By Steve Wittich

After a two-month break, the INDY NXT by Firestone field finally got back on track for a Friday afternoon session at Barber Motorsports Park.

It was a perfect sunny spring afternoon in Alabama when the first of two practice sessions got underway at 1:40 pm. The ambient temperature was 73F, and the track temperature was 104F.

Danial Frost, the championship leader after the race in St. Petersburg, Fla.,
was the quickest driver after 15 minutes of practice. The Singaporean driver is the highest-finishing driver returning from last year with a fourth-place finish.

At the halfway point of practice, Frost was still the quickest, with a lap at 82.2058 seconds. The HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing driver was joined by five other veterans – Hunter McElrea (Andretti Autosport), Kyffin Simpson (HMD Motorsports w/Chip Ganassi Racing), Christian Rasmussen (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing), Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports) and Toby Sowery (HMD Motorsports) – at the top of the timing screens.

With over 20 minutes remaining, Frost’s Dan-Jet sponsored No. 68 slowed and stopped between Turn 9 and 10, bringing out the red flag. However, he was able to get the turbo-charged 2.0L re-fired and drive back to the attention of his crew. They diagnosed an issue with the power distribution unit, changing it out and getting him back on track.

The 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course quickly returned to green conditions, with most of the field returning to work.

Per INDYCAR Radio, Enaam Ahmed, in the Rickshaw Rocket sponsored No. 47, was having gearbox issues, delaying his start to practice.

With ten minutes remaining, new tire runs began with McElrea, a USF Pro 2000 winner at Barber Motorsports Park, jumping to the top of the timing screens.

Lap times began dropping, with veteran Christian Rasmussen going under the INDY NXT by Firestone set by Linus Lundqvist’s track record on his 18th lap.

Late in the session, Frost had another issue, pulling behind the wall in Turn 5, keeping the last minute of the session green.

The 18 drivers completed 385 laps (885.5 miles).

INDY NXT by Firestone practice session results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	BEST LAP	DIFF.	LAPS
1	6	Christian Rasmussen	HMD Motorsports	1:11.4618	——	22
2	21	Kyffin Simpson	HMD Motorsports	1:11.5705	-0.1087	20
3	39	Nolan Siegel	HMD Motorsports	1:11.6148	-0.153	21
4	14	Toby Sowery	HMD Motorsports	1:11.7539	-0.2921	22
5	27	Hunter McElrea	Andretti Autosport	1:11.7897	-0.3279	27
6	29	James Roe	Andretti Autosport	1:12.0678	-0.606	22
7	76	Reece Gold	Juncos Hollinger Racing	1:12.1138	-0.652	22
8	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:12.1173	-0.6555	21
9	99	Ernie Francis Jr.	HMD Motorsports	1:12.1281	-0.6663	26
10	68	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports	1:12.2058	-0.744	15
11	57	Colin Kaminsky	Abel Motorsports	1:12.2220	-0.7602	27
12	3	Josh Green	HMD Motorsports	1:12.2260	-0.7642	22
13	26	Louis Foster	Andretti Autosport	1:12.4536	-0.9918	25
14	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports	1:12.5100	-1.0482	22
15	98	Jagger Jones	Cape Motorsports	1:12.7275	-1.2657	20
16	75	Matteo Nannini	Juncos Hollinger Racing	1:12.7658	-1.304	22
17	28	Jamie Chadwick	Andretti Autosport	1:13.3391	-1.8773	20
18	47	Enaam Ahmed	Cape Motorsports	1:13.3484	-1.8866	9