By: Spencer Neff
March 8, 2024
Nearly six months of waiting comes to an end this weekend. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES has its first race of 2024 on tap this Sunday. For the 14th time in 21 years (13th in 20 under INDYCAR sanctioning), the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida hosts the season opener.
After a half-year full of changes, there’s stories across the paddock to catch up on. Here’s a look at the biggest stories as we start the new season.
Headlines
Out of 27 entries for this weekend’s 100-lap race, 11 will feature a different driver than in 2023, with Chip Ganassi Racing adding a fifth entry for rookie Kyffin Simpson.
Among those making their first appearance with a new team are 2023 St. Petersburg pole winner Romain Grosjean and race winner Marcus Ericsson. Grosjean moved on to Juncos Hollinger Racing, occupying the seat previously held by Callum Ilott.
Ericsson joins Andretti Global, filling the No. 28 previously driven by Grosjean. The Kumla, Sweden native could become the first driver since Dan Wheldon (2005-06) to win the season opener for different teams in consecutive seasons.
While Ilott was left without a full-time ride, he will be on the grid this weekend. Ilott will occupy the No. 6 for Arrow McLaren for David Malukas, who suffered a broken hand in a mountain bike accident.
For the first time since 2020, both of the previous two Indy NXT by Firestone (formerly Indy Lights) Champions will be on the grid for the season opener.
2023 champion Christian Rasmussen is slated for 13 races with Ed Carpenter Racing while 2022 Linus Lundqvist makes his full-time INDYCAR debut with Chip Ganassi Racing, taking over the No. 8 previously driven by Ericsson.
In all, five rookies are included in this weekend’s field. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s newest driver Pietro Fittipaldi will also contest his first race at St. Petersburg.
For more on this season’s major storylines and predictions, click both links.
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding Fast Facts
Race weekend: Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) throughdowntown 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 maximumtime of 15 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with amaximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to beused during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set ofprimary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires forat least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during theevent weekend with one new set used for qualifying and another new set used during the race. A carry-over set from the preseason testing may be used during the first practice.
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Instagram: @gpstpete, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @GPSTPETE, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
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YouTube: @INDYCAR, @greensavoreeracingpromotions
Event website: http://www.gpstpete.com/
INDYCAR website: http://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-playannouncer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Belland 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 aswell as INDY NXT by Firestone races will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumerlivestreaming 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 byFirestone practice and qualifying sessions and races are available on racecontrol.indycar.com,the INDYCAR App and SiriusXM 218.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Friday, March 8
1:35-2:10 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
2:45-4 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, Peacock
Saturday, March 9
8:25-9:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
9:35-10:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (Limited guarantee of 45 minutes of greenflag time), Peacock
1:05-1:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (Two groups, 12-minute session with greenflag of one timed lap), INDYCAR LIVE
2-3:30 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock
Sunday, March 10
9:10-9:40 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock
10:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (45 laps / 81 miles / 55minutes), Peacock (Live)
Noon – NBC Sports on air
12:23 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:30 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (100 laps / 181miles), NBC, Universo and Peacock (Live)
Header Image By Chris Jones/INDYCAR
IndyCar1909.com 