BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The question heading into today’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First isn’t whether it will rain. It’s how much it will rain.
Light rain began early today during the support series races. It’s expected to continue in varying degrees of intensity throughout the day. INDYCAR has moved up the start of the race by a half hour to approximately 3:08 p.m. ET to give it a better chance to reach its conclusion of 90 laps around the 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park circuit or the two-hour time limit, whichever comes first. According to WeatherBug, the chance of rain at 3 p.m. is 30 percent but increases to 70 percent by 5 p.m.
HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA: Dry start tire designation
So what do drivers think fans should expect? In a word, drama.
“I think you can win from anywhere if it rains and we get going,” said Sebastien Bourdais, who will start third in the No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan. “I think it will be pretty exciting. Starting from the front always helps, spray and all, so hopefully we can just get a clear run and get some good points.”
The drivers who qualified for the first three rows Saturday agreed that the front is the place to be when it rains, especially regarding visibility.
“If it's going to be wet all day, you're going to want to be out front,” said Josef Newgarden, who won the Verizon P1 Award pole position on Saturday with a lap of 1 minute 7.4413 seconds (122.773 mph) in the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. “There's no guarantee for that. You can go backwards fast. You're relying on peripheral vision to get around the racetrack. Just depending on how aggressive the rain is, it will be a benefit to be all the way up front.”
Barber is no stranger to rain – and rain delays. In 2014, the race was delayed more than two hours because of heavy rain that flooded portions of the hilly track. Once started, it was shortened to a 100-minute timed race. Ryan Hunter-Reay won the soggy affair over Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti.
“If it's raining, you get soaked,” Hunter-Reay said after qualifying fourth in the No. 28 DHL Andretti Autosport Honda. “You do the best you can. It can be an issue, for sure.”
When it comes down to it, rain affects everything. Take it from Will Power, who will start second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
“Rain obviously changes the strategy a lot,” he said. “Just have to concentrate more.”
INDYCAR officials told drivers this morning that they reserve the right to start the race under a full-course caution should conditions warrant. If that happens, when the decision to go green comes, the start could be either single- or double-file. Any restarts later in the race will be single-file and INDYCAR moved up the restart acceleration zone from the front straight to the 17th and final turn.
The race becomes official once it goes past the halfway point in either laps or time. The last time the Verizon IndyCar Series had a true rain race was at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in June 2015, for the first of the doubleheader races on the Raceway at Belle Isle.
Coverage of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA:
Race 4 of 17 on the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule.
Track: Barber Motorsports Park, a 2.3-mile, 17-turn permanent road course in Birmingham, Alabama. Today marks the ninth consecutive year that the Verizon IndyCar Series is racing at the circuit.
Race distance: 90 laps/207 miles or 2 hours, whichever comes first
Fuel allotment: 70 gallons of Sunoco E85 ethanol
Push-to-pass: Each car receives 200 seconds of push-to-pass overtake activation for the race, with a maximum single activation of 20 seconds. Use of push-to-pass adds approximately 60 horsepower during the activation.
TV: NBCSN, NBC Sports.com and NBC Sports app, 3 p.m. ET.
Radio: Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network (terrestrial affiliates, Sirius 214, XM 209, IndyCar.com, IndyCarRadio.com and INDYCAR Mobile app), 3 p.m. ET.
Timing and scoring available at RaceControl.IndyCar.com.