The NTT IndyCar Series embarked on a new season as the series traveled to the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Polesitter Josef Newgarden shined from the drop of the green flag as he led 92 of the 100 laps around the 1.8-mile temporary course to score the victory.
Aside from Newgarden, plenty of other drivers and teams had notable results.
Here are our five takeaways from Sunday’s race.
Newgarden’s Year?
There’s no doubt Newgarden entered the new year with a certain swagger. The reason may be simpler than most might think – staying off social media.
During the offseason, Newgarden notably unfollowed everyone on his social media accounts, in which he stated during IndyCar Content Day he wanted to rediscover the “joy of racing.”
“I’ve had to let go of that mentality,” Newgarden said after his win on Sunday.
“I think it’s too — there’s no sustainability in my perfection. I’m definitely a perfectionist. I’m an introvert, but I get hyper fixated on just trying to maximize everything. I think my mentality was in a lot of ways win or nothing all the way throughout my career.
“That’s just — even today it was creeping in. I’m like, ‘We’re winning this race today or we’re not winning it.’
“I was going to go for it or nothing,” Newgarden continued. “It is my mentality. But from a bigger picture standpoint, I just don’t think that’s sustainable. I’m not going away from my passion and my desire, but I’m trying to re-center my enjoyment in what I do.”
Through the first three months of 2024, the two-time IndyCar champion has bagged a win and pole at St. Pete, along with a Rolex timepiece from his overall victory with Porsche Penske Motorsport during the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
More To Come From Rosenqvist?
Perhaps the surprise of the weekend was Felix Rosenqvist’s stellar pace aboard his new ride with Meyer Shank Racing.
The former Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team racer was fast all weekend. He led the way in the first practice session and qualified second before ultimately finishing seventh.
MSR has struggled since its Indianapolis 500 victory in 2021 with Helio Castroneves, and has been in need of a spark.
With Rosenqvist’s experience and success at both Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren since his first season in 2019, he may be the shot in the arm the team needs to regain its footing.
Ferrucci Lifts Foyt
Santino Ferrucci has been a journeyman driver since he left Dale Coyne Racing at the end of the 2020 season.
While rides have come and gone, one thing that’s been constant is Ferrucci’s race pace. A remarkable third-place finish in last year’s Indy 500 was only the beginning for the 25-year-old American and A.J. Foyt Racing.
Entering this season with a new alliance with Team Penske, the results are already showing for the organization.
Ferrucci methodically gained positions from his 14th starting spot to earn a respectable 11th in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – his best non-Indy 500 finish since joining A.J. Foyt Racing last season.
One Rookie Rose Above The Rest
Within every event, there’s a race within a race. On Sunday, the race to be the top rookie was on full display during the first IndyCar event of the year. However, the battle wasn’t particularly close.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson quietly stayed out of harm’s way for the duration of the afternoon and gained nine positions en route to a 14th-place finish.
Notably, Simpson outperformed the likes of Graham Rahal and fellow rookies Linus Lundqvist and Tom Blomqvist.
“What an incredible day. I’m stoked to have such a good first race in the NTT IndyCar Series,” Simpson said. “I felt like we had a good start to the race and then we just kept it clean. It was definitely tight at times with some side-by-side racing, but we were able to push through and keep things clean.
“We were able to really push it on the greens at the end with great pace. I’m very happy with the entire day for the Journie Rewards team.”
The verdict is still out on if Simpson’s performance is a sign of things to come, however, it was nonetheless a positive start for the 19-year-old Barbados native.
A Quiet Day For Dixon
As Newgarden walloped the field for nearly 100 straight laps, one driver who was never in the lead conversation was Scott Dixon.
Entering Sunday, the six-time IndyCar champion had never won a race on the 14-turn street course, however, boasted four runner-up finishes.
After missing the Fast Six in qualifying on Saturday, Dixon was mired outside the top 10 in 11th for the start of the race.
In the end, a ninth-place finish was the best Dixon could do.
“It was a bit of a bland day,” Dixon admitted. “I thought we had a good situation at the start and then it all kind of closed down to go off-track to make sure that we didn’t hit anybody.
“There was just no tire degradation so there wasn’t as much racing as I would have liked. Ultimately, I think the PNC Bank crew should have had a fifth, sixth or seventh, so it’s not the absolute best way to start the season.”