Today’s Schedule Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:
Warmup and IndyNXT race on FS1; IndyCar race on FOX.
The waiting and wondering is over. The 2026 NTT IndyCar series begins just after noon today. There were many storylines coming into the weekend- Alex Palou’s quest for four titles in a row, Team Penske looking to rebound from a subpar 2025, Will power’s move to Andretti- and more were added yesterday as a result of qualifying. How will Dennis Hauger race after a spectacular qualifying run? Is Josef Newgarden in for another difficult year? Is Meyer Shank racing in for a very good season?
Tire strategy is key in today’s race with the two mandated stints on alternate tires. Some teams may not have an idea of what to do until after the morning warmup. If it comes down to tie calls, Plou has the upper hand, but with Tim Cindric calling the shots for McLaughlin, don’t count them out, either.
Today is just one race, bu some teams are poised to enter the conversation. We will have a better idea at the end of this month where things are headed, but today let’s enjoy the race.
I’ll be back with the starting tire selections ariund 11 am Eastern.
Scott McLaughlin continued the fast pace he has shown all weekend and captured the pole for tomorrow’s Firestone Grand of St. Petersburg, but the buzz is all about rookie Dennis Hauger and the performance of Dale Coyne Racing.
Rookie Hauger, the 2025 IndyNXT champion who won several poles last year, will start third tomorrow in his first IndyCar race. His teammate Romain Grosjean will star sixth. Hauger is on loan to Coyne from Andretti Global, who has formed a technical alliance with Coyne. Grosjean officially got the second Coyne ride just 10 days ago.
McLaughlin led Friday’s practice and was seventh overall this morning. The pole was McLaughlin’s third at St. Pete, and he has one win. In 2025 a tire strategy call cost him the race.
Marcus Ericsson will start second, two hundredths of a second behind McLaughlin. Both front row starters have won this race, and both are coming off less than ideal seasons. Tomorrow’s race could be one of redemption for someone.
2025 St. Pete winner and series champion Alex Palou will start fourth.
David Malukas had a nice debut with Team Penske earning the fifth spot on the grid.
Newgarden’s Woes Continue
Josef Ne4wgarden hoped his win at Nashville in the 2025 season finale would provide a boost to the start of 2026. Yesterday he had an incident in practice, and he failed tom get out of the first round when his brakes locked upon his final lap. I look for him to move uo through the field tomorrow.
Note: For 2026 qualifying groups are determined by the qualifying results from the previous event. At St. Pete groups are determined based on 2025 final entrant points.
Yellow cars had a difficult time in the first segment of practice this morning. Will Power found the wall in turn 10, causing heavy damage to the right front of his car. Christian Rasmussen then crashed between turns 2 and 3 and suffered damage.
Christian Lundgaard led this morning’s practice. his time 1:01.657 was a half second slower than Scott McLaughlin’s fast time from yesterday.
Another huge crowd is on site today for the NASCAR Truck race, which started just a few minutes ago, and is currently under caution.
As far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on the new practice format. I can see a benefit of the split groups to help the teams get a feel for a qualifying round, but I think IndyCar needs to provide a separate result sheet for each segment of the practice hour. An overall time sheet is misleading.
I’ll be back after qualifying with a quick summary and then I will have a more detailed wrap up later this evening.
Autograph Session – American Legion in Firestone Fan Experience
11:35 AM
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Driver Introductions
12:23 PM
OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series – Race (80 Laps) FOX
3:45 PM – 4:15 PM
INDY NXT by Firestone
Qualifying FS2
4:35 PM – 6:00 PM
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Qualifying FS2
Good morning from St. Pete. Today IndyCar and Indy NXT comprise the bun around a NASCAR Truck sandwich.
I am sort of okay with the two series sharing a weekend, but I think IndyCar is better served having a standalone opening weeken
The weather has cleared and it appears the threat of rain is gone for the weekend.
Scott Dixon’s car can be repaired, so the teams will not have to go to a backup.
Mazda MX-5 Cup just finished their first race of the weekend. Bobby Gossett won. Earl bamber finished 8th and Sebastien Bourdais came home 11th. This series concludes the weekend program with race 2 at 4 pm tomorrow.
I’ll be back after IndyCar practice. The format remains the same as yesterday, butthe group morder is rversed.
Scott McLaughlin has always been fast at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and today was no exception. McLaughlin turned the fastest lap in the opening practice session during a Friday practice which had several red flags.
In the first small group session, Josef Newgarden got loose,slid through the grass, and made slight wall contact. In the biggest incident of the day, Scott Dixon had a major head hit in turn 8. David Malukas tried toed to squeeze between the wall and Dixon’s disabled car. Malukas ran over some large pieces of debris.
Late in group 2 Louis Foster hit the wall in turn 14. Dennis Hauger lost a spring and also brought out a red flag.
In a press availability after practice, Newgarden said that tires are still an unknown factor, but he believes the red alternate might be the better tire this weekend. A warmer sunnier Sunday may change that thinking. Newgarden said no one knows how the Firestone tires will perform with the rubber from the truck race on the track for qualifying.
Results
Notes
The St. Pete Grand Prix does very little wrong, but one thing needs to be addressed. The Victory Circle behind the main grandstand has not added a new winner’s plaque since Colton Herta affixed his sign in 2022 for his 2021 win.
While Herta’s name completed the front side of the pillar, the other side has holes predrilled for subsequent winners, yet it stands barren.
Through 2022, the previous year’s winner attaching the plaque with his name on it to the wall was a part of the weekend schedule. It hasn’t been done for the last few years. Imagine IMS not attaching the winner to te the Borg Warner trophy. I hope Green Savoree restores this tradition soon.
Friday saw one of the largest Friday crowds I have ever seen at St. Pete. On my way to the the turn 10 grandstand for IndyCar practice, the stand looked completely full- for practice; on a Friday. It makesme think tomorrow and Sunday are going to be jam packed.
Thanks for following along today. I’ll be back in the morning with a preview of qualifying.
Energy-Efficient Class 8 Natural Gas Truck To Transport INDYCAR Administrative Trailer
INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Feb. 27, 2026) – Shell and INDYCAR announced Feb. 27 that Shell Starship will return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES transportation fleet for the 2026 season, continuing its role as a visible demonstration of advanced, lower-emissions freight technology operating in a motorsports series.Shell Starship, powered by a Cummins X15NTM natural gas engine and lubricated with Shell Rotella® natural gas engine oil, will be the transport vehicle for the INDYCAR Administrative Trailer, traveling to nearly every race on the 2026 calendar.
“Shell Starship is more than a concept; it’s a working demonstration of what’s possible when advanced vehicle design, efficient powertrains and renewable fuels come together,” said Thomas Mueller, general manager of Commercial Road Transport at Shell. “Returning to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2026 allows us to continue learning in real-world conditions while supporting a partner that shares our ambition to advance more sustainable mobility solutions.”
The return builds on a successful debut season in 2025, when Shell Starship joined the series following the Indianapolis 500 and became the first natural gas-powered Class 8 truck to operate within a national racing series fleet in North America. For the 2026 season, the anticipated plans for Starship are to increase the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) compared to the 2025 season.
“INDYCAR is continuously evaluating ways to grow on and off the track – including how we move people and equipment,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “The Shell Starship program helps us assess advanced vehicle technologies and renewable fuel solutions in a meaningful way and support our sustainability goals, demonstrating solutions that can scale beyond racing. Judging by how many times Shell Starship is photographed in the paddock, it is clear our fans enjoy the program, as well.”
In addition to its logistics role, Shell Starship will have multiple marquee moments throughout the 2026 season, including:Leading the truck parade at the Java House Grand Prix of ArlingtonParticipating in the 500 Festival Parade ahead of the Indianapolis 500. A feature in INDYCAR video game titles for console and PC, produced by iRacing Studios Shell Starship’s return builds on the broader collaboration between Shell and INDYCAR, including Shell’s role as Official Fuel of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the introduction of 100% renewable race fuel in 2023. By returning to INDYCAR in 2026, Shell Starship continues to demonstrate how advanced vehicle design, efficient powertrains and renewable fuels can support lower-carbon, real-world logistics, on race weekends and beyond.
For more information about Shell Starship and Shell’s work in transport decarbonization, visit shell.com/starship.
Greetings from cool, cloudy, foggy St. Petersburg as activity is already underway for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. USF 200 just completed qualifying, and Mazda MX-5 Cup cars will qualify in about 15 minutes.
As you can see from the photo, the fog has not completely left,m but the sky is getting brighter, but still cloudy. IndyCar is still scheduled for a 1:35 practice session.
The morning began with some major news. Chip Ganassi and McLaren have reached an unspecified settlement in thel awsuit in which McLaren was awarded $12 million dollars. Ganassi said he and Zak Brown had “a good conversation.”
Chip Ganassi Racing and A;ex Palou each issued statements about the settlement>
I am glad that this matter is closed. It has been a lingering cloud over the series, and I’m sure it was on Palou’s mind as well.
10 Titles
It was a treat this morning when four time series champion Dario Franchitti and six time series champ Scott Dixon mad an appearance. Dixon is looking for his first win at St. pete and his 60th career victory this season. Franchitti, retired from IndyCar since 2013, will be driving in the NASCAR Truck series race tomorrow.
Dario said he wasn’t nervous yet, but might be once he gets in the truck. Dixon was relieved that Franchitti isn’t coming back to IndyCar.
Both drivers expressed a desire to try out the Mazda MX-5 cup series some day.
Sorting
These photos are to help me mostly, but I hope it helps you keep these two cars straight starting Sunday.
Will Power is in this car:
David Malukas is in this car:
I hope this helps.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced a sponsor for rookie Mick Schumacher this morning.
Looking Around
As I walked around the track this morning, I noticed what seemed to be a significant increase in concessions, especially behind the first turn grandstands. It wasn’t too long ago that you mostly saw the grandstand structures and some port a potties. The area has become quite dense.
New and more numerous video boards are in place. There is one closer to turn 1, so the fans there don’t have to fight the glare of the sun to see the board just past the start/finish line across from the pits.
I will be back after IndyCar practice with a wrap up of the day.
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
Time
Series
Session
7:30 AM
Gates Open
8:00 AM – 8:35 AM
USF2000
Practice
8:55 AM – 9:40 AM
Mazda MX-5 Cup
Practice
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
USF2000
Qualifying
10:50 AM – 11:10 AM
Mazda MX-5 Cup
Qualifying
11:30 AM – 12:10 PM
USF2000
Race 1
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Autograph Session – American Legion in Firestone Fan Experience
12:30 PM – 1:15 PM
INDY NXT by Firestone
Practice 1
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Autograph Session – Mahaffey Theater * Limited Wristbands Available
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 