Tag: Firestone GP of St. Petersburg

St. Pete Preview-The New Season Begins

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In many ways the 2026 season starts just like most years do. Veterans are in new places, rookies are eager to prove they belong, some new sponsors are on board, and some new rules and procedures are in place.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg’s 22nd edition has all of the above. The focus as we begin a new season is mainly on three drivers- Will Power, Scott Dixon, and Alex Palou. Josef Newgarden also deserves some attention as well.

Power’s move to Andretti is arguably the biggest move in several years. Will he be able to push Andretti into the conversation a bit more? Andretti is the strongest team on street courses right now, and the early schedule has three street races among the first five races. The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner could get off to a good start with his new team.

Scott Dixon has won 59 times in his IndyCar career, and he will likely reach the magic 60 mark this season. Of all his victories, not one has come at St. Pete. Could 2026 be the year?

Alex Palou enters the season on the brink of matching Sebastien Bourdais with four titles in a row. I don’t think he will lead wire to wire in 2026, but he is still the odds-on favorite for the title. Palou is the defending winner at St. Pete, and there has been a trend of this race producing back-to-back winners.

Procedural Changes

IndyCar has made several changes in procedures and regulations effective immediately. At street course races teams must use two sets of alternate tires during the race and one set of primary tires. Each tire must run a minimum of two laps after the green flag waveThere has been a change to the alternate tires themselves. The green bands are gone for the street course tire. Alternate tires will have a red band at all times. The guayule compound is no longer used. Instead, the alternates are constructed with recycled parts of older tires.

I want to see how this plays out. St. Pete is a track which eats alternate tires, but I hear that Firestone has added some durability to the reds.

Road and street course practices have changed format, and as a result, so have the method for setting qualifying groups. Both oractice sessions for the weekend will begin with a 40 minute period for all cars, followed by two 12 minute sessions for half the field, determined by pit box position.

Qualifying groups are now set by the qualifying order of the previous event. For St. pete, last season’s entrant points will determine the qualifying groups. Pato O’Ward will lead Group 1, and Palou leads Group 2.

Like I am with ovals, I prefer to have qualifying set by the results of the current weekend. While I am fine with the practice modification itself, I would prefer qualifying groups set by times during the current weekend.

Race morning warmup will return to 30 minutes, and will be part of a one hour broadcast by FOX on FS1.

IndyCar has expanded the windows for sending lapped cars to the rear of the field on late race restarts. For St. Pete, the window begins with 20 laps to go.

Officiating

The Independent Officiating Board has yet to name a managing Director of Officiating for IndyCar, and has rehired the entire race directing and technical staffs that has worked the last few years.

The pace at which the board came together, and the retaining of personnel makes the whole process look cosmetic in nature. I hope there is a method to this madness, but right now it appears nothing has changed.

Today’s Schedule

All times Eastern

TimeSeriesSession
7:30 AMGates Open 
8:00 AM – 8:35 AMUSF2000Practice
8:55 AM – 9:40 AMMazda MX-5 CupPractice
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMUSF2000Qualifying
10:50 AM – 11:10 AMMazda MX-5 CupQualifying
11:30 AM – 12:10 PMUSF2000Race 1
11:30 AM – 12:30 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESAutograph Session – American Legion
in Firestone Fan Experience
12:30 PM – 1:15 PMINDY NXT by FirestonePractice 1
1:00 PM – 1:45 PMNASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck SeriesAutograph Session – Mahaffey Theater * Limited Wristbands Available
1:35 PM – 3:00 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESPractice 1
4:00 PM – 4:50 PMNASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck SeriesPractice
5:05 PM – 6:00 PMNASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck SeriesQualifying

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Next Year’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding Event Dates Set for Feb. 27 to March 1, 2026

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From GP St. Pete:

Members of the City of St. Petersburg Council affirm 2026 race days at today’s meeting
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May. 1, 2025) – Green Savoree Racing Promotions and INDYCAR officials confirmed today that next year’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding is slated for Feb. 27 – March 1, 2026. The dates were approved unanimously via a resolution at the City of St. Petersburg City Council meeting held earlier today.
“The 2025 event was another tremendous success with record crowds across the three days. After consulting with the City of St. Petersburg staff and multiple stakeholders, INDYCAR and our Green Savoree Racing Promotions teams agree continuing this great downtown tradition on similar dates is optimal,” said Kim Green, co-owner, chairman and CEO of Green Savoree Racing Promotions, organizers of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. “We look forward to planning for and hosting the Grand Prix on the same weekend in 2026!”
Three-time INDYCAR champion Alex Palou won for the first time in his career on the streets of St. Petersburg back on March 2nd. Round four of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season is this weekend in Birmingham, Ala. at Barber Motorsports Park. Tickets for the 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will go on sale in the fall. Ongoing event updates will be posted at gpstpete.com.
About Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding:The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding is a race event held during Florida’s spring break season. Traditionally the site of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ season-opening race, St. Pete is a destination city hosting this annual motorsports tradition and offering a festival atmosphere with its downtown location. The 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding aired live on a national broadcast on FOX on March 2. FOX Sports named the race one of its “50 Events You Can’t Miss in 2025.” The temporary circuit is a 1.8-mile, 14-turn configuration that uses the streets circling Pioneer Park, the Duke Energy Center for the Arts, The Dali Museum and extending onto the runway at Albert Whitted Airport, and borders the waterfront of Tampa Bay and picturesque St. Petersburg Harbor and Marina. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding is owned and operated by Green Savoree St. Petersburg, LLC. Green Savoree St. Petersburg, LLC is owned by Green Savoree Racing Promotions 2, LLC whose other subsidiaries also promote three additional NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (July 4-6, 2025), Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto (July 18-20, 2025) and BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland (Aug. 8-10, 2025).
For more information, visit gpstpete.com, ‘like’ its Facebook page @GPSTPETE or follow the event on X at @GPSTPETE and Instagram at @GPSTPETE using #FirestoneGP.

McLaughlin on Pole

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Scott McLaughlin bounced back from a crash in Friday’s practice to take his second pole at St. Petersburg. The Penske driver edged Colton Herta by 0.1769 seconds. McLaughlin has now won 11 IndyCar poles.

It was a very interesting qualifying under cloudy skies as the temperature cooled significantly. Favorites Pato O’Ward and Will Power were eliminated in the first rounds. Power had suffered a hybrid failure in the morning practice.

The Fast 12 had several surprise entries, among them Rinus VeeKay, Nolan Siegel, and both Shank cars of Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong. Meyer Shank was the only team to have multiple representatives in the Fast Six.

Santino Ferrucci brushed the wall at the end of the front stretch in round 1. He brought the car to a stop on the escape road at turn 1 and it remained there until qualifying ended. Scott Dixon spun in turn one but kept the car off the wall and continued.

McLaughlin and Herta both said that the race will be interesting because of tire strategy.

Fast Six Results

Fan Fun

FOX isn’t fooling around with their promos. Two kiosks on the Mahaffey lawn bring to life exc erpts from the Newgarden and O’Ward commercials.

This from a faux magazine stand. The books are blank.

Samples available.

Saturday at St. Pete

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All times Eastern. Morning IndyCar practice on FS2.

Qualifying on FS1

Today’s schedule:

Number change– Conor Daly’s car will be number 76 this weekend as Juncos Hollinger Racing has a new sponsor in Union 76 gasoline. We’ll see if this number stays throughout the season or just at select races. One positive is that the 76 in an orange circle on the side if the roll hoop makes the JHR easier to tell apart.

FOX first broadcast– The biggest complaint about yesterday’s practice on FOX was ta plethora of commercials. Comments I have seen on social media say that the content was very good and that the raphics looked great.

Last night the network said that all commercials during the race will be side by side. It’s a step n the right direction.

This morning’s practice will give a better idea of who will contend for the pole. Andretti looked strong yesterday with Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta each leading a segment. Kirkwood led the session overall. Don’t count out Team Penske, McLaren, or Ganassi cars thought. They all had good runs.

I’ll be back after practice with a quick qualifying preview.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding Fast Facts 

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From IndyCar:

 Race weekend: Friday, Feb. 28-Sunday, March 2Track: 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) | 45 laps/81 miles/55 minutes (INDY NXT by Firestone)
Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 310 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. 
INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend with one new set used for qualifying and another new set used during the race. A carryover set from the preseason testing may be used during the first practice.
X: @GPSTPETE, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCARInstagram: @gpstpete, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCARFacebook: @GPSTPETE, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCARTikTok: @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCARYouTube: @INDYCAR, @greensavoreeracingpromotions
Event website: www.gpstpete.comINDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
NTT INDYCAR SERIESPato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)INDY NXT by FirestoneNolan Siegel (No. 39 HMD Motorsports)
2024 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet), 59.5714 seconds, 108.777 mph
2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Nolan Siegel (No. 39 HMD Motorsports), 1 minute, 4.5759 seconds, 100.347 mph
Qualifying records: NTT INDYCAR SERIESWill Power, 59.3466 seconds, 109.189 mph, Feb. 26, 2022 (set in Round 2 of qualifying)
INDY NXT by FirestoneNolan Siegel, 1 minute, 4.5759 seconds, 100.347 mph, March 9, 2024
FOX Sports telecasts: Practice 1, 3 p.m. ET, Friday, FS1 (live); Practice 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Warmup, 9 a.m. ET Sunday, FS2 (live); Race, noon ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman and Jake Query are the turn announcers. Michael Young, Alex Wollf and DJ Clark 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 INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Friday, Feb. 28
2-2:45 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, FS2
3:05-4:25 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, FS1

Saturday, March 1
9:15-9:55 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, FS2
10:15-11:15 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (Limited guarantee of 45 minutes of green flag time), FS2
1:30-2 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (Two groups, 12-minute session with green flag of one timed lap), FS2
2:30-4 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1

Sunday, March 2
9:02-9:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, FS2
10:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (45 laps/81 miles/55 minutes), FS1 (Live)
Noon – FOX Sports on air
12:22 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:29 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (100 laps/181 miles), FOX, FOX Sports Deportes, FOX Sports App (Live)
“WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT ST. PETERSBURG:
Palou begins historic title chase: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the third time in four seasons.The three-time series champion from Spain will look to make history by becoming the first back-to-back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti won three titles in a row for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2009-11.Only three previous drivers have won three successive INDYCAR SERIES championships. Ted Horn won three straight from 1946-48, Sebastien Bourdais won four straight from 2004-07 and Franchitti.
Dixon eyeing first St. Pete win: Scott Dixon has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 58 wins rank second on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES victory list, behind Foyt’s 67, but the streets of St. Petersburg might be his kryptonite. It is one of five tracks on the schedule where Dixon is winless and the one where he has the most starts (20). Dixon has been successful on the streets of St. Petersburg. Dixon has four runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.6 in his 20 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his last nine starts, including seventh in 2024.

Power Plays Poles at Will: Will Power is the greatest qualifier in modern INDYCAR SERIES history, as his 70 career poles are the INDYCAR SERIES record. The tale of Power’s qualifying success can best be told through the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he has won nine of the last 15 poles.The only drivers to score a pole in the last 10 years in St. Petersburg not named Will Power are Takuma Sato in 2014, Robert Wickens in 2018, Colton Herta in 2021, Scott McLaughlin in 2022, Romain Grosjean in 2023 and Josef Newgarden last season.Power scored at least one pole position in each season from 2009-2023 but didn’t win an NTT P1 Award last year. Don’t be surprised if he starts a new streak at St. Pete.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will be the 22nd INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of St. Petersburg. Pato O’Ward won the 2024 race, while Josef Newgarden won the NTT P1 Award. Paul Tracy won the inaugural INDYCAR SERIES race on Feb. 23, 2003, under CART sanction, while Sebastien Bourdais started from the pole that year.The St. Petersburg INDYCAR SERIES 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 20 consecutive races.Will Power (2010, 2014) and Josef Newgarden (2019, 2020) are the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Seven past winners are entered: Power, Newgarden, Graham Rahal (2008), Colton Herta (2021), Scott McLaughlin (2022), Marcus Ericsson (2023) and Pato O’Ward (2024). Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the third time in four seasons. The three-time series champion will look to make history by becoming the first back-to-back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti won three in a row for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2009-11.
Team Penske has won at St. Petersburg 11 times, including seven of the last 13 races with Helio Castroneves (2012), Will Power (2014), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015, 2016), Josef Newgarden (2019, 2020) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).
Four drivers have won the race from the pole – Helio Castroneves (2007), Will Power (2010), Colton Herta (2021) and Scott McLaughlin (2022). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in five of the last 20 races.
Milestones: Scott Dixon is expected to make his 403rd INDYCAR SERIES start, which is second on the all-time list. Dixon has made 339 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…
Colton Herta is slated to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start at St. Petersburg…Rookies Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman will make their NTT INDYCAR SERIES debuts at St. Petersburg. Both Abel and Foster have race at St. Pete in INDY NXT by Firestone.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:Season starter: INDY NXT by Firestone drops the green flag on a new season on the streets of St. Petersburg for the 13th time in series history. The 14-race 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone calendar brings the series to many of North America’s most revered tracks joining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the streets of St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, streets of Detroit, World Wide Technology Raceway, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Iowa Speedway, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Portland International Raceway, Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway.Local favorite: Representing Florida in this weekend’s field is series debutant Nikita Johnson of HMD Motorsports. The 16-year-old from St. Petersburg is making the first of four INDY NXT by Firestone starts this season in his hometown event. Johnson finished second in the USF Pro 2000 championship in 2024 and won races at St. Petersburg in the series that feed INDY NXT
.International flair: This weekend’s race will feature drivers representing 10 countries. The United States is best represented by a total of eight drivers. There are two drivers each from Australia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and one each from Brazil, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and Scotland.
Welcome back: For the third consecutive season, INDY NXT by Firestone welcomes a new team to the paddock. Chip Ganassi Racing will make its series return in 2025 running a pair of full-time cars beginning at St. Petersburg. The 16-time INDYCAR SERIES championship-winning team last competed in INDYCAR’s top development series in 2007.
St. Pete precursor?: Since 2005, a driver who won at least one of the races at St. Petersburg has gone on to win the INDY NXT by Firestone title six times, the most recent being Kyle Kirkwood, who won the first race of the doubleheader in 2021.