The NTT INDYCAR SERIES started its 2022 campaign earlier than normal this year, albeit at the same place as traditional: the streets and airport venue in St Petersburg, Florida. The Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg brings INDYCAR to the usually sun-baked and water-surrounded circuit that has hosted the series for nearly two decades.
It’s apparent INDYCAR is on an upswing in 2022, with a full complement of 26 Dallara Chevrolet- and Honda-powered race cars alighting at this locale, home to many exciting INDYCAR contests in the past. Nearly all of the entries have recognizable sponsors on the sides of their cars and on the wings, which means business has faith in the series and wants to support it, a welcome change.
After 100 laps of racing, punctuated by a single caution period for eight laps when rookie David Malukas made contact with the usually popular third turn wall, pole sitter Scott McLaughlin finally broke his maiden in the series, earning his first victory after a rookie year in which he had a single top five result. McLaughlin, driving the No. 3 Chevy-powered Dallara for Team Penske, credited his ability to talk himself into making smarter moves on the track, as well as the faith placed in him by Team Penske owner Roger Penske and company president Tim Cindric.
McLaughlin pretty much had everything go his way, a necessity in such a tight series, peppered with experienced and novice racers. While this year is a transitional one for the series, which will have new engines and revised chassis in 2023 (or at least that’s the plan), the competition was fierce between those that have competed at St Pete for years and those making a third, second or even first visit to this tough street/airport course.
The series’ 2021 champion, now in only his third year of INDYCAR competition, Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing hounded the eventual winner in the last stages of the race, finishing little more than half a second behind with his Honda-powered car, with fellow Antipodes native Will Power third for Team Penske, giving Chevrolet two-thirds of the podium. Colton Herta (Honda) and new Andretti Autosport teammate Romain Grosjean rounded out the top five, with Chevy’s Rinus VeeKay sixth, and the Honda-powered cars of Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Takuma Sato rounding out the top ten.
It was very interesting to see who could do this 100-lap, nearly caution-free race on two stops and who needed to call to the pits a third time. After leading laps during pit stop exchanges after starting seventh, six-time champ Scott Dixon was the first finisher to take three pit stops, joined by O’Ward, Harvey and the balance of the finishing order. After ceding the championships for drivers, teams and manufacturers in 2021, it appears Chevrolet is back on their game, at least at this race.
Twenty-two of the 26 starters all finished on the lead, 100th lap, with Ganassi’s Jimmie Johnson (Honda) one lap down,A.J. Foyt Racing’s rookie Tatiana Calderon three laps back but still running. Only fellow Foyt runner Dalton Kellett, who had a gearbox control unit fail, and Malukas failed to finish the contest. With six rookies in the field, the highest finisher was Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Christian Lundgaard, in 11th place ahead of Pato O’Ward, Jack Harvey, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden, all of whom were expected to be on-pace for this race. A.J. Foyt Racing’s Kyle Kirkwood, who has won the championship in every step of INDYCAR’s Road to Indy, finished 18th in his series debut.
McLaughlin and his team are going testing at Texas Motor Speedway in anticipation of next month’s Xpel 375, scheduled for March 20th at the high-banked 1.5-mile oval outside Dallas and Fort Worth. Everyone else in the field will be wondering what they can do to usurp the New Zealand native from his perch atop the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings. After surviving this day in the sun on the east coast of the United States, McLaughlin looks tough to beat.
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