By Reggie Gatlin-Holt

Race weekend: Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10

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

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

Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Six sets primary, four 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/

INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2023 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Marcus Ericsson (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

INDY NXT by Firestone

Danial Frost (No. 68 HMD Motorsports)

2023 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Romain Grosjean (No. 28 DHL Honda), 59.5532 seconds, 108.810 mph

2023 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Louis Foster (No. 26 Andretti Autosport), 1 minute, 05.1103 seconds, 99.523 mph

Qualifying records:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Will Power, 59.3466 seconds, 109.189 mph, Feb. 26, 2022 (set in Round 2 of qualifying)

INDY NXT by Firestone

David Malukas, 1 minute, 4.6491 seconds, 100.233 mph, April 23, 2021

NBC Sports telecast: Race, noon ET Sunday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters. Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast.

Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions, qualifying and races as well as INDY NXT by Firestone races will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman and Jake Query are the turn announcers. Michael Young, Ryan Myrehn and Jonathan Grace are the pit reporters. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practice and qualifying sessions and races are available on racecontrol.indycar.com, the INDYCAR App and SiriusXM 218.

“WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT ST. PETERSBURG:

1. Will track record fall? While the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season awaits the arrival of the 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine with hybrid technology after the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, teams will push the limit until then with enhanced possibilities of track records with lighter chassis components prepared for the hybrid addition. They include a lighter, 3D-printed titanium aeroscreen top frame. Without compromising overall strength and durability, the new INDYCAR top frame saves seven pounds from the previous model. Additionally, a switch to a magnesium gearbox casing and bellhousing – located between the INDYCAR SERIES combustion engine and the gearbox and will house the hybrid assist unit – will provide additional weight savings.

2. Dixon seeks his first win on the streets of St. Petersburg. Who wouldn’t take Scott Dixon’s resume as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver?

He has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 56 wins rank second on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES victory list, behind Foyt’s 67, but the streets of St. Petersburg might be his kryptonite. It is one of five tracks on the schedule where Dixon is winless and the one where he has the most starts (19).

Still, Dixon has been successful on the streets of St. Petersburg. Dixon has four runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.63 in his 19 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his last eight starts.

3. Power Plays Poles at Will. Will Power is the greatest qualifier in modern INDYCAR SERIES history, as his 70 career poles are the INDYCAR SERIES record.

The tale of Power’s qualifying success can best be told through the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he has won nine of the last 14 poles.

The only drivers to score a pole in the last 10 years in St. Petersburg not named Will Power are Takuma Sato in 2014, Robert Wickens in 2018, Colton Herta in 2021, Scott McLaughlin in 2022 and Romain Grosjean last season. In total, Team Penske has won the pole position in 11 of the past 17 St. Petersburg races.

Power has scored at least one pole position in each season since 2009, including two NTT P1 Awards last year. It’s almost a sure bet that Power will add to his record this season, and don’t be surprised if it starts during NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday afternoon.

4. Split practice to be trialed. Deployed on a trial basis in St. Petersburg, the field will be split into two groups following a 20-minute “All Cars” session to begin Practice 1.

Following the 20-minute “All Cars” session, each group – split by odd and even numbered pit boxes – will receive two 10-minute segments on an alternating basis.

As in qualifying, the clock in Segments One and Two will stop for the first red flag condition of each practice segment.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will be the 21st INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of St. Petersburg, dating to 2003 and the 20^th race promoted by Green Savoree Promotions. Marcus Ericsson won the 2023 race, while Romain Grosjean won the NTT P1 Award. Paul Tracy won the inaugural race on Feb. 23, 2003, under CART sanction, while Sebastien Bourdais started from the pole that year.
• The St. Petersburg INDYCAR SERIES race has been run every year since 2003 except for 2004. No driver has competed in every St. Petersburg race, but Scott Dixon has started 19 consecutive races.
• Will Power (2010 and 2014) and Josef Newgarden (2019-2020) are the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Six past winners are entered: Power, Newgarden, Graham Rahal (2008), Colton Herta (2021), Scott McLaughlin (2022) and Ericsson.
• Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the second time in three seasons. The two-time series champion will look to make history by becoming the first repeat champion since Dario Franchitti won three in a row for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2009-11.
• Team Penske has won at St. Petersburg 11 times, including seven of the last 12 races with Castroneves (2012), Power (2014), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015-16), Newgarden (2019-2020) and McLaughlin (2022).
• The 2024 season marks the 20th season of the Firestone Fast Six qualifying format. Since the format debuted at the 2005 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, 65 drivers have participated in Firestone Fast Six qualifying at 20 road and street circuits. Not surprisingly, NTT INDYCAR SERIES all-time pole record holder Will Power leads all drivers with 96 career Firestone Fast Six appearances, only one ahead of six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon.

Career Firestone Fast Six Appearances

• Four drivers have won the race from the pole – Castroneves (2007), Power (2010), Herta (2021) and McLaughlin (2022). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in five of the last 20 races.
• Dixon is expected to make his 386th INDYCAR SERIES start, which is fourth on the all-time list. Dixon has made 322 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.

· Rookies Colin Braun, Christian Rasmussen and Kyffin Simpson will make their NTT INDYCAR SERIES debuts at St. Petersburg. Veteran Pietro Fittipaldi is slated to race on the streets of St. Petersburg for the first time. The two other NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookies entered, Tom Blomqvist and Linus Lundqvist, debuted in 2023.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:

• The expected 22-car field for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg would be the largest INDY NXT by Firestone field at St. Petersburg since 2009 when 27 cars were on the grid.
• The 2024 season features a deep and talented field with INDY NXT race winners such as Nolan Siegel, Louis Foster and Reece Gold joining a promising rookie class that includes Myles Rowe (2023 USF Pro 2000 champ), Callum Hedge (2023 Formula Regionals America champion) and Caio Collet (Formula 3 race winner/Nissan Formula E reserve driver). Other contenders include returning drivers Jacob Abel, Josh Pierson, James Roe and Jamie Chadwick.
• INDY NXT by Firestone has added a new team for the second consecutive season. Miller Vinatieri Motorsports – co-owned by former INDYCAR SERIES competitor Dr. Jack Miller and former NFL standout Adam Vinatieri – will make its debut at St. Petersburg with driver Jack William Miller.
• Group qualifying will decide the starting grid on road and street circuits. Based on the best lap times from the practice session immediately preceding qualifying, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 12 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded pole position with the drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, occupying the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group occupying the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group.
• Since 2005, a driver who won at least one of the races at St. Petersburg has won the INDY NXT by Firestone title six times, the most recent being Kyle Kirkwood, who won the first race of the doubleheader in 2021.

COURTESY INDYCAR COMMUNICATIONS