IndyCar
Felix Rosenqvist leads opening practice at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; Ganassi’s Armstrong 3rd quickest
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 8, 2024) Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist set the fastest lap of the first practice session of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Rosenqvist’s fast lap of 1:00:3380 (107.393 mph) was 0.4722 quicker than the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward (100.8112/106.559).
“It was a really good run for us,” said Rosenqvist who added “everbody knows the Andretti package is good on the road and street circuits,” referring to their technical partnership with Andretti Global.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong was third quick in the No. 11 Ridegline Honda with a fast lap of 100.81822 (106.547 mph) followed by Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet (100.8408/106.547).
“While we were third-fastest, I think we can look through the data and find even more speed,” said Armstrong. “Tomorrow will be a different day and it will bring different temperatures and different ambient temperatures. We have some homework to do but we’re in a good spot for day one.”
The practice session included the whole field for the first 20-minutes followed by two 10-minute sessions of a split field. Power said he approved of the new format.
“I don’t mind that,” said Power, who added “there’s more room on track and less backing up. I felt like overall the session was pretty good.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay rounded out the Top 5 in the No. 21 Chevrolet (100.8848/106.431).
Armstrong’s more experienced teammates Alex Palou, the two-time and defending series champion, finished the session P8 in the No. 10 DHL Honda with a quick lap of 1.01.0200 (106.195) around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.
“It was a very good day with it being the first practice of the year in the new DHL Honda,” said Palou. “We obviously ran through some new stuff, not only as a team starting a new season, but with a new practice format, as well. We were focused on getting a lot of laps and it was nice out there without a ton of traffic. The car honestly felt pretty good. Of course, there is a lot of work to do as always, but it’s good to be back.”
Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon finished P12 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda (1.01.0728/106.103).
“Today was quite interesting with the split sessions,” said Dixon. “We missed a bit and probably weren’t aggressive enough with the changes throughout those sessions, but we’re optimistic and hopeful that there is a lot of speed to come. Looking forward to another practice and qualifying tomorrow with the PNC Bank crew.”
Rookies Linus Lundqvist finished 18th (1.01.3377/105.645) in his inaugural outing in the No. 8 American Legion Be The One Honda and Kyffin Simpson ended the session P23 (1.01.7223/104.986) in the No. 4 Journie Rewards Honda.
“It was a great first practice and I was glad to run the most laps today, as that was one of the goals for this session,” said Lundqvist. “We are taking it step by step, but I feel that our Honda is in a pretty good place with the primary tires. When we went to the alternates, we didn’t kind quite get a quality run with the red flags that came out. But overall, we’re happy and I know the entire American Legion team will continue to work hard as we progress through the weekend.”
“It was great to drive an IndyCar for the first time and to do so here in St. Pete with the Journie Rewards crew,” said Simpson. “But, I thought it was a pretty tough session. I know our entire team will just continue to keep working, get as many laps in as we can and prepare for these upcoming sessions. I’m excited to get back on track tomorrow to continue learning and looking for more pace.”
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to the track for Practice No. 2 Saturday morning at 9:35 a.m. followed by three rounds of knockout-style qualifying for the NTT P1 Award from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
MONTEREY, CA (September 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are celebrating their 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Championship following the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Palou started eighth and finished second in Sunday’s race after clinching the title following last week’s 10th place finish in the second race at The Milwaukee Mile.
“One for the thumb,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi, referring to Palou’s fifth championship ring in an obvious homage to a familiar football refrain around Pittsburgh.
“Incredible,” Palou said. “I owe everything to this team. So proud of this team. It is great to have another championship and ready for the next one.”
Palou’s title is his fourth straight, matching a feat for the team from 1996-1999.
“I’ve been saying it for years now, I cannot still believe the position I am,” said Palou. “The opportunity to start every single year with the chances and the best team around me and best partners to fight for wins and championships.”
Palou finished the season with 6-wins, 8-poles, 7-podiums, 12-Top 5’s, 15-Top 10’s and 631 laps led.
“Last year was magical,” reflected Palou. “I thought it could not be repeated. We did not repeat it, unfortunately, but we were close. We were like really, really close. Obviously last year we were able to win the 500 and the championship. If I didn’t compare it to last year, this year was just insane. Was so fun.”
CGR Team Manager Barry Wanser, who has been with the team for over 25-years, talked about what makes Palou a special talent.
“I just think his ability to constantly learn and take advantage of the resources that we have at Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Wanser, who credited the men and women behind the scenes at CGR. “Alex can’t perform as well as he does without such a great team behind him. The engineering department certainly has knocked it out of the park again with some great cars. Certainly in the pits has been amazing this year. Alex is just impressive. Very awesome.”
Ganassi, whose team ran off four straight title with Jimmy Vasser (1996), the late Alex Zanardi (’97 & ’98) and Juan Montoya (’99), refuses to take credit for the team’s success, which starts with the team mantra, ‘One team, One goal’.
“When I started the team, I wanted to have a team that I would want to drive for,” explained Ganassi. “That’s kind of always the way I looked at it. It takes a lot of people to make this stuff happen. It’s one team. We all work together. We’re all trying to win. It’s open book with us all the time across the board with all the drivers, all the teams.”
Palou’s four titles in a row by a driver match the only other driver to do it, Sebastien Bourdais.
“We’re in the midst of a generational thing here, a generational driver,” said Ganassi. “Four in a row has been done before, but five out of six hasn’t been done before. That’s something that’s kind of unprecedented. We’re in the midst of that right now. It’s not over!”
MONTEREY, CA (September 6, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet are back in Victory Lane following a dominating performance at the Mission Foods Monterey Grand Prix at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
McLaughlin, who started on the pole position, ended a 2-year win drought leading 87 of 90-laps en route to his 8th-career NTT IndyCar Series victory.
“Really proud to get our first win together on a road course where the last couple years we probably struggled at the most,” said McLaughlin of his new engineer Raul Prados. “What a great way to end the season. We have a lot of hard work to do over the off-season to come back stronger, combat against the 10 (Alex Palou).”
Palou started second in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Chip Ganassi Racing Honda that paid tribute to CGR Champion and Alum, the late Alex Zanardi, who passed away earlier this year. Palou settled in behind McLaughlin but couldn’t match the pace or tire wear of the No. 3.
“We started on used alternates and we kind of survived, but then we went on an another used alternates,” said Palou, who finished eighth. “We, like, killed ourselves there.”
Despite the eighth place finish Palou, who clinched his fifth Series Championship in six years last week at Milwaukee, says he is as lucky as they come.
“Obviously last year we were able to win the 500 and the championship,” explained Palou. “If I didn’t compare it to last year, this year was just insane.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished second in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda to clinch second place in the Series Championship.
“We played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship,” explained Kirkwood. “We made all the decisions based on that. Probably could have had a go at Scottie at the end on the first few laps on reds. The number one goal was to make the tires last. That’s what we did. Came home with a second, which is something to be proud of.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi came home third in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet. The podium finish ended a drought as well for Rossi and was his first in two years at ECR.
“It’s no secret that this has been a pretty terrible year for myself and the whole ECR team with the litany of issue, some out of our control, some in our control,” said Rossi. “Really ever since the Indy GP, there’s been a huge amount of emphasis and effort behind the scenes to kind of dig out of that hole. This is a great result to kind of reward that effort, just rebuild the confidence in everyone that we’re capable of doing this.”
Despite finishing last in the 25-car field due to the incident with Robb, Hauger hung on to win series Rookie of the Year honors. He finished with 228 points, 15 ahead of Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the rookie race.
The 2027 NTT IndyCar Series season opens Sunday, March 7 with the Firestone Grand Prix on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
MONTEREY, CA (September 5, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin is on the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey after blasting to a quick lap of 1-minute, 9.1363-seconds in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevy in Firestone Fast Six qualifying at the picturesque permanent road course.
“I felt like from the jump this weekend, we’ve come with a philosophy we’ve been working on the last, I don’t know, four months or something like that, basically since our Mid-Ohio test,” explained McLaughlin. “Been feeling better and better. Put it all together today.”
McLaughlin edged Alex Palou, whose lap of 1-minute, 9.1540-seconds in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, was a mere o.o177-seconds off the top spot.
“It’s so tough to put a lap together, especially at this place,” said Palou. “I think it’s so great to see that we’re all so close. I’m sure that Scott feels like he could have got another 10th if he puts like a perfect lap. I feel the same way.”
Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist clocked in third fastest at 1:09.1931 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Nickelback Honda.
“Good qualifying for us,” said Rosenqvist. “We’ve been in the top three in every session, so I think we would have been disappointed if we didn’t end up in the top three. Always tough to get through with all of the sand and traffic. I missed it a bit in the corkscrew, so maybe there was a pole in there. I’m not sure.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi lines up fourth after a fast lap of 1:09:3247 in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet.
“The No. 20 Java House Chevrolet has been through a lot this season so it’s nice to get a decent qualifying on the books before the year comes to a close,” said Rossi. ““Road courses have been a big struggle for us, really all season. At a test we had a couple of months ago, we really understood something we hadn’t prior to that and have just been building off of it.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will start fifth and Team Penske’s David Malukas will start sixth as Chevrolet took four of the Fast Six qualifying spots en route to it’s 250-career IndyCar Series pole.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Kyffin Simpson will start 9th in the No. 8 Sunoco and Scott Dixon will start 17th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. The race will be the last for Dixon at CGR after 25-years with the team.
Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.
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One for the thumb! Alex Palou celebrating 5th IndyCar Championship; Chip Ganassi’s 18th
