Mike Conway had a tough weekend in the Grand Prix of Alabama last weekend in his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.

The race was delayed for up to two hours due to a rain and lightning storm that meant that the race was reduced to 69 laps when it did get underway.

Unfortunately for Conway it didn’t get much better, after a disappointing qualifying on Saturday he started the race 21^st on the grid.

He slowly went about his business picking cars off as and when he could in the damp and wet conditions at the Barber Motorsports Park.

Conway’s machine didn’t have the overall grip he was looking for with the rain tyres and his mount improved a bit with the sticker Firestone red rubber. By lap 39, the Sevenoaks race ace moved into 14^th position with hopes of a shot at the top-ten.

The ECR team then called Conway to the pits on lap 47 for the final pit stop. Mike fought with Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth in his pursuit of a top-ten finish but had to settle for 14^th when a late race caution period slowed the field to the checkered flag.

Speaking after the race a disappointed, Conway said: “It was a pretty long day for us today. I guess we’ll have to take 14^th after starting 21^st. We struggled in the wet with overall grip. I tried to make a few moves in the early portion of the race and they just didn’t work out. We felt quicker on the slicks, especially on the earlier segments of the runs. But once everyone had their tyres up to temperature, we couldn’t get up to make a move. It’s frustrating. I hope we can improve on the road circuits.”

Conway, now fifth in the current Verizon IndyCar Series point standings, will move onto the upcoming test this Wednesday at the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The first IndyCar Series road racing event at IMS is set for May 8-10.

He added: “I’m excited to go to Indy for the test this week on the new road circuit. The race in the upcoming Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be huge for all of the drivers. I think everyone would love to win the first IndyCar road race at Indy. But we need to work on the setup some more to fight for a win that weekend.”

Practice begins on Thursday, May 8, with the inaugural race scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 10.