What To Know After Qualifying For INDYCAR Opener A...

St. Petersburg, Fla. — One of the biggest questions entering the 2026 INDYCAR season is: Will Team Penske rebound?

And the answer going into the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday (noon ET, FOX) is a little bit of apparently yes, and a little bit of not so sure.

Scott McLaughlin won the pole for the race and his new teammate, David Malukas, who replaced Will Power, will start fifth. But two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, will start 23rd.

So there are still many questions as the season kicks off Sunday. Here’s what to know:

When is INDYCAR’s St. Pete green flag?

The FOX coverage begins at noon ET with green flag slated for 12:29 p.m. ET. It can also be streamed live on the FOX Sports website, FOX One and the FOX Sports App. 

How long is the race?

The race is 100 laps on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn course on the streets — and airport runway — of St. Petersburg.

Is Scott McLaughlin on the pole a big deal?

Scott McLaughlin after being the fastest qualifier for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Absolutely. He finished 10th in the standings last year with one pole — also at St. Petersburg. He has a new strategist – former Newgarden strategist and former Penske executive Tim Cindric, who has returned to the organization in a role just for the race weekend.

McLaughlin appears ready to take over as the organization leader after Will Power’s move to Andretti after a 17-year stint. He also has a new engineer in Raul Prados.

“All the guys that I lost are some of my best friends, but they’ve gone on to cooler things for their careers, and I can only wish them well, and now I’ve got guys that can do just the same job, if not better,” McLaughlin said in his pole-winning news conference.

“I felt like me and T.C., it was our first qualifying session together, and I was telling him in spots to stop talking. We’re sort of warming up to each other a little bit, and it was fun. There’s still a lot of things that we can work on as a group together, but this is a great start.”

Who else stood out in St. Pete qualifying?

Alex Palou ahead of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026. (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images)

Nearly the entire fast six (those who made it to the final round of qualifying) was a surprise. Only four-time series champion Alex Palou in fourth was expected.

Marcus Ericsson was second, followed by rookie Dennis Hauger in third. David Malukas, who replaced Power at Penske was fifth and Romain Grosjean — a teammate of Hauger’s at Dale Coyne Racing — was sixth.

Here is what they told me after qualifying

Ericsson: “I performed at my maximum today, and I was really proud of that. The [team] did as effectively. They did an amazing job. … It’s an enormous outcome for us beginning on the entrance row after final 12 months. That was a little bit of a catastrophe.”

Hauger informed FS2: “I wasn’t actually anticipating that, to be sincere. … Undoubtedly greater than I might hope for.”

Malukas: “I used to be making an attempt so laborious, and the automotive felt so good. … We did lots of preseason testing — Sebring, Phoenix — [and] issues have been trying actually good however you don’t actually know till race day. Fortunately, we got here right here, and it appeared all of it of that got here collectively. We actually wanted that, pushed actually laborious for it and I believe the remainder of the season could be set crusing.”

Grosjean: “We made some good progress. There are nonetheless some issues we are able to enhance. … Typically, I’ve been fairly proud of the automotive.”

Who didn’t stand out?

Two massive surprises within the again two rows are Newgarden in twenty third and veteran Alexander Rossi in twenty fifth.

Each are anticipated to make some positive factors within the race.

“We had lots of site visitors once we got here out, and I didn’t wish to maintain anyone up and, actually, I believe that’s what bit us, simply the sequencing is all off,” Newgarden informed FS2 in an interview following qualifying.

Who has wrecked this weekend?

A number of drivers have wrecked — Scott Dixon and Louis Foster on Friday and Will Energy and Christian Rasmussen on Saturday.

They nonetheless had OK qualifying outcomes: Foster will begin ninth, Energy will begin thirteenth, Rasmussen 14th and Dixon sixteenth.

None of them needed to go to back-up vehicles.

I’m listening to about new tire guidelines?

Sure, this 12 months groups should use not less than two units of the softer (red-lettered) tires in the course of the race and not less than one set of the primaries.

Final 12 months, they simply had to make use of one set of the tender tires.

“I believe [the softs are] going to be adequate that it’s important to run on them lengthy sufficient, however I believe there’s a cliff there [where they lose grip],” McLaughlin mentioned. “However we’ll discover out [in warmup] tomorrow morning.”

Most drivers have mentioned they’ll get the most effective concept of how lengthy the tender tires will final earlier than shedding grip after they placed on a set for the 30-minute morning warmup just a few hours earlier than the race.

(Picture by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen by way of Getty Photos)

Will any stars be there?

Among the many celebrities anticipated are former Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden.

Actor Rudy Pankow will get to journey within the quickest seat in sports activities — within the two-seater that paces the sector previous to the race.

What does this race imply?

There have been 22 races at St. Pete. Six occasions the winner has gone on to win the title, together with final 12 months when Alex Palou gained his fourth INDYCAR championship (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).