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
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
DETROIT, MI (May 31, 2026) – Alex Palou is back in victory lane after winning Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, his fourth win of 2026 and 12th win in his past 25-races.
“It was a tough one,” said Palou. “The team did an incredible job one again with the strategy. Pit stops were incredible. The number 10 Honda Honda looked really good and I think every time it has been on track it’s had a win.”
Palou and the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda fought off Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood on two late-race restarts as Palou was on the harder Firestone Primary tire and Kirkwood was on the softer Firestone alternate tire.
“It was very tough with the temperature on the tires,” explained Palou. “On the restarts I couldn’t really be at the level of Kirkwood, Power and some of the guys who were able to get a little more tire temp than I Wass able to.”
“The Sam’s Club Honda was really fast,” said Kirkwood, who is second to Palou in the Championship. “We took a little bit of a gamble on tires there being the only guy on reds (alternate) at the end. It nearly paid off. It was so, so, close. They’re a great team and he’s a great driver.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal finished third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda, tying Rahal’s best finish of the year.
“We had a lot of pace when we needed it,” explained Rahal. “We go lucky a little bit with the yellow.”
IndyCar
Alex Palou wins Detroit IndyCar Pole; Scott Dixon earns 4th starting spot; Honda sweeps front row
DETROIT, MI (May 30, 2026) – Alex Palou is starting on the pole position for the third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series Race, winning the number 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
Palou’s fast lap of 1-minute, 1.9017-seconds (95.668 mph) in the No. 10 Honda Racing Corporation Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 0.005542-seconds ahead Will Power, who will start second in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global. This is Power’s best starting position since switching to Andretti in the offseason.
“I’m super happy that we got the pole position,” said Palou. “The Fast Six was very exciting, especially with only getting one lap. The tires were not up to temperature, but this #10 Honda Honda car was on rails.”
“It was really nice to get into the Fast Six,” said Power, IndyCar’s all-time pole winner. “It’s my second time in the one lap shootout this year. It’s very difficult to beat Alex, so heading into the race I think we just have to put our heads down and see what we can do. The Honda is very good and I’ve been really enjoying running with Honda power all year.”
The front row Honda sweep on Chevrolet’s doorstep may bode well for the manufacturer as Honda has won every race at Detroit since the series switched to the downtown street circuit beginning in 2023.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party, locking down the third starting spot with a lap of 1:02.4559 in the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.
Six-time series Champion Scott Dixon qualified a season-best fourth at 1:02.6085 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda to give Chip Ganassi Racing two of the top 4 starting spots.
“I was just a little too aggressive going for it,” said Dixon. “The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda has speed and it’s good to be starting up front.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will line up fifth after a fast lap of 1:02.7870 in the No. 7 Chevrolet, despite losing an engine in the morning practice.
Kyle Kirkwood continued the Firestone Fast Six Honda party qualifying sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda despite locking his tires up at one point and two power slides during his quick lap.
David Malukas will start last in the field after bringing out a red flag during his qualifying run. Malukas smacked the wall in turn 7 causing heavy damage to the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Sunday starts with a 30-minute morning warmup at 9:30 a.m. followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. on Fox and the IndyCar Radio Network.
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