Indycar roars back to life this weekend with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. This is the 20th anniversary of racing at St Pete and the airport circuit is well loved by Indycar drivers and fans and marks the inaugural race of the 2024 season. 100 laps for 180 miles on a 1.8 mile, 14-turn circuit just outside of Tampa Bay.
Of course, Indycar fans know all about the drama from last year’s race. Andretti’s Romain Grosjean and Penske’s Scott McLaughlin battled it out for most of the race until both competitors took each other out, paving the way for Arrow-Mclaren’s Pato O’Ward to come storming to the front until the very last turn, where engine problems gave the win to Chip Ganassi’s Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson and Grosjean are both with different teams now, with Grosjean with Juncos-Hollinger and Ericsson taking Grosjean’s ride with Andretti.
DCR Announces Lineup
Dale Coyne Racing just recently announced their drivers for 2024, with Jack Harvey, Nolan Seigel, and Colin Braun coming on board. Harvey will be driving the #18 car formerly driven by David Malukas, who has since moved on to Arrow-Mclaren. Siegel, who was the 2023 Indy NXT rookie of the year, will be sharing driving duties with Harvey aboard the No. 18 car this season. Braun will drive the #51 car at St. Pete. Braun is currently a full-time IMSA driver and is signed for the St. Pete and Thermal Club $1 Million challenge.
New Rookies
There are four rookies for 2024: Tom Blomqvist, Linus Lundqvist, Christian Rasmussen and Kyffin Simpson. Lundqvist and Simpson both are driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. Blomqvist will be driving for Meyer Shank while Rasmussen will be taking the reigns for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Storylines To Watch In 2024
Defending Alex Palou may be driving with new sponsors (DHL), but he is back and should be just as feared as he was in 2023. In 17 races, Palou won 5 of them, and despite some outside legal troubles concerning a contract dispute, was all that on the track. The whole field will be hunting down Palou, but that’s not to say there aren’t some challengers. 6-time Indycar champion Scott Dixon finished second last year and picked up three wins in the last four races. The 43-year-old “Iceman” is 11 away from tying AJ Foyt for most wins in open-wheel racing and one championship shy of Foyt’s 7.
With another oval added in Nashville, Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, the Oval King, feels like 2024 is his year. Newgarden won at Texas, both Iowa races, and of course the 500, but he struggled with street and circuit courses last year and is looking for better results. Will Power did not secure a victory in 2023, the first time that he went winningless in a season since the 2006 Champ Car season, and is looking for a bounce-back season.
NASCAR’s Kyle Larson will be competing in this year’s Indy 500. The 31-year-old will be competing for Arrow-Mclaren racing and joins Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, and a few other drivers who will be just doing the 500 in May. Larson has already done some testing in the car, and the general consensus is that the testing went very well.
Race Times
All practices and the race will be on Peacock. The first practice will be on Friday at 2:45 PM, the second practice will be at 9:35 AM on Saturday, and qualification will be at 1:05 PM on Saturday. The final warmup will be on Sunday at 9:10 AM, with the race starting at 12 PM on NBC and Peacock. All times are Eastern. Stay up to date with the latest statistics and in-race information at http://www.indycar.com.
Image: Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta lead the field – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – By: James Black
