Note: Eric Smith of INDYCAR.com takes a fun look before each NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at drivers who enter the weekend with an inside line to victory lane and drivers who could surprise with a strong result.
Coverage of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding begins at noon ET on FOX, FOX Deportes and the INDYCAR Radio Network. All INDYCAR programming also streams live on the FOX Sports app.
This primer sets the scene with five drivers to watch as favorites and five more drivers to watch as sleepers who could sneak their way to victory lane on the 1.8-mile circuit through the city streets.
Favorites
Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet)
Newgarden began his Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding career 0-for-8. That’s not just in terms of victories but also top-five finishes. He’s since done a 180. In the last six races, Newgarden has two wins and a runner-up finish. The Team Penske driver has four street course victories overall in the last six seasons, with nine top-10 finishes over his last 15 street course starts.
Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet)
If not for a crash with Romain Grosjean while battling for the lead on Lap 71 of the 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by RP Funding, McLaughlin could very well be a two-time winner of this event. He led 49 of 100 laps from the pole to win in 2022. He had a dismal 24.33 average finish in four street circuit starts last season, but it won’t be a surprise to see the New Zealand native rebound this weekend.
Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Street courses have become some of Palou’s better circuits. He has just one finish worse than eighth in his last 15 street course tries. He has seven podium finishes and 12 top-six results on these tracks during that span, including a runner-up in the 2022 race around the 1.8-mile Florida street course. Palou produced a 7.66 average finish on these tracks last season, with results of fourth, third, 16th and fourth, respectively.
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)
Power has nine NTT P1 Awards at St. Petersburg but just one victory from the top starting spot – in 2010. His second and last win on this street circuit came in 2014, when he started fourth. Still, Power has two top-three finishes in his last three St. Petersburg starts, including a runner-up last season. His 4.66 average finish on street tracks last season was second-best.
Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda)
Herta led 97 of the 100 laps from the pole in his 2021 victory here. He was fourth in 2022, and while he qualified on the front row in 2023, his run-in with Will Power on Lap 50 relegated him to a 20th-place result. He finished third last season.
Sleepers
Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
The Dane finished ninth in the 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by RP Funding, but an early-race issue dropped him to the rear last year, relegating him to an 18th-place finish. But Lundgaard earned his first career win on the streets of Toronto for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in a dominant performance after capturing the NTT P1 Award in 2023 and had finishes of 11th in Detroit and seventh in Toronto last year. This year he moves to Arrow McLaren, which won this race last year with Pato O’Ward.
Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Dixon a sleeper? He is winless in 20 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by RP Funding starts, so he meets the criteria. However, the six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has four podium finishes in his last eight starts on the track, and his seventh-place finish last season continued his streak of finishing eighth or better every year since 2016. Over his last 15 street course starts overall, Dixon has four wins (Toronto 2022, Nashville 2023, Long Beach 2024, Detroit 2024) and 11 top-six results, including fifth or better in eight of his 10 finishes the last two seasons. Dixon had a series-leading 3.0 average finish on street tracks last season.
Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Andretti INDYCAR Honda)
Kirkwood has improved his finish in all three St. Petersburg starts, going from 18th in 2022 to 15th in 2023 to 10th last season. In the development series on the streets of St. Petersburg, Kirkwood finished first and second, respectively, in Indy NXT by Firestone in 2021, 14th and second in Indy Pro 2000 and first and fifth in USF2000. He scored his first two NTT INDYCAR SERIES wins on street courses, at Long Beach and Nashville, in 2023. Last season, he boasted a seventh-place average finish in four street course tries, including a runner-up to teammate Herta in Toronto.
Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Andretti INDYCAR Honda)
The 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding race winner is a “sleeper” because while he’s a three-time winner on street circuits in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, he has scored just two top-five finishes in his last 15 street course starts overall. Ericsson had a fast car last year, qualifying sixth, but a mechanical failure took him out of the race early. He finished fifth last season in Long Beach and runner-up at Detroit.
Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda)
Watch out for the Swede this weekend. Rosenqvist qualified second last year and finished fifth. He had a 7.33 average finish in four street course events last season and has six top-10 finishes in his last eight street course starts overall. In 2022, he had three top-10 finishes in five street races competing for Arrow McLaren. As a rookie in 2019 during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, Rosenqvist qualified third, led 31 laps and finished fourth. Meyer Shank Racing also has good cars at St. Pete. Jack Harvey finished fourth after qualifying on the front row in 2021.