New year, different team, but Romain Grosjean hasn’t missed a beat. The second year driver led the first practice of the season at the Firestone Grand Prix this afternoon. Grosjean’s first run for Andretti Autosport turned a quick lap of 1:01.0525. His teammate, Colton Herta, was second fastest, 0.1042 seconds behind.
Six teams finished in the top 10, including three who switched teams for 2022- Grosjean, Simon Pagenaud, and Jack Harvey. Rookie David Malukas ended the session 10th.
Among the other rookies, Kyle Kirkwood was 12th, Devlin DeFrancesco 13th, Callum Ilott 22nd, Christian Lundgaard 25, and Tataiana Calderon 26th.
Defending series champion Alex Palou ended the day 17th, Marcus Ericsson in 15 was the fastest of the Ganassi drivers.
The session was halted briefly when Jimmie Johnson went into the runoff area in Turn 10 and returned to the track with his brakes on fire.
Some notes from wandering around the track this morning and some quotes from driver interviews.
The Grand Prix is back to full concessions and vendor booths. In 2021 food and vendors were fewer than normal. Sadly, Wild Bill’s Root Beer stand is still missing. The crowd came late,but is now a healthy Friday attendance. The late arrivals have may been because of the late start for the first Indycar practice.
Some photos from the paddock:
Pato O’WardCallum Ilott
Herta Sets Plaque
Colton Herta took his place permanently in St. Petersburg racing history as he placed his plaque on the winner’s monument just behind Dan Wheldon Way. Of the now twelve names on the stone column, six are no longer racing in the series.
Herta’s nameplate completes the front side of the winner’s stone.
I’ll be back later with some driver quotes from this morning and a practice wrapup.
Indy lights just completed their qualifying session. Hunter McElreay won the pole.
Over 53,000 fans responded to Motorsport Network-hosted Global INDYCAR Fan Survey, conducted by Nielsen Sport
INDYCAR’s fans share overall favorable opinion of current state of sport – approve of “competitive” and “exciting” product
Sport showing gains with younger and female fans internationally
Romain Grosjean, Pato O’Ward and Helio Castroneves voted top three favorite drivers by fans
INDYCAR’s audience is avid content consumers across multiple platforms
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2022) – INDYCAR and Motorsport Network today announced the key findings of the 2022 Global INDYCAR Fan Survey. Launched in January, the Global INDYCAR Fan Survey was commissioned by INDYCAR, hosted by Motorsport Network and analyzed by Nielsen Sports, the global information, data and measurement experts. Conducted in 11 languages across the Motorsport.com platform and receiving feedback from over 53,000 fans in 147 countries, the survey revealed that INDYCAR has maintained a loyal and approving fanbase, while growing its ranks among younger and more diverse demographics in recent years. Unsurprisingly, while the U.S. comprised 56% of the survey responses, the top five countries also included France, the U.K., Japan and Canada, suggesting a growth in interest internationally for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. This growth reflects an expanding and more diverse audience, highlighted by 37% of respondents under 35 years of age and 12.2% of respondents identifying as female. This is the second-highest female participant rate for a survey fielded by Motorsport Network of a global racing series.
“INDYCAR is growing – at a historic and rapid pace,” said Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corporation. “Our product is viewed as competitive and exciting, and just as we’ve attracted new and talented drivers to our field, we’ve also seen admirable success in attracting new devotees to our ranks. As we embark upon a consequential and marquee year for INDYCAR, we’re tremendously encouraged by the picture the Global INDYCAR Fan Survey provides and remain confident that the future is bright for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and its stars.”Overall fan approval of the racing product is very high. INDYCAR’s top five attributes, as reflected by the survey, are: “competitive,” “exciting,” “entertaining,” “growing” and “dangerous,” with over 80% of the respondents viewing INDYCAR as “competitive.”Findings from the Motorsport Network INDYCAR Global Fan Survey indicate fans want to watch races live, predominantly on TV. Most INDYCAR consumers are now watching races via a combination of cable and streaming platforms, with the latter now surpassing free-to-air viewing. Paywalls remain a concern of some fans in specific markets, potentially lowering access to live races. Social media has become the leading platform for non-race weekend content for all fans and the main source of all INDYCAR content for those among the under-35 set.
Based on survey respondents, esports are increasingly relevant to INDYCAR fans, with nearly half partaking in gaming weekly. This number rises to 85% among 16- to 24-year-olds and 70% among 25- to 34-year-olds, suggesting a robust audience for the upcoming release of an INDYCAR-centric video game title.“It has been fascinating to work on this largest ever Global INDYCAR Fan survey, and the inescapable conclusion is that fans believe that INDYCAR is a series on its way up,” said James Allen, president of Motorsport Network.
“INDYCAR is the pre-eminent single-seater racing championship in North America, but it has long had a following in other continents due to prominent international drivers racing there. Today, the international makeup of the grid is reflected in the survey findings, with a strong geographical spread outside of North America. While the series has its loyal followers in the older age groups, particularly in the U.S., INDYCAR will be studying closely the data on its new, younger and female fans internationally. Thanks to the internet and social media giving easy access to rich content, anyone anywhere can become an INDYCAR fan today. And gaming and esports is clearly going to play a significant role in the future. It will be fascinating to see how the trends develop over the next few years.
”Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a strong desire to attend races live. Over 80% of respondents expressed the desire to attend a race live, while nearly 50% of respondents indicated that they have attended a race live in the past five years. One of the biggest factors cited as preventing live race attendance is the inability to attend a local race for fans, especially outside North America.From an ecological standpoint, younger fans place higher importance on green initiatives in motorsport, and while most were satisfied with what INDYCAR is doing to be greener, over 20% of female fans believe INDYCAR should be doing more on the sustainability front.
“Off the back of the success of the Formula One fan survey, it has been a pleasure to be involved in another global motorsport survey with Motorsport Network,” said Nigel Geach, senior vice president, global motorsport, Nielsen Sports.
“Our partnership not only delivers interesting insight on various motorsport disciplines but also actionable fan opinions that can help a series grow and evolve in a way that appeals to fans old and new. I look forward to running our next survey with Motorsport Network to unearth more insightful opinions from our vast global motorsport fan base.
”The survey findings were revealed at the opening round of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season today and included the size and demographics of the sport’s audience, fan disposition and attitudes toward the sport, their affinity for INDYCAR races, teams and drivers, and their consumption of racing as remote and live audiences.
Additional key findings from the 2022 INDYCAR Global Fan Survey include:
Venues and Competition
The top five most important races for fans are: the Indianapolis 500, Long Beach, Road America, Laguna Seca and St. Petersburg.
INDYCAR fans are happy with the mix of tracks (street, road & oval) and believe they provide the best test of a driver’s talent, and they also feel the sport is healthier now than three years ago, featuring the right balance of sport and entertainment.
For the future fans want INDYCAR to:
Feature multiple suppliers in key category areas
Maintain the Indy 500 as a double-points event
Minimize stewarding interference and let drivers race
Manage team operating costs and prioritize close racing over technical innovation
Fans are strongly against changing race formats and show little appetite for qualifying modifications.
Top Teams, Drivers and Races
Nearly 80% of fans support a number of teams and drivers.
Younger fans aged under 24 are more likely to follow a single driver.
Fans in South and Central America and Asia-Pacific are more than twice as likely to follow a favorite driver.
Team Penske was voted as the overall favorite team with 19% of votes, followed by Andretti Autosport and Arrow McLaren SP, who were tied at second, each with 17% of votes, to round out the top three teams.
Romain Grosjean was voted the survey’s most popular INDYCAR driver with 32% of fans placing him in their top three and nearly 12% of fans ranking him their favorite driver. Pato O’Ward was second, with a particularly high young fan voting and voted number one by female fans. Third was Helio Castroneves, followed by Scott Dixon. Alexander Rossi was the top-ranked U.S. driver, who was voted fifth overall.
The eighteenth Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg began late this morning with a gala luncheon. Drivers from each of the series racing on the downtown streets were present. Mayor Ken Welch, who will serve as the race’s Grand Marshall, welcomed everyone. The race expects a record crowd for the three day long event.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
The drivers each gave brief remarks.
I chatted with Takuma Sato, David Malukas, and Kyle Kirkwood.
Sato is enjoying his new team, Dale Coyne Racing.
Takuma Sato
“I love it. Right obviously you know some nervousness but it’s a lot of excitement in a new team new boys engineers and you know, I’m happily settling. So very, very good.”
About his rookie teammate, Sato said,
“…he’s obviously the one of the upcoming young drivers, is very bright and cheerful and he’s been quick to learn so I think we have a really good opportunity to work together.”
Sato is excited for this weekend, but thinks there are a lot of unknowns.
“Well, I would say you know, re are little unknown factors but yeah, that’s how it is and in particular for the first practice for the day.”
David Malukas
Sato’s teammate, David Malukas is eager to begin his Indycar career. He ha d a lot of praise for Sato, who was on his radio during the first test day at Sebring.
“Sebring was great. I mean, the first day was amazing, I think we ended up being like P two on the time. It’s like I was always surprised. Second day, we tried many different changes, because the whole goal we’re not winning Sebring. We didn’t want to chase the car to try to get ready for today. And we found some pluses somewhere like confusing, but in the end we were exactly right. After three months off, I was like really impressed with the car. I was like, What do I do? Takuma has been a big help. Oh, of course. I mean, he has so much expertise and he helped me so incredibly. Like he helped me so much the first day; he didn’t actually drive so like he had the headset on and he was talking to me telling me some information like what I should do. He’s awesome. He’s so friendly.”
Malukas is concerned about pit stops and driving on the alternate tires. About the red tires, he said,
“So I hear rumors. I heard some rumors that like actually sometimes the car’s slower with it because it’s so much grip and it’s so hard that they don’t want you to stand on it, I don’t know. Hopefully we could see like, I mean, there’s a big jump with it. Hopefully we can figure it out and hope like I still hold on to the wheel. Because I heard it gets even heavier.”
Pit stops are totally new to Malukas, but he thinks the walls and the limiter may help him.
“Oh, that’s still very new to me. We did some practice and man I’m not gonna lie I was pretty bad. Takuma did it like perfectly every time so that’s gonna be, I think, the hard part for me is getting it right. I’ve never done that my whole life. So we’ll see how it goes. I think now you know that I like an actual wall and there’s people everywhere. I think it’d be a bit easier because you know, at Sebring we’re trying to simulate a situation with tires, everything and it just wasn’t good. So we’ll see.”
Kyle Kirkwood
Kyle Kirkwood is happy with how testing went last week and appreciates the help he has received from his A. J. Foyt Racing teammates, Dalton Kellett and Tatiana Calderon.
“Dalton has obviously a wealth of knowledge as well as engineering capabilities and Tatiana hsa a lot of experience. She n a lot of different cars, so there’s a lot of things that she’s been able to add to the team that are just like I’ve never really thought to do that.”
Kirkwood is uncertain how the alternate tires will perform.
“They changed this weekend. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I think from my knowledge, looking at the seat they’re gonna be quicker but they’re going to go away faster. I don’t know what made you know, I’ll let you know I’ve never driven on red tire so that’s what I was wondering. Yeah, anticipation. I’ll let you know after the first practice.”
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022) – Kyle Novak, race director for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, was elected by the FIA General Assembly as one of 36 judges to serve on the FIA Courts. Among its many roles, the FIA is the governing body of global motorsport. As an FIA judge, Novak can be appointed to sit on an FIA International Tribunal or International Court of Appeal. The International Tribunal is the first instance level of jurisdiction of the FIA and can hear disciplinary matters brought before it by the FIA President. The FIA International Court of Appeal is the appeal level of jurisdiction of the FIA and hears appeals of decisions taken by various sporting and disciplinary bodies, such as stewards or the FIA International Tribunal. Novak, an attorney, is the sole INDYCAR representative among the FIA judges.The appointment of Novak increases INDYCAR’s representation within various FIA committees and roles. INDYCAR President Jay Frye serves on the Single-Seater commission, INDYCAR Director of Medical Services Dr. Geoffrey Billows is on the medical commission, and INDYCAR Track Inspection Consultant Tony Cotman works on the Circuits commission. “To be able to add to the list of INDYCAR representatives who have served the FIA is a tremendous honor,” Novak said. “With the great competition and all of the growth we’ve experienced over the past few years, I think this shows the level of worldwide respect for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.” Novak has served as NTT INDYCAR SERIES race director since the 2018 season, and he also will assume the race direction role for Indy Lights starting this season. The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starts Feb. 25-27 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, with the Indy Lights season also starting that weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Julia Steinbrenner, sister of George Michael Steinbrenner IV, is now co-owner of Steinbrenner Racing along with her brother. Steinbrenner racing began as an Indy Lights team with driver Colton Herta in partnership with Andretti Autosport. The team and Herta moved to Indycar in 2019. For 2022, Steinbrenner Racing owns car 29, to be driven by rookie Devlin DeFrancesco, in partnership with Andretti.
Devlin DeFrancesco testing at Sebring. Photo from Penske Entertainment
George Steinbrenner has assumed a new role with the new York Yankees, and Julia will step in to handle most of the responsibilities of the race program. She spoke to the media yesterday.
Coming into this role was by design, Steinbrenner said.
“It’s something that George and I have talked about quite a bit, and I’ve been with the Yankees for eight years and also as the executive director of the foundation that we founded together. It kind of was more of a matter not necessarily of if it would happen but when it would happen and how we would do it and just kind of letting it happen organically.”
The Steinbrenners have been race fans since they were young, and Julia has been involved with the team since it began.
“… being around for the last several years that there has been a Steinbrenner Racing has really — I’ve kind of tried to submerge myself into the sport and I’ve really grown a new passion for it. I grew up watching it, but just to really be in it as with anything, when you’re in it and you can see it and appreciate it, you really grow a whole new passion for it,” she said.
Steinbrenner hopes that her role as a female owner will encourage more women and girls to get into Indycar. She noted the number of women engineers now in the sport, as well as a female driver, Tatiana Calderon, who will drive the road and street courses this season. Steinbrenner becomes the second woman in two years to own an Indycar team. Beth aretta’s team ran in the Indianapolis 500 last year.
“Yeah, it really just kind of came together, the stars aligned and it was great timing. I just love to see it. I love to see it, and I hope to continue to see it. I would love to see more of it. It’s just awesome. I think it’s awesome for the sport. It’s awesome for representation. It’s awesome for the little girls at home like I was watching INDYCAR my whole life, and to see that and to see not only things like this where female ownership but female drivers and female engineers and pit crew and all these different moving parts, to see females working in all these different roles is just awesome.”
Steinbrenner continued,
“… there’s so many wonderful women in the sport. I would love to see more. So if I can even just for one person be, oh, I can do that and help create that narrative, and there’s been so many amazing women that have paved that road for me so that I can be here today, so if I can help to continue that in any way shape or form so that we can get some of these really amazing women that I have met and all the ones I have not met involved in the sport, I would love to see that.”
For Immediate Release INDYCAR Brings Real-Time Automated Highlights to Fans through WSC Sports Partnership INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022) – INDYCAR, the sanctioning body for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and WSC Sports, the global leader in AI sports video technology, today announced they will partner for the 2022 INDYCAR season to bring AI-powered video highlights direct to fans.
WSC Sports’ platform identifies key moments in each race and automatically publishes highlights and content to NTT INDYCAR SERIES digital properties, along with driver and team social channels. This is the first time AI-fueled technology will deliver real-time content directly to NTT INDYCAR SERIES fans, ultimately providing more access and personalized content to consumers across the racing season. As the title sponsor and technology partner of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, NTT collaborated with INDYCAR to architect a multi-year digital transformation roadmap to drive enhanced fan interaction and engagement, operational excellence and deliver SMART Racing and SMART venue innovations. To support execution, NTT not only lent its Smart Sports, Media and Entertainment business solutions, services and expertise, but those within its partner ecosystem which includes WSC Sports, an NTT-invested company, which NTT introduced to enable and enhance INDYCAR’s content creation and distribution capabilities.
INDYCAR initially started working with WSC Sports at the beginning of the 2021 season and based on the success of recent collaborations, the series is expanding to a fully automated highlights solution for the 2022 season that begins Sunday, Feb. 27 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on NBC. In addition, the WSC Sports platform will help fuel exciting new fan experiences such as ingesting streams from all race cars with In Car Cameras (ICCs), providing fans with automatically generated real-time highlights from an unprecedented and unique point of view of the race from their favorite driver.
“It’s a thrill for us to be able to capture the excitement of INDYCAR racing and be able to share all the action with fans in real-time,” said Joe DaCosta, North America business development, WSC Sports. “Motorsports are a new focus for us in the U.S., and we are excited to be able to partner with a first-class organization like INDYCAR.”
“The fierce physical challenges and unrelenting pressure of driving in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will now be conveyed to millions of digital consumers in real time thanks to this partnership with WSC Sports,” said SJ Luedtke, INDYCAR vice president of marketing. “In partnership with NTT, we’re in the midst of an aggressive and dynamic transformation that will extend the reach of our sport and convey our bold and unique narrative in increasingly relevant ways.” Using machine learning technology, the WSC Sports platform auto-detects, indexes and tags each moment from a race in real-time so that highlights can then be distributed to digital properties automatically and at scale.
This helps INDYCAR engage with fans and expand their reach, grow their brand and explore new monetization opportunities for their racing content. This partnership adds to WSC Sports’ growing number of motorsports clients which already includes Extreme E and NASCAR.
About INDYCARINDYCAR is the Indianapolis-based governing body for North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and its developmental series, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES features an international field of the world’s most versatile drivers – including reigning series champion Alex Palou, six-time series champion Scott Dixon, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden and four-time and defending Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves – who compete on superspeedways, short ovals, street circuits and permanent road courses. The 2022 season consists of 17 races in the United States and Canada and is highlighted by the historic Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com. For more information on Indy Lights, please visit www.indylights.com.
About WSC SportsWSC Sports’ proprietary AI technology platform, automates the creation and distribution of highlights for over 200 leagues and broadcast partners across the globe, including – NBA, NHL, ESPN, YouTubeTV, NASCAR, Extreme E and Tencent. Utilizing advanced AI and Machine Learning technologies, the WSC Sports platform analyzes live sports broadcasts, identifies each and every event that occurs in a game, and in real-time creates and publishes customized short-form videos. This enables sports media rights owners to maximize the use of their content, creating new revenue streams and a personalized fan experience on every platform for every type of fan.
Minor changes to the Indycar rulebook, most of which won’t be noticed by fans, intend to make conditions safer and hope to improve the racing.
The two things that fans will notice is pit selection and corner flags during local yellows. Through 2021, pit stalls were assigned based on the previous race’s qualifying. For 2022, drivers will select their pit stalls. Qualifying order from the race before determines the order of choosing. The winner of the previous race gets first choice. He might still pick the first ox before pit out, but the other front row driver may choose a pit before an opening in the pit wall. This may allow teams to pick pits next to each other if the choices fall that way. The new pit selection rule will begin with the second race of the season at Texas. For St. Pete, last year’s point standings determine the pit assignments.
Corner workers will notify drivers of the type of hazard they are approaching by either holding or waving the yellow flag. A static flag means to watch for something at the edge of the track. A waving flag means there is an obstacle on the track itself.
Crew members may no longer push cars away after a pit stop is complete. very few teams do this anymore, but it was necessary during the roadster era. This measure is a safety rule. A car may be pushed with Indycar approval should there be an issue with the gears. The outside rear tire must be out of the area before a car can be pushed in that instance.
Another wording change involves cars passing through a local yellow zone. The old rule said drivers must slow their speed by 15%. The new rule says “slow substantially.” I think this new wording could lead to some disagreements and result in penalties. I would rather see a specific limit in place. You’re over the limit, you lose the lap. I’m not sure how this will help speed up the interval between qualifying rounds should an investigation be warranted.
Cars a lap or more down to the leaders will not have Push to Pass available. This rule will allow the lead cars to get by the back markers easier. I like this rule in general, but what if two lapped cars are fighting for a position? It is difficult to pass as it is. Is it fair for them?
If the series can disable Push to Pass, perhaps Indycar could look into disabling it as a penalty for a couple laps as a penalty instead of a drive through in certain circumstances.
Marshalling Lights
Indycar will gradually introduce marshalling Lights at road and street courses as the season goes on. We have seen these in F1. They will provide drivers an extra way to learn of track conditions in case they missed seeing a flag. It will also help race control monitor the cars on track.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding begins at 12:30 PM Eastern Time Sunday, February 27. NBC coverage begins at Noon.
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport
Race distance: 100 laps / 180 miles (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) | 60 minute timed race (Indy Lights)
Push-to-pass parameters (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): 150 seconds of total time with a maximum single duration of 15 seconds. The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race
Firestone tire allotment (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Six sets primary, four sets alternate. One additional set is available to rookie drivers for use in the Friday afternoon practice session
2021 NTT P1 Award winner: Colton Herta, 1:00.3210, 107.425 mph
Qualifying lap record: Jordan King, 1:00.0476; 107.914 mph, March 10, 2018 (set in Round 1 of qualifying)
NBC Sports telecast: Race, noon ET Sunday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Spanish-language telecast will be available on Telemundo.
Peacock Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying and Indy Lights races will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All Indy Lights practice and qualifying sessions and races are available on racecontrol.indycar.com, the INDYCAR App and SiriusXM 160.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Friday, Feb. 25
3:40-4:25 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, Peacock Premium
Saturday, Feb. 26
9-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, Peacock Premium
12:30-1:45 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium (Live)
Sunday, Feb. 27
8:45-9:15 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock Premium
Noon – NBC Sports on air
12:23 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:30 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (100 laps / 181 miles), NBC, Telemundo and Peacock Premium (Live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will be the 19th INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of St. Petersburg, dating to 2003. Colton Herta won the 2021 race after starting from the pole position. Paul Tracy won the inaugural race on Feb. 23, 2003, under CART sanction, while Sebastien Bourdais started from the pole that year.
The St. Petersburg INDYCAR race has been run every year since 2003 except for 2004. No driver has competed in every St. Petersburg race, but Scott Dixon has started 17 consecutive races.
Herta can continue a streak of back-to-back race winners at St. Petersburg that began in 2015. Juan Pablo Montoya won back-to-back St. Petersburg races in 2015 and 2016, while Sebastien Bourdais won in 2017 and 2018. Josef Newgarden won back-to-back in 2019 and 2020.
Dixon seeks his first win on the streets of St. Petersburg. Dixon’s six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships trail only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. Dixon is third on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES victory list with 51 wins and can tie Mario Andretti for second with his next win, but has never won at St. Petersburg. He has four runner-up finishes at the circuit.
Helio Castroneves (2006, 2007 and 2012), Will Power (2010 and 2014) and Josef Newgarden (2019-2020) are the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Five past winners are entered: Castroneves, Power, Newgarden, Graham Rahal (2008) and Herta.
Team Penske has won the pole position 10 of the past 15 St. Petersburg races, including nine of the last 12 poles by Power. Along with Power, previous pole winners Rahal (2009), Takuma Sato (2014) and Herta are entered this weekend.
Team Penske has won at St. Petersburg 10 times, including six of the last 10 races with Castroneves (2012), Power (2014), Montoya (2015-16) and Newgarden (2019-2020).
Three drivers have won the race from the pole – Castroneves (2007), Power (2010) and Herta (2021). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in four of the last nine seasons.
Dixon has made 288 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.
Jack Harvey will make his 50th INDYCAR SERIES start at St. Petersburg.
Rookies Tatiana Calderon, Devlin DeFrancesco, Kyle Kirkwood and David Malukas will make their NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut at St. Petersburg.
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Notes:
The 14-car field for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the largest Indy Lights field at St. Petersburg since 2017.
The 2021 season features a deep and talented field with race winners such as Linus Lundqvist and Matt Brabham joining a promising rookie class that includes Christian Rasmussen (Indy Pro 2000 champ), Hunter McElrea (Indy Pro 2000), Kyffin Simpson (Formula Regional Americas champion) and Ernie Francis Jr. (seven-time Trans Am champion/Formula Regional Americas). Other contenders include returning drivers Danial Frost, Sting Ray Robb and Benjamin Pedersen.
Three new teams have joined the series for 2022, TJ Speed Motorsports, led by Indy Lights championship-winning engineer Tim Neff, Road to Indy stalwart Abel Motorsports and African-American-led Force Indy.
Since 2005, the driver who won at least one of the races at St. Petersburg has gone on to win the Indy Lights title six times, including Kyle Kirkwood, who won the first race of the doubleheader in 2021.
For Immediate Release 
INDYCAR Brings Real-Time Automated Highlights
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 