 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
# 2013 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

The 2013 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the second race of the 2013 IndyCar Series season. The race was run on April 7, 2013 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States at Barber Motorsports Park.

## Report

### Background

The first race of the 2013 IndyCar Series season in St. Petersburg, saw James Hinchcliffe earn his first career victory, holding off Hélio Castroneves in the closing laps. Expected championship contenders Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power all experienced trouble during the race, finishing outside the top 15. A. J. Allmendinger made his return to IndyCar for this race, driving for Penske Racing.

### Qualifying

Scott Dixon set a new track record in the first round of qualifying, but it was Ryan Hunter-Reay that would capture the pole in the Firestone Fast 6. While Takuma Sato had originally made the Fast Six, he was penalized for impeding Justin Wilson's qualifying lap, and Tristan Vautier was bumped into the Fast Six after initially missing the cut. Sato would lose his two fastest laps and fall to 12th starting position.

## Classification

### Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Outside | Outside |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 12 | Will Power |
| 2 | 55 | Tristan Vautier (R) | 9 | Scott Dixon |
| 3 | 83 | Charlie Kimball | 3 | Hélio Castroneves |
| 4 | 25 | Marco Andretti | 19 | Justin Wilson |
| 5 | 6 | Sebastián Saavedra | 2 | A. J. Allmendinger |
| 6 | 16 | James Jakes | 14 | Takuma Sato |
| 7 | 77 | Simon Pagenaud | 78 | Simona de Silvestro |
| 8 | 98 | Alex Tagliani | 5 | E. J. Viso |
| 9 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | 22 | Oriol Servià |
| 10 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | 27 | James Hinchcliffe |
| 11 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 67 | Josef Newgarden |
| 12 | 7 | Sébastien Bourdais | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand |
| 13 | 18 | Ana Beatriz | 20 | Ed Carpenter |

### Race results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Retired | Pit Stops | Grid | Laps Led | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 90 | 1:52:04.5450 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 54 |
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | + 0.6363 | 3 | 4 | | 40 |
| 3 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | + 17.6821 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 36 |
| 4 | 83 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | + 20.6160 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 33 |
| 5 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | + 26.6460 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 31 |
| 6 | 77 | Simon Pagenaud | Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports | Honda | 90 | + 27.2995 | 3 | 13 | | 28 |
| 7 | 25 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 90 | + 27.7175 | 3 | 7 | | 26 |
| 8 | 19 | Justin Wilson | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 90 | + 30.5504 | 3 | 8 | | 24 |
| 9 | 67 | Josef Newgarden | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing | Honda | 90 | + 41.1029 | 3 | 22 | | 22 |
| 10 | 55 | Tristan Vautier | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Honda | 90 | + 50.6449 | 3 | 3 | | 20 |
| 11 | 98 | Alex Tagliani | Barracuda Racing | Honda | 90 | + 58.0458 | 3 | 15 | | 19 |
| 12 | 5 | E. J. Viso | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:01.4334 | 3 | 16 | | 18 |
| 13 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:01.6834 | 3 | 19 | | 17 |
| 14 | 14 | Takuma Sato | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Honda | 90 | + 1:03.1151 | 3 | 12 | | 16 |
| 15 | 22 | Oriol Servià | Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:03.1495 | 4 | 18 | | 15 |
| 16 | 7 | Sebastian Bourdais | Dragon Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:07.6880 | 3 | 23 | | 14 |
| 17 | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand | Panther Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:09.7447 | 3 | 18 | | 13 |
| 18 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:09.9130 | 3 | 14 | | 12 |
| 19 | 2 | A. J. Allmendinger | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:11.0558 | 3 | 10 | | 11 |
| 20 | 6 | Sebastián Saavedra | Dragon Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | + 1:11.6523 | 3 | 9 | | 10 |
| 21 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 90 | + 1:14.0385 | 5 | 21 | | 9 |
| 22 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 89 | + 1 lap | 4 | 26 | | 8 |
| 23 | 16 | James Jakes | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 86 | + 4 laps | 5 | 11 | | 7 |
| 24 | 18 | Ana Beatriz | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 65 | Mechanical | 4 | 25 | | 6 |
| 25 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 42 | Mechanical | 1 | 17 | | 5 |
| 26 | 27 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 3 | Contact | 0 | 20 | | 5 |

**Notes**

Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

## Standings after the race

| | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Hélio Castroneves | 79 |
| 3 | 2 | Scott Dixon | 70 |
| 15 | 3 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 66 |
| 1 | 4 | Marco Andretti | 61 |
| 4 | 5 | James Hinchcliffe | 56 |
| 6 | 6 | Charlie Kimball | 51 |
| 3 | 7 | Tony Kanaan | 49 |
| 7 | 8 | Will Power | 47 |
| | 9 | Justin Wilson | 46 |
| 3 | 10 | E. J. Viso | 44 |

* Note: Only the top ten positions are included.
