THERMAL, CA (March 21, 2025) – Two-time defending and three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion Alex Palou is atop the speed charts after the first practice session at The Thermal Club.

Palou’s fast lap of 1-minute, 40.5486-seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda around the 17-turn, 3.067-mile natural terrain road course was 0.0901-seconds quicker than Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood’s lap in the No. 27 Chili’s Honda.

“A really good start to the weekend for the No. 10 DHL Honda team,” said Palou. “We didn’t get many laps because of some red flags, but the car rolled off really well considering it was very different to last year with different tires and the hybrid unit, and we didn’t test here this year. I’m really happy.”

Kirkwood wasn’t the only Andretti Global car to shine as 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson was third at 1:40.7370 in the No. 28 Bryant Honda, followed by Southern California native Colton Herta at 1:40.8439 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

“Good start for all the Andretti cars,” said Herta. “All in the top 5. Just happy with that. This is a place where we tested, so really wanted to start off on the right foot.  If we’re not quick right away after a place that you’ve tested at, it’s a little disappointing. You scratch your heads a little bit. So to start off that way is a little bit expected because we tested here, but it feels good.”

Not feeling good is the PREMA Racing team after a lengthy red flag for rookie Robert Shwartzman, who was forced to stop on track just past Turn 6 when a fire erupted in the rear of his No. 83 Chevrolet. Shwartzman quickly climbed from the car and was not hurt but the car was destroyed.

Saturday’s schedule features another practice at 1 p.m. ET, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET (both on FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 65-lap race starts at 3 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Thermal First Practice

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 2, 2025) – Scott Dixon has some pretty incredible accomplishments in his 25-year INDYCAR career but finishing second in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg despite losing radio communication with his team may be the most incredible.

“I’m pretty pissed off,” fumed Dixon, a six-time series Champion. “”It’s the first time I’ve ever done a whole race without a radio, so that was interesting. We had a good race going and we didn’t get it done. So it doesn’t feel good, that’s for sure.”

Imagine racing in the most competitive form or motorsports, in a concrete canyon using only your mirrors and the data on your dash.

“Kind of worked on the warm-up laps and kind of for the first 10 and that was about it,” explained Dixon about the radio issue.

The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda timing stand on pit road could only hear Dixon sometimes according to team owner Chip Ganassi.

“It was intermittent,” explained Ganassi. “Sometimes you got it, sometimes you didn’t.”

Not knowing key information to make decisions in the cockpit isn’t something that any modern day race driver wants to deal with.

“It’s nice in the race, right, just to understand who’s doing what, what strategy everybody is on,” explained Dixon.  “I think when I caught Rossi and maybe Lundgaard, I kept trying to ask, how many laps have they got to go before we can get some clean air and kind of push because it’s very tough to just get a pass going here.”

Street circuits are notoriously tough to pass on so strategy often comes into play as teams try to ‘undercut’ (pit early) or ‘overcut’ (stay out long) to gain track position.

Dixon was leading the race, didn’t know what strategy his competitors were on; didn’t know who was up ahead unless he could see them and in the end didn’t have communication from his pit stand to come in a lap earlier for his final pit stop because of traffic.

“Ultimately cost us the race, I think, with not coming in when I should have,” said Dixon. “I caught about five or six cars on my in-lap. I think I lost about two or three seconds just on my in-lap. They (10 car) did the right thing; they could see the traffic coming. I had no communication, so didn’t know.”

Team owner Chip Ganassi said Dixon would’ve been on the top step of the podium if not for the issue.

“Well, if everything was 100 percent, he would have won — it was simple,” said Ganassi. “He would have won the race. The race was over. It was one stop to go, and we pitted a lap later than we wanted him to. That was the race. That was the difference between he and Palou.”

“Glad we got some good points and a nice one-two for the team,” said Dixon.

Palou leads the Championship by 10-points over Dixon as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes a few weeks off before the next race at The Thermal Club on March 23, 2025.

St Petersburg Results

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 2, 2025) – The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season is finally here after their epically long off-season.  There are plenty of storylines heading into today’s race on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit that runs through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, and utilizes a runway and taxiway of the Albert Whitted Airport.

Can Alex Palou make it 3-in-a-row:

• Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou enters today’s race as the two-time defending series Champion.  The three-time series champion from Spain will look to make history by becoming the first back-to-back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti won three titles in a row for CGR from 2009-11.  Only three previous drivers have won three successive INDYCAR series championships. Ted Horn won three straight from 1946-48, Sebastien Bourdais won four straight from 2004-07 and Franchitti.  Palou will start eighth today.

Can Scott Dixon win at St. Pete and a 7th Championship:

• Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon has won on every track the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races on except five, including the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Dixon, the driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda, has four runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.6 in his 20 previous starts.  Dixon will start sixth today.
• Dixon has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR series titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 58 wins rank second on the all-time INDYCAR series victory list, behind Foyt’s 67.  Dixon finished 6th in the title hunt last year, 2nd in 2023 and 3rd in 2022.  He will be a factor in the Championship.

How long will the Firestone ‘Alternate’ tires last:

• Talk on pit lane after both practice sessions and qualifying centered around faster Firestone alternate tires, which are identified by a green sidewall.   Teams on average believe the tires are a half-second faster than the Firestone primary tires but their durability is raising questions up and down pit road. “Not everybody knows where they’re going to go,” said Dixon about the alternate tire durability. “Kudos to Firestone.  They don’t typically want to make a tire that degrade’s because they can make better ones, but I think as far as racing goes you want to see the degradation.  I think your call for coming in is going to be as early as Lap 10 or Lap 20 on the greens.”

Can anyone challenge Ganassi & Penske:

• Chip Ganassi Racing is the two-time defending series Champions.  CGR has won 11 of the last 17-titles with Team Penske grabbing five and Andretti Autosport claiming one during that same span.  Can a reorganized Andretti Global with Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood challenge the Top 2 or can someone like Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward elevate their game to compete for a Championship?

Firestone to Continue as Title Sponsor of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg through 2028:

• Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) on February 27th announced a three-year extension for its Firestone brand as the entitlement sponsor of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. This agreement with Green Savoree Racing Promotions marks the continuation of a successful relationship that began in 2014. The new deal keeps the Firestone name on the opening race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season through 2028. “St. Pete is always an exciting event as we reconnect with fans and wave the green flag for a new season of racing,” said Lisa Boggs, Director, Bridgestone Americas Motorsports. “We take great pride in Firestone’s rich history in the sport, and starting each season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg has become a big part of that.”

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg present by RP Funding Fast Facts

Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport

Media links: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Entry List (PDF) | INDY NXT By Firestone Entry List (PDF)

Race distance: 100 laps/180 miles (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) | 45 laps/81 miles/55 minutes (INDY NXT by Firestone)

Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation

Hybrid energy deployment parameters: (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 310 kilojoules (kj) per lap

Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend with one new set used for qualifying and another new set used during the race. A carryover set from the preseason testing may be used during the first practice.

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Event website: www.gpstpete.com