IndyCar
Josef Newgarden fastest in 2nd practice for Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Josef Newgarden’s 2021 season did not start the way he envisioned, crashing out of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst last Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park.
Newgarden has clearly put that behind him as he was fastest in the second practice session for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after leading the only session on Friday.
The No. 2 Hitachi Chevy posted a quick lap of 1:00:0622 (107.888 MPH) around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street course that uses part of the Albert Whitted Airport and the streets of St. Petersburg.
“We want to have a solid weekend,” said Newgarden. “It was a shame we just didn’t even really get to be in the race (at Barber). Obviously, in a perfect world we would have started off with much better points and ideally a win.”
Andretti Autosports Alexander Rossi was second fastest at 1:00:1749 (107.686) in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Â Rossi was fourth fastest on Friday.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey was third quickest at 1:00:2192 (107.627) in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda followed by Andretti’s Colton Herta in fourth at 1:00:2216 (107.603) in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top 5 with a quick time of 1:00:2219 in the No. 8 Husky Chocolate Honda.
Ericsson’s six-time and reigning series Champion teammate Scott Dixon was eighth quickest at 1:00:3262 (107.416) in the No. 9 PNC Grow Up Great Honda.
CGR’s Alex Palou just missed the top 10 with a fast lap of 1:00:5076 (107.094) in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda.
Jimmie Johnson continued his learning curve in the No. 48 Carvana Honda with a quick time of 1:02:3598 (103.913), which was .7719-seconds quicker than his best lap on Friday.
Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award is scheduled to start at 1:45 p.m., with live coverage on Peacock Premium and same-day coverage at 10 p.m. on NBCSN.
Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon Sunday on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
LONG BEACH, CA (April 18,, 2026) – Felix Rosenqvist is on the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach after turning a fast lap of of 1 minute, 7.4635 seconds in the No. 60 SiriusXM/Acura Honda.
The pole capped a great day for Meyer Shank Racing who on the IMSA race on Saturday.
“So great to put it on pole here and it’s been a long time, so it feels good,” said Rosenqvist. “But what a day for Meyer Shank Racing with the win in the IMSA race today and now the pole for the IndyCar race.”
Pato O’Ward, Rosenqvist’s good friend and former teammate, will start from the front row after qualifying a season-best second at 1:07.5076 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“That was nerve-wracking to watch my ole buddy Pato do his run, and I wasn’t sure if we’d get it,” said Rosenqvist. “But the SiriusXM Green Day Acura has been great and hope we can have a good day tomorrow.”
“This is by far the best qualifying day I’ve had,” said O’Ward. “I’ve been happy with the car I’ve been given from practice one. Hats off to Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy. I know we’re leading their pack.”
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou will start from the third position in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with 2026 Championship points leader Kyle Kirkwood right beside in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Andretti Global Honda.
David Malukas will start fifth in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, the best qualifying car for Team Penske.
Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon will start sixth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Â The qualifying effort was Dixon’s best of 2026.
Next up is a 30-minute warmup Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
The 90-lap race around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile iconic temporary street circuit starts at 5:30 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
LONG BEACH, CA (April 18, 2026) Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood is picking up right where he left off at Long Beach. Â The 2025 winner of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was quickest in the second NTT IndyCar Series practice session at the iconic street circuit.
Kirkwood’s fast lap of 1-minute, 7.5417-seconds was 0.2333-seconds quicker than Team Penske’s David Malukas.
Saturday’s practice session was sort of similar to Friday’s session as Andretti Global and Team Penske were 1-2 on the timing chart, except Friday’s session was led by Will Power, who beat out Scott McLaughlin for the top spot.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was fourth quickest on both days in the No. 10 OpenAI Honda.
Knockout style qualifying takes place at 6:30 p.m. ET with the Firestone Fast Six shifting to single car attempts.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Chip Ganassi Racing’s 2026 Trading Cards are coming out soon, and race fans can support a great cause by picking up a pack.
CGR’s 2025 trading card program raised over $20,000 for charities across the country, and proceeds from the 2026 program will benefit education nonprofit DonorsChoose, a PNC Grow Up Great® partner supporting public school and Head Start classrooms.
PNC Grow Up Great is a $500 million, bilingual early childhood education initiative that has been helping to prepare children from birth through age 5 for success in school and in life since 2004.
PNC and DonorsChoose—an education nonprofit that allows individuals to donate directly to classroom projects—have collaborated since 2017 to help teachers obtain quality resources and experiences for students in public pre-K, public charter, and Head Start classrooms. The $20 million alliance has included flash funds, match offers, DonorsChoose gift codes, and jumpstart donations to support early childhood learning.
Cards are available for pre-order now at chipganassiracing.com/cgrcards. Fans may receive autographed cards from Scott Dixon, six-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion and driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda; defending IndyCar Champion and defending Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Honda; and rising star Kyffin Simpson, driver of the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Since 2018, Dixon has visited high-quality education centers across the country, engaging in reading and other early learning activities with thousands of preschoolers—helping to expand PNC Grow Up Great and inspire the next generation of IndyCar fans.
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Alex Palou wins the pole position for Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park
Ganassi 2026 Trading Cards to support PNC’s Grow Up Great partner DonorsChoose
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Alex Palou and DHL Chip Ganassi Racing repeat at Barber Motorsports Park
