Firestone Grand Prix: McLaughlin back to St. Petersburg to defend first victory in IndyCar series
ST. PETERSBURG — New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin walked into the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg annual kickoff luncheon Thursday at the St. Pete Yacht Club with a wide smile. Applause and a standing ovation greeted his formal introduction. An hour earlier, the defending race winner helped raise the flag at City Hall to officially mark the beginning of race week and the start of the 2023 season.
Last March, the 29-year-old Penske Racing driver earned his very first career NTT IndyCar Series victory — from pole position, no less — in the street race around the St. Petersburg downtown waterfront. It helped launch his best season in the series, with two more victories (at Mid-Ohio and Portland, Ore.) in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet to come.
More:F1's reigning champ takes inaugural Miami Grand Prix by a whisker
More:Scott McLaughlin holds off Alex Palou to win first IndyCar Series race
McLaughlin is one of three drivers to celebrate their first career IndyCar series win on the 1.8-mile 14-turn circuit. Graham Rahal hoisted his first trophy there in 2008. James Hinchcliffe (who is no longer competing) did it in 2013. And there have been plenty of first-time podium finishes scattered throughout the race’s 19-year existence.
Yet, surprisingly, St. Petersburg’s waterside course is one of the few venues on which six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon has not won. He’s 0-for-18 with four runner-up showings, has finished top-10 in the past seven races and his 18 starts are most in the 27-car field for Sunday’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
"I didn’t realize he hadn’t won here," McLaughlin said of Dixon. "I don’t know why. I’m surprised.
"In some ways, you just hit it right, like last year, we just hit it right, right car, qualified well, out front and made something happen."
Rahal, who drives the No. 15 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing had a similar reaction, "I just figured he’d won everywhere, to be honest. That is a little bit strange for sure."
The 42-year-old Dixon, whose 53 career wins are the most among active drivers and second only to A.J. Foyt’s 67 victories on the all-time wins list, mustered a smile when asked about his St. Pete success story. Sunday’s race marks his 305th consecutive race — second-most in series history.
"I’ve kind of had a semi-celebration here from when we won the (2020) championship a couple years ago, so that was actually nice," said Dixon of the pandemic season change when St. Pete concluded the season instead of starting it.
"One, we made the podium (at St. Pete) and secondly, we won the championship," said the driver of the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
"It’s weird [not to have won here]. As a team, we’ve been fairly successful. We obviously haven’t had the record of what Penske has here. It’s kind of similar to the success Ganassi has winning so much at Mid-Ohio or Toronto, but the team hasn’t converted here."
Dixon’s 62 wins have come at 24 different tracks — most in the series among active drivers. He’s won at Nazareth, Pa. (his first win) and Motegi, Japan; at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (the famed Indy 500 and also on the road course) and at Fort Worth, Texas. Both of Dixon’s wins last year came on temporary road courses like St. Petersburg — at Belle Isle, Mich., and Toronto.
Pressed to find a reason for his near-misses at St. Pete after such a diverse trophy list, Dixon conceded this race and its placement at the beginning of the season has perhaps felt more like a “wild card” than most other races. It may bode well for this year's race that he had the fastest time in Friday's opening practice.
"It’s kind of weird," Dixon said of how the St. Petersburg races have played out. "It’s really hard to read. I think for three races in a row the winning driver came from a 15th or worse (starting position), whereas the past few years, it’s been more normal. We’ll see. I’m excited. I think everyone’s excited to be here because it’s been such a long offseason."
Another important characteristic is that sense of being "fresh season, fresh outlook, anyone’s game."
"This one always just because it’s the first one that comes up," Dixon said of his intent to finish business. "It’s definitely one on the radar for sure."
Qualifying to set the 27-car field for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is Saturday at 2:15 p.m.
New time trials for IndyCar Series
■ Saturday’s inaugural NTT IndyCar Series qualifying session of the year will mark the debut of a new procedure for time trials. Should there be an incident on track bringing out a red flag stoppage, the qualifying session time clock will also pause. The new rule applies only to the first incident, however. Should a second or third incident occur, the clock will continue to run.
■ Only four times has the pole-sitter — or fastest car in qualifying — won the race. Helio Castroneves (2007), Power (2010), Colton Herta (2021) and McLaughlin last year. Power has won a record eight pole positions.
■ There are five Florida-based drivers in the IndyCar Series field this weekend: Castroneves, Rinus Veekay, Devlin DeFrancesco, Jupiter's Kyle Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: St. Petersburg Grand Prix: Scott McLaughlin back to defend his first victory in IndyCar series
