# 2012 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

The 2012 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the second race of the 2012 IndyCar Series season. The race was run on April 1, 2012 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States at Barber Motorsports Park.

## Report
### Background

The first race of the 2012 IndyCar Series season in St. Petersburg, saw Hélio Castroneves capture his first victory since the 2010 season. Along with Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe were able to take advantage and lead throughout the race. Entering into the 2012 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Castroneves leads in the drivers' championship with 51 points, while Chevrolet leads in the manufacturers' championship.

### Qualifying

There was very limited practice time during the week leading up to the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Friday's practice was cut short due to rain, while the practice on Saturday morning was canceled due to fog. After qualifying was completed on Saturday morning, it was Hélio Castroneves who sat on the pole for the 2012 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama in the #3 AAA Insurance Chevy owned by Roger Penske. Andretti Autosport's driver James Hinchcliffe sat on the outside of the first row in the #27 GoDaddy.com car.

### Race

Scott Dixon led 38 laps and was leading on lap 66 when he made his final pit stop. A slow pit stop caused by trouble on the left rear tire, as well as traffic in the pit lane, allowed Will Power to pass him going into turn one. After all the leaders shuffled through their pit stops, Power took the lead, and held off Dixon over the final laps to win.

## Classification
### Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | 27 | James Hinchcliffe |
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 14 | Mike Conway |
| 3 | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand | 11 | Tony Kanaan |
| 4 | 5 | E. J. Viso | 38 | Graham Rahal |
| 5 | 12 | Will Power | 77 | Simon Pagenaud (R) |
| 6 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 2 | Ryan Briscoe |
| 7 | 26 | Marco Andretti | 8 | Rubens Barrichello |
| 8 | 67 | Josef Newgarden (R) | 15 | Takuma Sato |
| 9 | 7 | Sebastian Bourdais | 10 | Dario Franchitti |
| 10 | 18 | Justin Wilson | 19 | James Jakes |
| 11 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | 83 | Charlie Kimball |
| 12 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | 6 | Katherine Legge (R) |
| 13 | 98 | Alex Tagliani$^†$ | 22 | Oriol Servià$^†$ |
| $^†$ Tagliani and Servià penalised 10 places for changing engine |||||

### Race Results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Laps Led | Points |
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | 2:01:40.1127 | 9 | 22 | 50 |
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | + 3.3709 | 3 | 38 | 42 |
| 3 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | + 19.1150 | 1 | 28 | 36 |
| 4 | 38 | Graham Rahal | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | + 19.3395 | 8 | 1 | 32 |
| 5 | 77 | Simon Pagenaud (R) | Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports | Honda | 90 | + 20.1050 | 10 | 0 | 30 |
| 6 | 27 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 90 | + 23.3093 | 2 | 1 | 28 |
| 7 | 14 | Mike Conway | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Honda | 90 | + 24.5552 | 4 | 0 | 26 |
| 8 | 8 | Rubens Barrichello | KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 90 | + 25.4023 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| 9 | 7 | Sebastian Bourdais | Dragon Racing | Lotus | 90 | + 27.1815 | 17 | 0 | 22 |
| 10 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 90 | + 32.7377 | 18 | 0 | 20 |
| 11 | 26 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 90 | + 33.5038 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| 12 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Chevrolet | 90 | +35.8730 | 11 | 0 | 18 |
| 13 | 22 | Oriol Servià | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Lotus | 90 | + 37.8944 | 26 | 0 | 17 |
| 14 | 2 | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 90 | + 41.6742 | 12 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand | Panther Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | + 44.5059 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 | 19 | James Jakes | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 90 | + 54.5343 | 20 | 0 | 14 |
| 17 | 67 | Josef Newgarden (R) | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing | Honda | 90 | + 1:00.6182 | 15 | 0 | 13 |
| 18 | 5 | E. J. Viso | KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 89 | + 1 lap | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 89 | + 1 lap | 19 | 0 | 12 |
| 20 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | HVM Racing | Lotus | 89 | + 1 lap | 21 | 0 | 12 |
| 21 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 89 | + 1 lap | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 22 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 88 | + 2 laps | 23 | 0 | 12 |
| 23 | 6 | Katherine Legge (R) | Dragon Racing | Lotus | 85 | + 5 laps | 24 | 0 | 12 |
| 24 | 15 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 52 | Mechanical | 16 | 0 | 12 |
| 25 | 83 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 45 | Mechanical | 22 | 0 | 10 |
| 26 | 98 | Alex Tagliani | Team Barracuda – BHA | Lotus | 0 | Mechanical | 25 | 0 | 10 |

#### Notes

Points include 1 point for pole position and 2 points for most laps led.

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Hélio Castroneves | 86 |
| 2 | Scott Dixon | 84 |
| 3 | Will Power | 77 |
| 4 | James Hinchcliffe | 60 |
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud (R) | 58 |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 18 |
| 2 | Honda | 12 |
| 3 | Lotus | 6 |