Josef Newgarden opened up the 2024 NTT Data Indycar season with a statement. In one word it was “Domination”. Newgarden, starting from the pole led 92 laps of the 100 lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The waterside event was also celebrating it’s 20th anniversary (21 if you include the inaugural event in 2003). It has become one of the most popular races on the Indycar calendar and continues to grow every year. It is very much the “Long Beach” of the east.
The event was pretty non-eventful with what seemed to be very little passing except for what went on during pitstops or just after yellow flags. Newgarden did drop to third after pit stops, but quickly made his way back to the front. He was, essentially, not even challenged as he took his third St. Pete Grand Prix victory. The only suprise was the lack of competitiveness from Honda, specifically from Chip Ganassi Racing. This event was far from the excitement and crashfest of 2023. Newgarden’s domination of St. Pete is nothing new. The two time Indycar Champion joins a list of other drivers who put in a dominant performance on the streets of the gulf coast town of Florida.
There have been other drivers throughout the years that have been dominant in an event that has ranged anywhere from 100 to 110 laps. The initial race that ran in 2003, and not included in the history of the event, was a 105 lap race that was won by Paul Tracy. Tracy led 71 laps en route to his first win of his lone Indycar Championship season. When the event returned under the IRL banner in 2005 it was ran as a 100 lap event. From 2005 to 2012 the race was 100 laps.
Helio Castroneves was the first to dominate the streets when he led 95 laps in 2007. Dario Franchitti had the field covered when he took his lone win in St. Pete in 2011 and led 94 laps. The race was then extended to 110 laps in 2012. While Will Power took a convincing win in 2014 leading 74 laps only two other events were won by drivers leading over 50% of the total laps. Sebastien Bourdais led 69 laps en route to winning a surf board in 2017. Newgarden took his first of three wins in St. Pete in 2019 when he took the checkered flag first in 2019.
With the race switched back to 100 laps in 2020 the most dominant performance came in 2021. Andretti Global star Colten Herta would lead an astounding 97 laps that day. While he was the most dominant in all the races, there were a few winners who led only a handful of laps over the years. In 2023 Marcus Ericsson led the last four laps of the event after an engine hiccup in the car of Pato O’Ward caused him to briefly stall. Ericsson breezed by on his way to victory. It’s the fewest laps led by any driver in the history of the event. The fewest laps led up until last year was in 2005. Dan Wheldon went from third to first in one corner and took the lead and the victory with 10 laps to go in the inaugural IRL road course race.
The shortest race came in 2008. Nineteen year old IRL rookie Graham Rahal won an 83 lap race leading only 19 laps in the rain. The 2024 race was nothing out of the ordinary really. Newgarden took his third win in the event tying former Penske teammate Helio Castroneves. In fact, St. Pete has been very kind to Team Penkse. Not only that, this was the 12th Penske win in St. Pete. Andretti Global has three wins in the event with Wheldon in 2005, James Hincliffe in 2013 and Colten Herta in 2021. Chip Ganassi racing has two wins in the event with Franchitti in 2011 and Ericsson in 2023, and Dale Coyne owns the other two race wins. It was Bourdais in 2017 and 2018 that won in his hometown. Newman/Haas Racing won in their debut in 2008 with Rahal.
This does not include Tracy’s win in 2003 with Forsythe Racing. I find it odd they don’t include the 2003 event. Others who have missed a year and returned are included in the races history. This includes races in Long Beach and Toronto.
In fact, St Pete, while a great event, doesn’t always produce the best racing. It is the perfect place to start the season for the NTT Data Indycar Series. It offers quite bit to race fans and non race fans alike. There is plenty of on-track action. The Salvador Dali Museum sits right outside turn 10. It sits right along Tampa Bay with a harbor full of yachts and it’s part street race, part event and part spring break party. What else could a race fan ask for in an event?