Scott McLaughlin had pole. The alternates had grip. The strategy charts had drama. None of it mattered once Palou found clean air and decided he’d quite like to stay there.
Team Penske spent last year answering uncomfortable questions. On Saturday at St. Petersburg, Scott McLaughlin answered with a lap quick enough to make the entire field blink.
One of the big questions for the NTT IndyCar SERIES field entering the 2025 season was how to halt the title march of three-time and two-time defending series champion Alex Palou.
Less than a day after wrecking in practice, Scott McLaughlin stormed back to secure the Firestone Grand Prix pole, marking his 11th career P1 start and Team Penske’s 699th pole.
The Sunshine State’s own Kyle Kirkwood came out swinging in St. Pete, topping the timesheets in the opening practice session.
As season openers go, this couldn’t have gone much more smoothly for Josef Newgarden.
One of Josef Newgarden’s goals entering the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season was to win a pole, especially considering his last NTT P1 Award came in June 2022 at Detroit.
Felix Rosenqvist wasted no time settling into his new surroundings at Meyer Shank Racing, leading the first practice of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season Friday on the streets of St. Petersburg.