3 IndyCar takeaways from the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama 2019

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What can IndyCar fans learn from the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama? Here are takeaways from the third race of the 2019 IndyCar season.

Now that the 2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is over, NTT IndyCar Series enthusiasts are still talking about what happened at Barber Motorsports Park. While it didn’t involve any torrential downpours of rain (during race day at least), there were still a few tricks up the racetrack’s sleeve for drivers and fans alike.

After surprising many people by capturing the pole position on Saturday, Takuma Sato rarely had to look back once the green flag fell on Sunday. One of the league’s oldest drivers dominated the event and snagged Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s first win of the 2019 IndyCar season, even as teammate Graham Rahal had terrible luck.

But there’s a lot to consider from the most recent IndyCar race, including Sato’s latest victory and the highs and lows experienced by several of his competitors. Barber Motorsports Park has a bit of a crazy reputation among race fans, and it lived up to that again, leaving more than a few question marks behind.

From left: Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato and Sebastien Bourdais celebrate in Victory Lane at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar. /

1. Experience still has its place

IndyCar fans and critics have spent the last month gushing over this season’s rookie class, and not undeservedly so. The newcomers have been very impressive in the first two races of the year. But the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama reminded everyone not to take their eyes off all the drivers on the other end of the spectrum.

The entire podium at Alabama consisted of drivers who are over 35. Takuma Sato is 42, runner-up Scott Dixon is 38 and third-place Sebastien Bourdais is 40. Between the three of them, they have more than 30 years of IndyCar experience and multiple championships. They are true veterans of the sport, and used that experience this weekend to navigate themselves to the top.

Sato delivered a performance that could only be described as dominating, since he not only had the pole position, but he led the most laps and finished more than a full second ahead of Dixon. As for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, he’s racked up a third consecutive second-place finish at this track and his sixth overall; it’s not easy to create that kind of consistency, especially when the tires were going out on him the way they were on Sunday.

Then there’s Bourdais, who almost always seems to be in the thick of things. He committed to an ambitious two-stop strategy, and found a way to make it work for him even when everybody else was going to three or four stops. Even though it meant he, too, had to grit it out and push hard to the very end, Bourdais exhibited tremendous skill and was rewarded with his best finish of the season.