IndyCar
Marcus Armstrong Leads Qualifying for Chip Ganassi Racing at St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 9, 2024) – Saturday’s knockout style qualifying session on the streets of St. Petersburg is a testament to how competitive the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is, but for the Chip Ganassi Racing team it was a somewhat disappointing day as nobody from the five-car team made it into the Firestone Fast Six.
Marcus Armstrong was the fastest qualifier of the group posting a fast lap of 59.6127-seconds in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda during the second session. Scott Dixon was right behind Armstrong in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda, turning a quick lap of 59.8483 around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit. Armstrong will start 10th and Dixon 11th.
“The car was driving well, and I thought we were taking the appropriate amount of risk,” explained Armstrong, the 2023 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year. “However, I am pretty disappointed with myself in that second round. It’s a shame because I felt quite confident out there. I touched the wall a few times, but this Ridgeline Lubricants Honda is pretty rock solid. We were faster last year here in the race, so I have all the faith in the world that we are going to go forward.”
“I think for us, it’s really hard to find the capability of the car,” said Dixon, the six-time series Champion. “You push hard, you push a little bit harder and then you lose the front. When you’re in the sweet spot, everything’s just easier. Kudos to [Marcus] Armstrong there; that there was the best of our cars at the moment. We will continue to work hard tonight and prepare for tomorrow.”
Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Two-time and defending series Champion Alex Palou didn’t even make it out of the first round, just missing out on advancing by posting a best-lap of 59.7897 in the No. 10 DHL Honda, good for the 13th starting spot.
The No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driven by Alex Palou enters pit road at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
“It was not the qualifying session that we wanted,” said Palou. “We just needed a little bit more and had a bit of a messy session. But, we feel good about the way the car is responding. It’ll be tough starting from P13, but it’s a long race with 100 laps so we can make it.”
Rookies Linus Lundqvist and Kyffin Simpson will start 19th and 23rd respectively. Lundqvist’s fast lap was 1:00:0034 in the No. 8 American Legion Be The One Honda and Simpson’s was 1:00:2956 in the No. 4 Journie Rewards Honda as the pair get acclimated to a new series and new tracks.
“Obviously a little bit disappointed in how qualifying went, as we thought we would be a bit further up than P19,” said Lundqvist, the 2022 INDYNXT Champion. “But it is a long race and we’re going to try to play it smart and make up some spots on Sunday. We’re all here to fight for race wins and pole positions so we’re hopeful for a better one tomorrow.”
Linus Lundqvist, driver of the No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda on the Pit Stand at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
“Our first qualifying was just okay,” said Simpson. “We didn’t finish all that well, but I felt a lot more comfortable in the car and that is important for tomorrow. We’ll look through potential strategy options as we will be looking to make our way forward in the race.”
Kyffin Simpson, driver of the No. 4 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, walks along pit road at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Coverage of the 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg begins at Noon ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
IndyCar St. Pete Starting Lineup
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
PORTLAND, OR (August 9, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are closing in on another NTT IndyCar Series Championship after winning Sunday’s Only Bulls Portland Grand Prix.
Palou started second and passed Felix Rosenqvist during the first round of pit stops by staying out an extra lap and using the ‘overcut’ to get the lead and then dominated, leading 60 of 110-laps to grab his sixth victory of 2026.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” said Palou, who started second. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.”
“We had to do something different than Felix,” said Barry Wanser, team manager for the No. 10 Honda. “We had to go longer than him. It takes a lot of performance by Alex and certainly the Honda engine to give us the fuel mileage to jump in one more and do the overcut. That helped us. We had a pretty smooth pit stop and got the jump there.”
Rosenqvist, who started on the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Grateful Dead Honda, closed to within a second late but couldn’t get back to the front.
“He got us in a sequence,” said Rosenqvist, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner. “I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG Honda to lockout the podium for the manufacturer.
“Great day for us,” said Power. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a tenth off. Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now.”
The victory for Palou increased his Championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing,” said Palou. “That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.
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