IndyCar
INDYCAR Racing In The Streets This Weekend At Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is racing in the streets this weekend for the 18th annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
The 14-turn, 1.89-mile temporary street circuit that incorporates city streets and part of the Albert Whitted Airport to make up the picturesque course that is a fan (and media) favorite on the schedule.
Josef Newgarden is the defending race winner, taking home the victory when the Series finished their 2020 season on Florida’s Gulf Coast after rescheduling the race due to the global pandemic.
Chip Ganassi’s team enters the weekend with a ton of momentum following the season opening race at Barber Motorsports Park. Three of the four Ganassi entries finished in the top 10 and 2-out-of-3 finished on the podium
Alex Palou won the race in the No. 10 SegiTV Honda. The victory included a couple of firsts for Palou: His first INDYCAR Series win; His first win with CGR and he is the first Spaniard since Oriol Servia to win an INDYCAR car race since 2005.
“Tough to describe how it feels,” Palou said of that first victory. “You feel like all the work that you’ve done the past years, the past months, the past days, it feels amazing that you did a good job and the team did a good job.”
Scott Dixon finished third in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda after staring fifth. Dixon has never won at St. Pete but has four runner-up finishes, the most recent coming in 2019.
“It’s just one of those things that hasn’t worked out,” said Dixon about that elusive victory. “This place owes me nothing. It’s hard. It’s a difficult track. I’ve definitely had races here where we probably should’ve converted to a win and either made a mistake or we missed it on strategy. We’ll work hard, that’s the only way you’re going get to possibly get a win here, and keep knocking on that door.”
Marcus Ericsson finished eighth in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda but the finish was hardly indicative of his performance. Ericsson was running as high as fourth late in the race when he had to go into fuel conservation mode to make it to the end.
The No. 8 team employed the same two-stop strategy as the No. 9 and No. 10 but was the first to come to pit road for the final stop. If a caution would have come out they would have been in the proverbial cat bird seat.
The ‘rookie’ on the team, seven-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson, finished 19th in his first race in the series, 3-laps down after an early spin.
“This weekend again is going to be like starting all over,” Johnson told Pittsburgh Racing Now. “A tire I have not been on. A circuit I have not been on. Never been in a street race either, so there are so many new things. I really feel like I am starting all over again.”
What Johnson is trying to accomplish is nothing short of amazing, something that is not lost on his six-time Champion teammate.
“What Jimmie is trying to do, I couldn’t think of anything more difficult,” said Dixon. “With the limited track-time we get nowadays, you have one maybe two practice sessions and then into qualifying, it’s very difficult on rookies.“
Team Penske’s Will Power is also carrying momentum into St. Pete after finishing second to Palou at Barber. Power was thrilled to start the season with a strong finish.
“I was happy to have a good start to the year,” said Power. “Obviously a win is always great but compared to the way we started last year this is nice. It was a very calm day for me. I’m calm about the season. I’ve been around long enough to know how this ebbs and flows.”
One of the keys at St. Pete is keeping the car on the course. Another key is getting the car to work on multiple surfaces: pavement, concrete, runway, taxiway.
“Typically when you go back to a road course they stay pretty similar from year-to-year,” explained Dixon. “Here turn 9 and turn 10 has been resurfaced since last year, so there’s a different amount of grip and that could be for three or four or five turns through the circuit. Plus, how they build the walls. An apex one year could be in this place and now it’s in a different place. It definitely makes it interesting. The margin of error – you’re talking just inches before you’re slamming yourself into a wall.”
The race is Sunday at 12:30 p.m. with coverage starting a Noon on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
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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