By: Spencer Neff
February 26, 2026
The offseason is finally drawing to a close and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns for their 2026 season opener. Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be the 23rd race ( on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida.
After the Honda Indy’s upcoming move to Markham, this race’s 22-year streak on the calendar will be second to Long Beach as the longest active street course event.
Before tomorrow’s opening practice, here’s a look at some of the major pre-race stories.
Headlines
The major season-long storylines that include Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing’s quest for continued dominance following a historic 2025 along with Team Penske’s return from a disappointing season with the addition of David Malukas.
Andretti Global brings Will Power on board following Colton Herta’s journey to Formula 2 as well.
All those and several other stories aside, INDYCAR has implemented some changes to procedures at road and street courses, beginning this weekend.
For all street course races, all competitors will be mandated to use:
- One set of primary compound tires
- Two sets of alternate compound tires (one more than previously required)
Per INDYCAR, There are no requirements in terms of new (sticker) sets of tires used in the race. The two completed laps needed to satisfy the tire requirement rule, where one lap must begin once the Green Flag has been displayed to the Race Leader (Rule 15.3.3.2.3.) for each of the three sets (Rule 15.3.3.2.) remains in effect.
Additionally, the series announced this additional rules change regarding Practice 2 and the subsequent qualifying groups.
Per INDYCAR:
- Practice 2 will now mirror the “group” format of Practice 1, where the field is split by odd and even numbered pit All cars will receive an initial 40-minute practice segment before the start of two 12-minute group segments.
- With the change to Practice 2, qualifying groups will now be determined by the qualifying results from the previous 2026 race (2025 championship entrant points for the season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg).
As was the case with last year, the fastest from previous event driver in the previous session (qualifying rather than Practice times) determines whether they lead Group 1 or 2 in the opening round of qualifying.
Fast Facts
Race weekend: Friday, Feb. 27 – Sunday, March 1
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)
Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 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 two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
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Event website: www.gpstpete.com/
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2025 race winner:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
2025 NTT P1 Award winner: Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet), 59.4624 seconds, 108.976 mph
Qualifying record:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Felix Rosenqvist, 59.2706 seconds, 109.329 mph, March 9, 2024 (set in Round 2 of qualifyiINDY NXT by Firestone
FOX Sports telecast: NTT INDYCAR SERIES:
Practice 1, 1:35 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live)
Practice 2, 9:35 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live)
Qualifying, 4:35 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live)
Warmup Show/Final Practice, 9 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1;
Firestone Grand Prix of St, Petersburg, Noon ET, Sunday, FOX (live). Green Flag-12:29 p.m.ET
Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.
Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton.
Michael Young, Jake Query and Alex Hayden are the turn announcers. Alex Wollf and Ryan Myrehn 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, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Friday, Feb. 27
1:35-3 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (two groups), FS2
Saturday, Feb. 28
9:35-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (two groups), FS1
4:35-6 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS2
Sunday, March 1
9:05-9:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, FS1
Noon – FOX Sports on air
12:22 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines.”
12:29 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (100 laps / 181 miles), FOX, FOX Sports Deportes, FOX One and FOX Sports App (Live)
Header Image By Chris Jones/INDYCAR
IndyCar1909.com 