It has been six months since Chip Ganassi IndyCar driver Alex Palou clenched the NTT IndyCar series title I in (track), and with several months of preparation in the off-season, he has returned to defend his title in the NTT season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.
NTT IndyCar is North America’s premier open-wheeled racing league, featuring action-packed races along street circuits and tracks across the United States and Canada. The 16-event calendar is most famous for the “Indy 500,” held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Memorial Day weekend in May.
The season opener in St. Petersburg embraces a Monaco-esque allure with a 14-turn, 1.8-mile track through the downtown streets of the city, which starts on a .6 mile straight on the Albert Whitted Airport runway along the crystally blue waters of Tampa Bay. Over three action-packed days, spectators from all over Florida and beyond flock to watch these 700 horse-powered machines battle for a position on the podium.
In addition to the feature event of NTT IndyCar, the “Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg” also hosts the “Mazda MX-5 Cup” commonly run along with “IMSA” events, the “USF Pro 2000 Championship,” a 265 horse-powered open-wheel series featuring young, aspiring IndyCar drivers, and the “Indy NXT” championship, a 450 horse-powered series where drivers battle for a potential position in the NTT IndyCar series.
NTT IndyCar
The keynote event of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg hosted two practice sessions on Friday and Saturday and a qualifying event on Saturday. Unlike other motorsports, the IndyCar qualifying event consists of four “micro” sessions, which determine the grid line-up in a series of elimination rounds that reduce the number of qualifying vehicles from the entire grid to the six fastest vehicles. Scott McLaughlin (#3) of Team Penske earned the pole position with the fastest lap time of 00:59.4624 seconds. Spots 2-6 of the grid were earned by Colton Herta of Andretti Global with the quickest lap time of 00:59.6393, Felix Rosenqvist (#60) of Meyer Shank Racing, 59.6989, Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing, 59.8278 and Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren, 00:59.8663, and Scott Dixon (#9) of Chip Ganassi Racing, 00:59.9216.
A jet flyover, parachutist display of the American flag, and a powerful National Anthem led members of the world-famous Tampa band, “Shinedown,” to declare, “Start your engines!” The Honda Civic pace cars took off as the cars performed their warm-up laps, formed in their order, and set off. Early contact in turn three of the first lap involving Nolan Siegel (#6), Will Power (#12), and Louis Foster (#45) resulted in a 6-lap caution, forcing all drivers and teams to rethink their tire and fuel strategy.
Pole winner Scott McLaughlin held his position for the first 32 laps of the 100-lap race when he was overtaken by Marcus Armstrong (#66) of Meyer Shenk(spelling) Racing. Colton Herta (#26) of (team) gained the lead on lap 35, initiating a frequent change of the lead. On lap 75, Alex Palou (#10) of Chip Ganassi Racing took the lead and attempted to hold. He battled for his position against Josef Newgarden (#2) of Team Penske and Scott Dixon, despite losing radio communications with the pit crew mid-race, steadily climbed through the standings.
Newgarden and Dixon exchanged places several times in the race’s final laps, earning the official finish order of Palou, Dixon, and Newgarden. Alex drove into victory lane with an overall time of 1:51:08.5118 and a speed factor of 97.173 miles per hour. Dixon finished with a final time of 1:51:11.3787, and Newgarden with a final time of 1:51:14.7162. Newgarden earned the fastest lap of the race, completing the 1.8-mile course in 61.6900 seconds.
IndyCar’s next stop is in Thermal, California, for their second round of the series. The pre-season kinks have been worked out, and many teams will continue to review data from the series opener and apply it to the next round. With only one event in the books, it is difficult to tell who may come out on top in the 2025 season, but Alex Palou appears ready to defend his title for the third time.
Indy NXT
Indy NXT opened its season with a thrilling weekend, starting with two excellent practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. Qualifying on Saturday resulted in Dennis Hauger (#28) of Andretti Global taking the pole position with a time of 1:03.8801. Spots 2-5 of the grid were filled by Lochie Hughes (#26) of Andretti Global, 1:04.2053, Caio Collet (#76) of HMD Motorsports, 1:04.3851, Myles Rowe (#99) of Abel Motorsports, 1:04.2053, and Liam Sceats (#30) of HMD Motorsport, 1:04.5451.
Indy NXT featured a 45-lap race with a running start, like IndyCar. The race began with a whirlwind start as drivers attempted to gain position through the narrow kinks and turns throughout the challenging road course. Practice sessions of every series resulted in crashes and frequent contact with the wall.
Early in the race, Dennis Hauger established a lead that he was able to hold, expertly battling overtaking through the course. Nollan Allaer (#11) of Andretti Racing fought for upper positions until a collision on lap 21 eliminated him from the race. The race concluded with Hauger holding his lead and narrowly defeating Lochie Hughes by a fraction of a second. Hauger finished with an overall time of 56:37.712 and a speed factor of 83.915mph. Hughes finished with an overall time of 56:38.72 and a speed factor of 83.885mph. Finishing third, Caio Collet finished with an overall time of 56:39.29 and a speed factor of 83.876mph.
Mazda MX-5 Cup
The MX-5 Cup featured Saturday and Sunday races continuing their electrifying season. In the “Mazda MX-5 Cup,” Race one resulted in Jared Thomas (#96) of “JTR Motorsports Engineering finishing first with a total time of 44:45.867. In second, Glen McGee (#69), also representing JTR Motorsports Engineering, finished with a total time of 44:46.605. In third, Nathan Nicholson (#56) of Advanced Autosports finished with a total time of 44:48.755.
Race two of the MX-5 cup was hosted after the conclusion of the IndyCar race and resulted in Tyler Gonzalez (#57) of BSI Racing finishing first with an overall time of 45:37.826. In second, Nathan Nicholson (#56) increased a podium position, finishing second with an overall time of 45:38.550. Finishing third, Jared Thomas (#96) of JTR Motorsports Engineering accumulated a total time of 45:42.838.
USF Pro 2000
USFP 2000 also hosted two race events over the weekend. These light, open-wheel cars feature remarkably young talent as they begin to cross into the professional threshold of their racing careers. Like other feeder series, drivers compete in fewer laps than their senior counterparts. USFP 2000 featured 25-lap races through the streets of St. Petersburg.
Race one concluded with Alessandro De Tulio (#44) of Turn 3 Motorsport finishing first with an overall time of 38:36.8900. In second, Max Garcia (#18) of Pabst Racing finished with an overall time of 38:37.6970. Rounding out the podium, Michael Castello of Pabst Racing finished with an overall time of 38:46.0533.
Race two concluded with Max Garcia (#18) finishing first with an overall time of 38:06.0073. In second, Mac Clark (#90) of Exclusive Autosport finished with an overall time of 38:08.1677. Lastly, Michael Costello of (#20) of Pabst Racing finished third with an overall time of 38:08.6974.
Erick Huertas
Erick Huertas is originally from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and was introduced to the social aspect of cigars during his schooling in San Antonio, Texas. Around this time, he also developed a growing interest in writing and photography, using his phone camera and notepad to capture the world around him.
Erick solidified his passion for photography and adventure when he completed the Trans-American Trail in the summer of 2021 with his Land Rover Discovery 3. Since his 2021 expedition, he has been interviewed on several podcasts and has written extensively about the open road.
In 2023, Erick became involved in Grassroots motorsports by covering local Rallycross through the Northwest Rally Association, local autocross, and other events. In late 2023, he debuted as a photographer in the American Rally Association and has since covered events with Pan American Superbike and Formula E.
When not traveling, Erick can be found on Whidbey Island, Washington. You can contact Erick via email at erickhuertasphotography@gmail.com, on Instagram at @_ebhphoto, or on his website: www.erickhuertas.smugmug.com
