Today’s question: What was the most eye-popping aspect of the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding last weekend?
Curt Cavin: I acknowledge having no experience as a race strategist, but I’ve studied a lot of great ones over the years, and I was surprised by decisions made Sunday. Yes, there was considerable unpredictability about how the race would play out given the wide expected shelf life between Firestone’s primary and alternate tire compounds, but everyone said the alternates would fade quickly. So, with so many first-lap accidents over the years on this tight street circuit, the safe play seemed to be starting on the alternates and jumping off them at the first opportunity, ideally under an early caution. With that first caution coming just three corners into the race, cars on alternates retreated to pit lane to switch out on Lap 2. However, four of the top five qualifiers, including pole winner Scott McLaughlin, started on primaries and were therefore in an early pickle. They effectively had no choice but to stay on the primaries as long as possible while everyone else essentially got a free stop having met the two-lap minimum requirement. Was it unusual for a St. Pete race to run the final 94 laps caution-free? Yes, but McLaughlin had the best car and should have won. He finished 8.6878 seconds behind the winner in fourth place despite making all three stops under green and spending about 12 laps more than the podium finishers on the alternates.
Eric Smith: The most eye-popping to me is how much bigger this event seems to get. A 45-percent television rating increase is one thing, but the boots-on-the-ground feel is another. The weekend featured another record-setting crowd, and it seemed every bit of that. The paddock and pit lane areas were packed with spectators, and most were donning NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver apparel. Merchandise sales were up double digits, a sign fans are getting behind these drivers and turning them into stars. That spilled into the local establishments with many restaurants grateful for the race weekend, allowing patrons into the hurricane-ravaged area that had locals still bouncing back from Hurricane Helene. The local Tampa/St. Petersburg area news teams raved about the impact the race weekend had on the community and the atmosphere this race brought. That’s a massive win in my book when the city knows the NTT INDYCAR SERIES was there and can feel a lasting impact in a positive way.
Paul Kelly: I’m going to sound like a master of the obvious, but at St. Petersburg once again we saw proof that Alex Palou is blossoming into an all-time great before our eyes. I’m not just talking about a paragon of this era: I’m talking about a guy who could – and probably should – stand with A.J. Foyt, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Dario Franchitti, the Andrettis and the Unsers as one of the pantheon legends of more than a century of this great sport. It’s easy to make snap judgments after just one of 17 races, but once again it looks damn near impossible for anyone to beat Palou’s combination of speed, consistency and tranquility behind the wheel. The dude and his No. 10 CGR just do not have bad days, at least by the standards of other NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams. Even team owner Chip Ganassi admitted his teams for Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson have work to do to catch up with the flawless execution of the No. 10 DHL unit. Sure, Dixon had radio problems that could have prevented a victory. Pole sitter Scott McLaughlin was foiled by tire strategy, forced to stay on the primary tires after the first-lap caution when all of his rivals who started on alternate tires charged to the pits on Lap 3 to shed them for the rest of the race. But as the saying goes, if my aunt had wheels, she’d be a car. Palou seemingly is impregnable to these kinds of problems. Palou didn’t win a points race until May on the IMS road course each of the last two seasons and still cruised to the title. He already has a win in the 2025 season opener. Gulp – this could be another long season for his rivals.