IndyCar
Alex Palou wins Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg to lead Chip Ganassi Racing 1-2
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 2, 2028) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou is starting off the 2025 campaign the same way he started off his 2021 Championship season by winning the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opening race, only this time it was the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
“Couldn’t be happier,” said Palou, who started eighth. “I wanted to be here in Victory Lane, but I did not expect maybe to be here in Victory Lane. That shows the amazing job that all the men and women did at Chip Ganassi Racing during the off-season.”
Palou was running second behind teammate Scott Dixon when his No. 10 DHL Honda crew called him into the pits for his final service of the day on Lap 71. Dixon came into the pits on the next lap and following that service the No. PNC Bank Honda returned to the track behind Palou.
“I’m pretty pissed off,” said a frustrated Dixon. “I had no radio, so I had no way to communicate with the team. I just came into the pits when the fuel light came one, but got caught behind some traffic on that lap and those two or three seconds ultimately cost us the race.”
Josef Newgarden passed Dixon going into Turn 1 on Lap 74 but Dixon was able to get back by Newgarden on the white flag lap to secure CGR’s first 1-2 finish since July 2023 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
“Happy for Chip, happy for the team,” said Dixon. “Kudos to Alex and the guys on the 10-car for getting it done.”
“I’m really happy with what the team did over the off-season, and we came back with competitive cars,” explained Ganassi. “I think if you saw how we ran here the last number of years, it wasn’t great. It was okay, we hung on, but we were clearly being beat by some of the other teams, and that wasn’t the case this weekend. So it was nice.”
Newgarden finished third in the No. 2 PPG Chevy followed by his Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who started from the pole position. Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the Top 5.
The race was mostly a green-flag race except for Lap 1 when Team Penske’s Will Power got into the back of Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel who collected Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster in the melee.
Palou leads the Championship standings by 10 over Dixon, with Newgarden and McLaughlin 15-points back as the series heads to The Thermal Club for race 2 on March 23, 2025.
WASHINGTON D.C. (August 22, 2026) – Alex Palou’s blistering lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda puts the four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion on the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington D.C.
“Incredible,” said Palou. “My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood lines up second after a lap of 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.”
Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party up front, putting the No. 3 PPG Chevrolet third on the grid after a fast lap of 57.4200.
Palou’s CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson did not fare as well as their teammate.
Dixon was on a lap that would have allowed him to transfer into the next round of qualifying, when Simpson hit the wall, triggering a red flag which cancelled Dixon’s lap. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda will start 14th.
Bringing out the red flag penalized Simpson of his two fastest laps so the No. 8 Sunoco Honda will start last in 25th.
Coverage of the Freedom 250 starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fox and IndyCar Radio with the green flag waving in our nation’s capital at 1 p.m.
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.
Riggs rules New Hampshire, Ankrum survives to claim final Chase berth
Alex Palou powers to IndyCar Freedom 250 Pole Position in D.C.
Spithaler Sprints to Mercer Win
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Logano Wins at Richmond as Chase Picture Takes Shape
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Troutman Gets First Win For Foster In Schaltenbrand Memorial At Lernerville; Cipriano, Flick, and Schneider Also Win.
Palou quickest in first Markham practice
