The NTT IndyCar Series season opener in St. Pete ends in Chip Ganassi Racing 1-2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Alex Palou opened the 2025 season with an exciting victory at the Firestone Grand Prix at St. Petersburg on March 2, leading a Chip Ganassi Racing 1-2 as Scott Dixon took second and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium in third.
Starting in eighth place, Palou made his way through the pack and his differing strategy compared to his teammate Dixon proved beneficial. While Palou capitalized on an undercut strategy, Dixon faced challenges with traffic and an inoperative radio, which were detrimental to his race.
“[The radio] Kind of worked on the warm-up laps and kind of for the first 10 and that was about it, but ultimately cost us the race, I think, with not coming in when I should have, I think, with about maybe the same lap as Alex. We caught that traffic with about five or six cars and lost about two or three seconds on that in lap, so that was a bit of a nightmare,” said Dixon.
The experience of Dixon showed as he finished in second without an operating radio and still passed Newgarden on the final lap of the grand prix.
While one Team Penske driver swiped the final podium spot, the remaining two, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power, faced different results. McLaughlin started the race strong in first place, but due to an unfortunate yellow flag, finished fourth after leading 40 of the 100 laps.
Power encountered trouble on Lap 1 where he tapped the back of Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel in Turn 3, which ended both drivers’ races as well as that of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Rookie, Louis Foster. This collision resulted in the yellow flag being thrown for six laps, which sent a majority of the grid into the pits.
Besides the disappointment of one car being out on Lap 1, Arrow McLaren had positive results from their remaining two drivers. Pato O’Ward was the Biggest Mover by climbing 12 spots despite a punctured tire earlier in the race, and Christian Lundgaard finished eighth after leading 23 laps.
Another team that started off strong was Meyer Shank Racing, who began with a second-row lock-out, but the team was unable to hold on to the positions. Marcus Armstrong led three laps, but his race ultimately ended early due to contact, and his teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, finished in seventh.
The NTT INDYCAR Series picks back up on March 23 at the Thermal Club in California for their second race of the season.
Come see the NTT INDYCAR Series take on the 1.25-mile oval at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 15. Tickets are available at wwtraceway.com or call the ticket office at (618) 215-8888.
About World Wide Technology Raceway
World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) is the home of NASCAR, INDYCAR and NHRA racing in St. Louis’ Metro East region. Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering more than 700 acres, WWTR is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. WWTR’s facilities include a 1.25-mile superspeedway; 1/4-mile drag strip; 2.0-mile road course; the Gateway Kartplex state-of-the-art karting facility; and the adjacent Gateway National Golf Links. WWTR and Owner & CEO Curtis Francois have been recognized with several awards, including: 2023 St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame induction; 2023 Innovation in Philanthropy Award by the St. Louis Business Journal; 2022 Explore St. Louis Hospitality Hero Recognition; 2022 Best in Show and Best Event & Festival from the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism; 2021 Comcast Community Champion of the Year; 2021 Jack Buck Award; 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Track Award; 2018 Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference; and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from the St. Louis Attractions Association. Our mission: We are committed to making a difference in our community, while providing first-class entertainment and memories that last a lifetime.
MEDIA CONTACT: Payton Buschhorn | pbuschhorn@wwtraceway.com | (314) 517-5125 (cell)
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