St. Petersburg Grand Prix starts 2025 season
WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT ST. PETERSBURG:
Palou begins historic title chase: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the third time in four seasons.
The three-time series champion from Spain will look to make history by becoming the first back-to-back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti won three titles in a row for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2009-11.
Only three previous drivers have won three successive INDYCAR SERIES championships. Ted Horn won three straight from 1946-48, Sebastien Bourdais won four straight from 2004-07 and Franchitti.
Dixon eyeing first St. Pete win: Scott Dixon has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 58 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 (20). 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 7.6 in his 20 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his last nine starts, including seventh in 2024.
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 15 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, Romain Grosjean in 2023 and Josef Newgarden last season.
Power scored at least one pole position in each season from 2009-2023 but didn’t win an NTT P1 Award last year. Don’t be surprised if he starts a new streak at St. Pete.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
- The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will be the 22nd INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of St. Petersburg. Pato O’Ward won the 2024 race, while Josef Newgarden won the NTT P1 Award. Paul Tracy won the inaugural INDYCAR SERIES 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 20 consecutive races.
- Will Power (2010, 2014) and Josef Newgarden (2019, 2020) are the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Seven past winners are entered: Power, Newgarden, Graham Rahal (2008), Colton Herta (2021), Scott McLaughlin (2022), Marcus Ericsson (2023) and Pato O’Ward (2024).
- Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the third time in four seasons. The three-time series champion will look to make history by becoming the first back-to-back-to-back 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 13 races with Helio Castroneves (2012), Will Power (2014), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015, 2016), Josef Newgarden (2019, 2020) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).
- Four drivers have won the race from the pole – Helio Castroneves (2007), Will Power (2010), Colton Herta (2021) and Scott McLaughlin (2022). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in five of the last 20 races.
- Milestones: Scott Dixon is expected to make his 403rd INDYCAR SERIES start, which is second on the all-time list. Dixon has made 339 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Colton Herta is slated to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start at St. Petersburg…Rookies Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman will make their NTT INDYCAR SERIES debuts at St. Petersburg. Both Abel and Foster have race at St. Pete in INDY NXT by Firestone.
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:
- Season starter: INDY NXT by Firestone drops the green flag on a new season on the streets of St. Petersburg for the 13th time in series history. The 14-race 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone calendar brings the series to many of North America’s most revered tracks joining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the streets of St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, streets of Detroit, World Wide Technology Raceway, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Iowa Speedway, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Portland International Raceway, Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway.
- Local favorite: Representing Florida in this weekend’s field is series debutant Nikita Johnson of HMD Motorsports. The 16-year-old from St. Petersburg is making the first of four INDY NXT by Firestone starts this season in his hometown event. Johnson finished second in the USF Pro 2000 championship in 2024 and won races at St. Petersburg in the series that feed INDY NXT.
- International flair: This weekend’s race will feature drivers representing 10 countries. The United States is best represented by a total of eight drivers. There are two drivers each from Australia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and one each from Brazil, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and Scotland.
- Welcome back: For the third consecutive season, INDY NXT by Firestone welcomes a new team to the paddock. Chip Ganassi Racing will make its series return in 2025 running a pair of full-time cars beginning at St. Petersburg. The 16-time INDYCAR SERIES championship-winning team last competed in INDYCAR’s top development series in 2007.
- St. Pete precursor?: Since 2005, a driver who won at least one of the races at St. Petersburg has gone on to win the INDY NXT by Firestone title six times, the most recent being Kyle Kirkwood, who won the first race of the doubleheader in 2021.
