Dale Coyne Racing’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Race Report
Leeds, Alabama – (Sunday, March 29, 2026)
Dale Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean (No. 18 Bmax Honda) found himself starting on the 3rd row for today’s race, while teammate Dennis Hauger (No. 19 Ault Blockchain Honda) fought hard and learned many lessons during his first time around Barber in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Romain Grosjean – No. 18 Bmax Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
- Starting P6, Grosjean felt confident heading into the 90-lap race around Barber Motorsports Park.
- After losing a handful of spots at the start, Grosjean showed his ability to push hard and was one of the few drivers able to follow other cars while maintaining pace in the beginning portion of the race.
- Staying out long after starting on black tires, Grosjean pitted on lap 23 from P4 for a scuffed set of alternate tires and a full fuel load.
- Pushing hard, Grosjean took these reds to lap 40, where the Dale Coyne Racing team fitted him with a new set of Firestone primary tires.
- On this stint, Grosjean went all the way to lap 66 to make his final stop of the day from 10th, putting on a set of fresh Firestone alternate tires to take him to the end of the race.
- Running long on the Firestone alternate tires, Grosjean ultimately finished the race in P15.
Post-Race Quote:
“That was super frustrating. We had the starting position and the pace, but the strategy did not go our way today. We could not find clean air, and that killed our lap times at the most important portions of the race. As the race went on, we just seemed to fall farther back. This car had so much pace in it, and it’s a shame we were not able to show it in the final results. Everyone worked hard this weekend to get a fast car, and it’s a shame we weren’t able to get the result I feel we deserved.”
Dennis Hauger – No. 19 Ault Blockchain Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
- Starting from P24, Hauger approached the opening laps cautiously, trying to keep his nose clean.
- As the rookie settled into the race, he came in for his first pit stop on lap 11, switching to Firestone primary tires and taking on a full fuel load.
- Running P21, Hauger pitted again on lap 38 for another set of Firestone primary tires and full fuel.
- Hauger took these tires all the way to lap 64, pitting for a final set of Firestone primary tires and fuel to reach the end of the race.
As the race came to an end, Hauger finished in P23, completing his first permanent road course race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Post-Race Quote:
“This weekend was a big learning experience for me. That’s what’s important with weekends like these, you need to learn all you can. I know there are things we could do better that will help us moving forward. This is my first time being lapped in my entire career, and I won’t lie, that doesn’t feel good. A lot of people put a lot of effort into this, and this isn’t the result any of us want. We have two weeks to turn the page, and then we’ll be going to Long Beach to try this all over again.”
