IndyCar

Here Comes St. Pete!

The Indycar Season starts in beautiful, sunny Florida where Indycar will shine as they go screaming down Dan Wheldon Way in gorgeous St. Petersburg. Indycar has called St. Petersburg home for their season opener since 2009, other than 2020 when everything was moved around. Since then, St Pete has seen 13 different winners. Alex Palou won last year, a statement that will be echoed quite a lot this season. If Palou can win again, it will be the first time the same driver has won at St. Pete since Josef Newgarden did it in 2019-20.

About The Track

Indycar says that “The 1.8-mile, 14-turn (5 lefts, 9 rights) circuit incorporates streets of downtown St. Petersburg and a section of runway of Albert Whitted Airport. After the long frontstretch, there’s a tight right-hander into Turn 1 and then a quick left-hand turn. Plenty of drivers have gotten into trouble in these two turns over the years. There are two other long straights with heavy braking zones that afford opportunities to overtake.”

Winners By Season

2025–Alex Palou
2024–Pato O’Ward
2023–Marcus Ericsson
2022–Scott McLaughlin
2021–Colton Herta
2020–Josef Newgarden
2019–Josef Newgarden
2018–Sebastian Bourdais
2017–Sebastian Bourdais
2016–Juan Pablo Montoya
2015–Juan Pablo Montoya
2014–Will Power
2013–James Hinchcliffe
2011–Dario Franchitti
2010–Will Power

Last Season

Scott McLaughlin took the pole for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but an early caution from a first-lap crash shuffled strategies and set the tone for the race. Several contenders, including Álex Palou, ditched the fragile alternate tires early, a move that paid off as the race ran green to the finish. McLaughlin and Colton Herta faded after pit issues, while Palou undercut teammate Scott Dixon, who suffered from radio issues, late to take control. Palou went on to score his first St. Petersburg victory, opening his title defense in championship-winning form.

Qualifying Fast 6 From Last Year

1. Scott McLaughlin
2.Colton Herta
3.Felix Rosenqvist
4.Marcus Amrstrong
5.Christian Lundgaard
6.Scott Dixon

Final Top Ten From Last Year

1.Alex Palou
2.Scott Dixon
3.Josef Newgarden
4.Scott Mclaughlin
5.Kyle Kirkwood
6.Marcus Ericsson
7.Felix Rosenqvist
8.Christian Lundgaard
9.Rinus Veekay
10.Alexander Rossi

This Year’s Grid

DriverCar #Radio FrequencyTeam Owner
Josef Newgarden 2464.9250 / 469.6000Team Penske
Scott McLaughlin 3466.8250 / 464.6750Team Penske
Caio Collet 4463.0125 / 467.6875A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Pato O’Ward 5460.5625 / 469.4375Arrow McLaren
Nolan Siegel 6460.6625 / 463.8375Arrow McLaren
Christian Lundgaard 7460.7625 / 459.7750Arrow McLaren
Kyffin Simpson 8457.0250 / 461.1125Chip Ganassi Racing
Scott Dixon 9456.6500 / 461.1875Chip Ganassi Racing
Álex Palou 10467.0375 / 464.0375Chip Ganassi Racing
David Malukas 12466.2125 / 464.6000Team Penske
Santino Ferrucci 14467.0750 / 458.9125A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Graham Rahal 15466.9125 / 468.8875Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Romain Grosjean 18467.2000 / 469.9375Dale Coyne Racing
Dennis Hauger 19463.6000 / 464.9375Dale Coyne Racing
Alexander Rossi 20469.1125 / 457.6750Ed Carpenter Racing
Christian Rasmussen 21469.9250 / 465.9625Ed Carpenter Racing
Will Power 26464.3000 / 463.2125Andretti Global
Kyle Kirkwood 27468.4875 / 467.8875Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian
Marcus Ericsson 28469.3000 / 469.7500Andretti Global
Louis Foster 45466.3125 / 467.8375Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Mick Schumacher 47468.2625 / 469.2625Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Felix Rosenqvist 60461.0750 / 454.5000Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian
Marcus Armstrong 66452.8000 / 461.7250Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian
Sting Ray Robb 77459.6500 / 454.6500Juncos Hollinger Racing

This Year’s Schedule

📻 Broadcast Schedule – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Channel: SiriusXM 218

Friday, February 27

INDY NXT by Firestone
• Practice 1 – 12:30 PM FS2

NTT INDYCAR SERIES
• Practice 1 – 1:30 PM FS2

Saturday, February 28

INDY NXT by Firestone
• Practice 2 – 8:30 AM FS1

NTT INDYCAR SERIES
• Practice 2 – 9:30 AM FS1

INDY NXT by Firestone
• Qualifications – 3:30 PM FS2

NTT INDYCAR SERIES
• Qualifications – 4:30 PM FS2

Sunday, March 1

NTT INDYCAR SERIES
• Warmup – 9:00 AM FS1

INDY NXT by Firestone
• Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (45 laps) FS1
• Air Time: 9:50 AM
• Green Flag: 10:06 AM

NTT INDYCAR SERIES
• Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (100 laps) FOX
• Air Time: 11:30 AM
• Green Flag: 12:29 PM

Image Credit: Penske Entertainment/ Chris Owens

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