Q: I’m making my first trip to Barber this year. As a long-time race attendee at Indy (every year since ’77 — Turn 4 seats) and with multiple trips to Mid-Ohio and RA, I’m interested in the best race viewing locations at Barber. As an old guy, I’ll be planting my chair and cooler and probably not migrating around much. I’ve identified my favorite places at RA and Mid-Ohio, but I have no idea where to go at Barber. My hope is to find a location with a lot of corner action, a video board to “watch” the race and some shade would be a bonus. So if you have any suggestions, I’d deeply appreciate them.
Pat, Indy
MP: I asked the Elite IndyCar Facebook group to help with answers since I’ve never been to Barber as a spectator (that pesky reporting job keeps getting in the way), and here’s what some of the fine folks shared:
Greg Warren: I’ve been a few times, we’ve always sat along the straight between Turns 11 and 12. There’s shade there and you can see the video screen. You have a good view of the cars coming down the hill into Turns 5, 6 and 7, which is where a lot of passing occurs. Then you pick the cars up coming out of Turn 11 into the straightaway and can see them until they hit the crest at Turn 13. You’ll be able to pick them up again (at a distance) in Turn 15 and 16 and pit in as they come around to the start/finish line. The seating is on a hill, so be prepared for that, but as I said, it’s shady so that’s a bonus. It is a popular viewing location, so get there early.
Carlos Fernandes: Top of the hill overlooking Turns 1, 2, 3 and part the straight coming up to hairpin.
Justin Smith: Birmingham local here. The tree line along the straightaway between Turns 10-11 is hands-down the best spot. Shady, close to concessions in fan zone, and great view of action-packed Turn 5. Runner-up but zero shade unless you bring your own is hill between Turns 2 and 3 looking towards Turn 1. Pro tip: Buy a museum membership and you can watch from bridges that stretch from museum to Turn 4 and take in some shade in wooded area in center of track.
Q: Doesn’t it seem a little odd that Hinch is driving a McLaren customer car for Pfaff in IMSA after his dismissal from AMSP a couple seasons ago. Did he need approval from Zak Brown, or is all forgiven?
Rick Schutte
MP: Maybe, but Hinch did nothing wrong so there was nothing to forgive. And he’s an excellent driver, so it seems like a really smart move by all involved. Although McLaren Racing is involved in an abstract way, this is McLaren Automotive and Pfaff Motorsports working together, which are different houses within the same family.
Q: While watching Sebring 12 Hours “respect the bumps” on commercial-free Peacock between commercials, I’m thinking bumps are one thing, but Turns 1 and 17 need attention as both are causing accidents.
Mark, Springfield, OH
MP: Oddly, 50-plus cars tore through those corners for more than 300 laps each, and by my math, that was about 30,000 combined opportunities for Turns 1 and 17 to cause crashes but didn’t.
Q: I’m sitting here enjoying the Sebring 12 Hours. Such incredible racing! They talked to the great Tom Kristensen, who drove the incredible Audi A10 to wins at Sebring and Le Mans. I’m an old man (Mark Donahue winning the Indy 500 was my first race) but how come they never won Daytona 24 Hours?
Peter
MP: Different series. Tom raced in the American Le Mans Series, which was the arch enemy of the Grand Am Rolex Series, and just as the Grand Am cars didn’t race at Sebring, the ALMS didn’t race at Daytona while TK was active.
Q: What races and tracks should be on my bucket list? I’m 22 and am a lifelong IndyCar fan and have been to nine 500s and to Road America for qualifying, and the race three times. I’ve started watching IMSA as well, so I was watching the 12 Hours of Sebring and heard Townsend Bell talk about a racing fans’ bucket lists, which got me thinking about my own. The most iconic IndyCar races (St. Pete, Long Beach, and Texas) plus the endurance racing triple crown immediately jump to the top of mine. Do you have any recommendations first for what other IndyCar races should be the highest priority on my bucket list? And secondly what other series races should be high on my list in your opinion?
Michael, Chicago, IL
MP: Long Beach, for sure. Mid-Ohio is a blast. Iowa is mind-bendingly fast. Toronto is an amazing town and a passionate event. Laguna Seca, at least once. And Barber Motorsports Park. I hope Milwaukee is great again.
On the IMSA side, Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, VIR and Road Atlanta are unforgettable venues to start with.
Q: Good to see Pipo Derani walk away from his short takeoff and crash landing. My concern was that it appeared to take the safety team about three minutes to get to him. Thankfully there was no fire, or you might have seen the fans nearby hop the fence and try to flip that car to render aid. I was trying to see the clock at that time of the crash and the clock when the safety team showed up, but it was hard to time it as the network was at commercial.
What was your take on the time lapse and where was AMR parked in relation to the accident location? I imagine they are always reassessing the response time and making adjustments for the future. AMR does a great job. Is it me, or did it appear to be a long time?
Also, I think that contact was on Derani.
Jeff, Colorado
MP: I watched and rewatched the footage and can’t find anything Miguel Molina in the Ferrari did to cause the crash. Derani is one of the fastest and most aggressive drivers in any paddock and always puts on a show. He also suffers from never being at fault, which has left him with few friends and allies on track.
I went back and looked at the race footage on IMSA’s YouTube site, which has no commercials, and the car came to a stop with 4h35m06s left on the 12-hour countdown clock. The first safety workers responded to the crash and reached the car at 4h34m27s, or 39 seconds after Derani landed upside down.
Those were two safety workers in a truck that used the ring road — just behind the barriers — to get to the crash site. The AMR Safety Team, which had to wait for a clear track amid the 50-plus cars, took 1m19s to arrive via the racing circuit. The first to get there had fire extinguishers and could have attacked a fire if needed in that 39s window, which seems plenty fast to me.