Another year, another IndyCar season. If you read my most recent article, I gave a brief rundown of what you needed to know about the sport and the grid before heading into this upcoming season. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for the season opening Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Florida this past week and I’m here now to give my hits, misses, highlights and anything else you would want to know.
This is my third year in attendance at this race, but my family has been going for longer than I can remember. So, we’re pretty familiar with the rundown at this point. We had passes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which included tickets in the grandstands at the start and finish line, as well as pit lane, hot grid and paddock passes. For anyone who doesn’t know what that entails, we essentially have access to viewing the individual team areas in between sessions, are able to walk in the lane behind the teams’ pit boxes during sessions and walk on track with the cars, teams and drivers prior to the race.
Weekend Warmup
Although gates usually opened just before 8:00 AM, the IndyCar series was not on track until a few hours later. The featured supporting series this weekend were INDY NXT, USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series. I arrived at the track around 10 AM on Saturday and Sunday and would leave around 5 PM. The long days are made even longer in the bright sun and high UV, but with all the on-track action, that’s something you hardly notice. This year the weather was actually pretty nice, staying around the mid 70s with a cool breeze. Last year, I suffered through a sunburn horror story on Saturday and was left with lobster red skin the entire following race day, which was…not so fun. This year, I learned my lesson and probably put on enough sunscreen to keep me protected for a few years.
I’d like to take this time to bring attention to my favorite part of this Grand Prix (other than the racing, of course) and that would be the Kahwa Coffee tent placed right behind our seats. If you know anything about me, you know that a good cold brew is the light of my life. And a cold brew at the track? There are very few things I love more than that combo. Kahwa is a coffee shop in St. Pete (that’s hopefully expanding up north) and they come to this Grand Prix every year. So naturally, each day of my weekend starts with an icey 24 oz. coffee. I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the day without Kahwa’s caffeine kick.
In addition to the coffee, a great part about this Grand Prix is the merchandise. Ranging from official team shirts to vintage Porsche baseball caps, there’s definitely something for everyone. I walked away with a few diecasts and a new official IndyCar hat. Compared to other racing events (I’m looking at you Formula One), IndyCar has a ton of affordable merchandise to buy. Although the official team and driver gear can run a bit pricey, there are so many options ranging from all different series and well-known names in motorsport.
Another thing I like a lot about this race and IndyCar in general is the accessibility to the drivers and teams. As someone who wants to work within motorsport in the future, being able to immerse myself in the sport during a weekend like this is so fun. Throughout the weekend, we were able to talk to teams, race engineers, journalists and media members, and last, but definitely not least, the drivers. Including an awkward picture with Nolan Seigel (I’ll tell that story later), chatting with the Andretti pit team, weaving through the cars on track and wishing Colton Herta a quick “good luck” before qualifying, the weekend was definitely one for the books.
Indy NXT…next up?
Anyway, I’ll get on to talking about racing now. Although the star of the show is of course the actual IndyCar series, there are several supporting series that are pretty interesting to watch, including Indy NXT (for F1 fans, this is sort of the Formula 2 of IndyCar). Dennis Hauger, driver for Andretti Global, won the Indy NXT race with apparent ease, starting from pole and leading every lap of the race. Hauger has an impressive resume, having previously competed in Formula 2 from 2022 to 2024, winning the 2021 FIA Formula 3 championship and being a past member of the Red Bull Junior Team where well-known drivers like Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson have come from. Although Andretti didn’t have as much luck in the actual IndyCar grand prix, they had major success in this series with second place going to Hauger’s teammate, Lochie Hughes. Both drivers are predicted to have bright futures in IndyCar and maybe even Formula One.
Race Highlights
The IndyCar Grand Prix itself was a pretty interesting start to the season. A caution in the first lap (a common occurrence at this street race) between Team Penske’s Will Power and rookie Arrow Mclaren driver, Nolan Seigel, sent both of them back to the pits with a DNF and a disappointing start to the season. That said, Seigel had a decent weekend outside of the wreck, missing the Fast Six in qualifying by only two-tenths. The rest of the race was ultimately decided by varying pit stop strategies and some standout drivers and driving.
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou, who came from eighth, took home the winning trophy this weekend after lapping Stingray Robb (yes, that’s actually his name) and warding off strong competition from Josef Newgarden in the last ten laps. The Spanish Driver is known for his consistency throughout the season, and it appears that 2025 will be no different.
His teammate, Scott Dixon, came in second after pulling a late overtake on Newgarden in the final laps of the race. Dixon’s race was especially impressive after news came out that he drove the last 90 laps of the race with no radio and no way to communicate with his team. The lack of communication led Dixon to pit a lap later than he should have in the race which is said to have ultimately cost him the victory. Regardless, a good result for the driver and a great sign for the rest of his season.
Both drivers who started on the front row, Scott McLaughlin and Colton Herta, had disappointing ends to their races, Herta perhaps more than the other. McLaughlin ended in p4 after leading for 40 laps throughout the race. Despite losing out on the podium, his speed in qualifying no doubt means good things for the future. On the other hand, Herta didn’t even make it into the top 5, ending his race in a brutal p16 after an unlucky pit stop strategy.
Takeaways
Unfortunately for me, both of my favorite drivers (Herta and Seigel) did not have much luck this weekend. But, that’s racing. On to the Thermal Club! Overall, the weekend was perfect. A great win for Palou, beautiful Florida weather and my absolute favorite coffee to top it all off. For anyone looking to go next year, I recommend bringing sunscreen, some water and enough money to grab yourself some team merchandise. Until next year, St. Pete!