Barber Motorsports Park

Barber Motorsports Park is an 880-acre facility in Leeds, Alabama, near Birmingham, built by George W. Barber and designed by architect Alan Wilson [1][2]. Construction began in 2002 and the track opened in 2003 [1]. It is home to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, which holds more than 1,600 motorcycles and racing cars, and to the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Alabama, held there since 2010 [1][2].

The track

The Grand Prix Circuit is 2.380 miles with 17 turns and an asphalt surface; Patricio O’Ward set the race lap record of 1:06.8182 in a Dallara IR-18 at the 2021 IndyCar event [1]. The Barber Proving Ground opened in 2014 on 14 acres, and the park also has an off-road course of about seven miles and a 0.7-mile vintage motocross course [1]. The annual Barber Vintage Festival has been held each October since 2005, and the park hosts the Porsche Track Experience; IndyCar tested there in 2007 and 2009 [1]. The park is known for landscaping and sculpture and has been called the “Augusta National” of motorsports, with infield steel spiders and dragonflies by Bill Secunda and a five-ton stainless sculpture group by Theodore Gall [1].

The museum

The collection began in 1988 as George Barber’s private collection; he made it a nonprofit in 1994, and it opened to the public in Southside Birmingham in 1995 [1][2]. In 1997 twenty-one motorcycles went to the Guggenheim Museum in New York for The Art of the Motorcycle [1]. It moved to the park in 2003 and fills a 230,000-square-foot building [1][2]. More than 900 motorcycles are on display, from 16 countries and over 140 marques, and the museum has the largest collection of Lotus race cars [1]. The museum describes itself as the largest motorcycle collection in the United States [2]. See Birmingham.

Track and museum

The Grand Prix Circuit opened in 2003 after construction began in 2002. George W. Barber built the park on 880 acres in Birmingham. The circuit is 2.380 miles long with 17 turns. The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum moved to the park in 2003 and holds more than 1,600 vintage and modern motorcycles and racing cars, considered the largest motorcycle museum in the world.[3]

Events

The park has hosted the IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama since 2010, except in 2020, along with MotoAmerica, GT World Challenge America, Formula Regional Americas and Atlantic Championship races. The Barber Vintage Festival has been held each October since 2005.[3]

FAQs

Where is Barber Motorsports Park? In Leeds, Alabama, near Birmingham [2].

What racing happens there? The IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama each spring since 2010 [1].

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Barber Motorsports Park
2. Atlas Obscura: Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
3. Wikipedia: Barber Motorsports Park

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 10, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue