Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Team Penske started off the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season with a dominant run at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, finishing the race first, third, and fourth, but as of Wednesday morning, those finishes have been wiped off the board. IndyCar officials announced that race winner Josef Newgarden and third place finisher Scott McLaughlin have been handed disqualifications for irregularities with their Push to Pass systems in place for the season opener, dropping both to the bottom of the finishing order. Power was allowedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Josef Newgarden Show was in full effect Sunday in St. Petersburg. Rolling off from pole position, once the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet ascended to the lead, there was no stopping him, leading all but eight laps on the day to score his third win in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by an astounding 7.912 seconds over Pato O’Ward and Arrow McLaren. Newgarden’s victory continues the steamroll that Team Penske has been on as of late,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Josef Newgarden will be starting the year with the best seat in the house after capturing the pole for Sunday’s 20th annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. With a lap of 59.571 seconds, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet jumped to the top of the board in the final round of qualifying and was able to hold off all comers to score his first St. Petersburg pole position and 17th overall in his NTT IndyCar Series career. TheRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Day two in St. Petersburg is off and running, with Colton Herta and Andretti Global topping the charts in practice on Saturday morning with a lap of one minute, 0.133 seconds in his No. 26 Honda. The 2021 winner of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg jumped to the head of the line in the final 10 minutes of practice, eclipsing the Team Penske duo of Josef Newgarden and Will Power. “The car has been good so far,” Herta said. “IRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season is officially underway. Friday’s opening practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg marked the first laps turned in anger this year, with Felix Rosenqvist striking the first blow of the weekend with a lap of one minute, 0.339 seconds. Rosenqvist enters 2024 with a new team, having moved over to Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 Honda entry after spending the past three seasons with Arrow McLaren. “Really smooth start for us,” Rosenqvist said.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a long six-month offseason, the NTT IndyCar Series is back in action for the 2024 campaign, beginning with Sunday’s running of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. As the home of the IndyCar season opener, the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit along the waterfront in St. Petersburg, Florida, including the runway of the Albert Whitted Airport has provided an exciting venue to kick off the season and the 2024 edition should be another action-packed chapter. The on-track activity begins with practice on Friday afternoon atRead More

By INDYCAR SEBRING, Fla. – It appears Marcus Ericsson is settling in nicely at Andretti Global. 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Ericsson led the second day of NTT INDYCAR SERIES testing Feb. 27 at Sebring International Raceway, turning a top lap of 51.9512 seconds in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda. Ericsson joins Andretti Global this season after racing the last four seasons for Chip Ganassi Racing. His time on the bumpy, 1.67-mile circuit at Sebring was the quickest overall in two days of testing this week as every NTT INDYCAR SERIES teamRead More

By INDYCAR SEBRING, Fla. – Less than two weeks before the start of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, Alex Palou is starting right where he stopped in 2023 – on top. Reigning and two-time series champion Palou led the first day of a two-day test Feb. 26 on the short circuit at Sebring International Raceway, turning a top lap of 52.0883 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. Testing was separated into morning and afternoon sessions, with Palou’s best lap coming in the afternoon on the notoriouslyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Close, but no cigar. On a day that featured plenty of chaos, Pato O’Ward kept his nose clean and found himself at the right place at the right time to be in contention for the win in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, only to have the win snatched from his grasp at the last minute. Running behind leaders Romain Grosjean and Scott McLaughlin, O’Ward cycled into the lead when the two collided and took each other out, setting the stage for what looked toRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer What was shaping up to be a fantastic battle for the race win went straight to hell in a heartbeat. Both pole sitter Romain Grosjean and defending Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner Scott McLaughlin crashed on Lap 72, bringing out the final full course caution. McLaughlin was able to continue his race, but the contact ended Grosjean’s afternoon after leading a race-high 31 of 100 laps. After making their final pit stops, McLaughlin just exited ahead of Grosjean, who pitted the lap before him.Read More