Gearing Up: Start of a New Season is on Tap
Sound the alarms, lay on the horns. OK, not literally, but there is cause for celebration as the start of the latest NTT INDYCAR SERIES season is at hand.
Drivers and their teams are in Florida this week in preparation for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, the first of 17 points-paying series races in 2024. It will be the 21st time this sport has roared through these city streets and the 1.8-mile circuit, and the fun never seems to end.
Last year was particularly exciting, with several dustups. Among them: Romain Grosjean and Scott McLaughlin ending up in the tire barrier in Turn 4 in a fierce battle for the lead. That’s how hotly contested these races are.
Marcus Ericsson won last year’s race, the fourth time he has gone to victory lane in this series. You might also remember he won the 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. This week, he will line up with Andretti Global for the first time, one of the many team changes on display in St. Pete.
Eleven of the 27 entries have changed hands since we last gathered for an official series race and that doesn’t count sports car ace Tom Blomqvist, who made three starts with Meyer Shank Racing last year before being named a full-time driver for '24. But now Blomqvist drives the team's No. 66 Honda rather than its No. 60, which has Felix Rosenqvist behind the wheel.
The field will begin to replicate (or exceed) what was on display last year: 7,753 on-track passes, including passing records set at six racetracks and the most laps and miles completed in a season in over a decade.
The list of storylines to open the season is plentiful, and INDYCAR.com will present many of them in the days ahead. The first practice of the season is set for Friday at 2:45 p.m ET. The 20th anniversary of the series’ knockout qualifying process for road courses and street circuits is on tap for Saturday at 2 p.m. All on-track action can be viewed on Peacock, NBC’s live streaming service.
Sunday’s 100-lap race comes on the air at noon ET on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network, with audio available on SiriusXM Channel 218 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. A Spanish language version of the broadcast will be available on Universo.
INDY NXT by Firestone’s season-opening race begins earlier in the day at 10 a.m. ET. All 14 races during the season will air live on Peacock.
Gear up, race fans. Things are about to get interesting.
2024 Preview: Meyer Shank Racing
Note: This continues a series of 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES team previews on INDYCAR.com from Feb. 26-March 1. The season starts Sunday, March 10 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Starting Lineup: Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda), Tom Blomqvist (No. 66 Arctic Wolf Honda), Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge).
2023 in Review: The organization’s challenging year included Simon Pagenaud’s violent flip through the gravel trap at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the ninth event of the season. The team used three different drivers in place of the Frenchman the rest of the way, with Conor Daly, Linus Lundqvist and Blomqvist competing in three races each. Castroneves’ final full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES was highlighted by a 10th-place finish in the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. He led a single lap at Indy. Blomqvist was able to gain experience, although he was collected in a first-lap incident in the Honda Indy Toronto. Blomqvist also competed in the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland and the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey to end the season.
New for ’24: Rosenqvist and Blomqvist provide an all-new look for the team co-owned by Jim Meyer and Michael Shank. Rosenqvist is entering his sixth full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and he is a former race winner (Road America 2020). Blomqvist will make his fourth series start at St. Petersburg, although the early exit from last year’s Toronto race almost doesn’t count. Castroneves will return to an Indy-only ride, a role he essentially had twice with Team Penske (2018, 2019) and once with Arrow McLaren (2020).
Keep an Eye on This: Rosenqvist will be as motivated as any driver in the field this season. He is coming off two seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing and three years with Arrow McLaren, but this is the first time he has been the team leader, and he is hungry to capitalize on that.
Little-Known Fact: In May, Castroneves will take his third shot at winning a record-setting fifth “500.” Among the other four-time winners of the race, A.J. Foyt took 15 such shots, Al Unser five and Rick Mears one. Mears needed the fewest number of starts to win four times – just 14 – while Foyt needed 20, Castroneves 21 and Unser 22.
2024 Preview: Arrow McLaren
Note: This continues a series of 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES team previews on INDYCAR.com from Feb. 26-March 1. The season starts Sunday, March 10 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Starting Lineup: Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), David Malukas (No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), Alexander Rossi (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), Kyle Larson (No. 17 Arrow McLaren Hendrick Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge).
2023 in Review: The Indianapolis-based team was consistently in position throughout the season but did not score a race win. O’Ward had the strongest results, earning second-place finishes in the first two races of the season – the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding and the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway – and netting nine top-five finishes with 189 laps led. He finished fourth in the point standings. Rossi’s season was consistently strong, highlighted by six top-five finishes, including a fifth-place finish in the “500.” He also finished third and second, respectively, in the road course races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Felix Rosenqvist won poles at Texas Motor Speedway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca while scoring a second-place finish in the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland. Malukas had top-five finishes for Dale Coyne Racing at Texas (fourth) and World Wide Technology Raceway (third).
New for ’24: With Rosenqvist moving to Meyer Shank Racing, Malukas steps into Arrow McLaren’s No. 6 Chevrolet. Malukas won’t begin the season in the car, however, as he recovers from a broken wrist.
Keep an Eye on This: Larson’s “500” debut will generate much intrigue as he has long been North America’s brightest motorsports star and won NASCAR’s Cup Series championship in 2021. He has tested at IMS and Phoenix Raceway, and he is scheduled to participate in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ open test at IMS in April.
Little-Known Fact: O’Ward has 20 top-three finishes over the past four seasons, and only four drivers in the series have more over that span: Alex Palou (25), Josef Newgarden (23), Scott Dixon (22) and Will Power (22)