CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT
FEBRUARY 28, 2025
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN LED TEAM CHEVY IN THIRD AT THE CONCLUSION OF FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG FIRST PRACTICE
- Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, led Team Chevy by finishing third during the first practice (combined), setting a fast lap during the sunny session in St. Pete with a fastest lap of 01:01.0002 seconds. Unfortunately, McLaughlin faced a late session incident, ending his practice early.
- Chevrolet finished the combined practice session with two in the top-five, with Newgarden in second followed by Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, in fifth. The Bowtie brand finished with four in the top-10 at the conclusion of Friday’s first practice session.
- Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, led Team Chevy in the first 45-minute session of practice, with his fastest lap of 01:01.2494 seconds. Chevrolet additionally finished with eight in the top-10 during the first 45 minute session before the field broke into two groups.
- Saturday on the Streets of St. Pete sees Team Chevy open with a second practice at 10 a.m. ET on FS2 followed by Qualifications and the Firestone Fast Six at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Additional coverage throughout the weekend can be found via INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218.
First Practice Top-10 Results (Combined):
3rd Scott McLaughlin
5th Pato O’Ward
9th Josef Newgarden
10th Will Power
First Practice Top-10 Results (45-minute session):
2nd Josef Newgarden
3rd Will Power
4th Scott McLaughlin
6th Christian Rasmussen
8th Pato O’Ward
9th Alexander Rossi
10th Nolan Siegel
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
“Overall, seemed like a pretty good session other than the chaos that is INDYCAR. We had very few laps today that we could do. We had a few issues with the brakes here or there, but we managed to fix it all up. So, at the end, I think we got around 10 laps in total between alternates and primaries, maybe one or two here or there. We also had that unfortunate yellow flag, so track time was rough. I think from a first session being back, I we kind of went through our checklist of things I wanted to go through. So now, we get to hone in, look at lap times, try to find the time from my side heading into Practice 2. I think from the car, Chevy, the Foyt guys, really good job. We’re heading into tomorrow.”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
“Solid first day back in St. Petersburg. Everything went really well with the team. Got a couple of overnight changes we’re excited about. Our Chevrolets feel awesome. Lot of power. Very happy with the offseason changes. I feel we’re going to have some good gains race day.”
Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“I think that was a good first session for us. No problems, really. Just worked through our plan. Some decent speed in the car, too, so appreciate everyone at this team and everyone at Chevrolet for getting us going fast. We’ll keep working on getting towards the P1 spot.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“Day one at St. Pete, I felt okay. We had a little bit messy of a session as a team, but all in all I think we have decent pace. I think if we clean it up, run smooth, the car has great speed, we’ve got great horsepower behind us. A little fine tuning here and there and we’ll be fine.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“First session of 2025, and I would say that we’ve got some work to do. But I’m confident in the men and women that we can make those changes and see how we stack up in Practice 2 and then get ready for Qualifying.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“Overall, I think it was a positive start and our pace on new Firestone Alternate tires was pretty strong. We know what we need to work on. We have a lot of understeer that we’ll need to sort out but it’s comfortable. It’s my first time racing in St. Pete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and this is one of my favorite tracks and I’m very excited for the weekend. Off to a strong and positive start and I think we’ll get better from here and be in good shape for Qualifying.”
Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“For our first go, I think we’re okay. We’re obviously building up to it. We don’t really know what the track condition is compared to last year since St. Pete was a bit under water last fall. I think we’ve identified a few things that we were concerned about leaving Sebring. Some of them translated, some of them didn’t. We still have some work to do, but overall it was a good first run. I’m looking forward to hearing what the others have to say in terms of where we are from an overall balance and overall performance perspective. It’s good to get running.”
Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with members of the media after the first practice session. Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Wrapping up today’s practice, we are joined now by Josef Newgarden.
What did you learn in that practice session?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was different. Just compared to last year, we didn’t have the hybrid here is probably the biggest year-over-year change. Then the tires have taken an alteration, if you will. It’s a known thing. We’ve been working on this in the off-season. Firestone has been pretty transparent and open that we’re looking for a different mix between the primary and the alternate. They definitely have different properties to what they had last year. A lot to dive in.
There wasn’t a lot of laps. I ran preslim laps on the primaries and then I did that one run on the alternate. Felt really good on the primaries, so-so on the alternates. I didn’t really do a good lap at all. Kind of understand why. We’re going to pick apart everything tonight and try to be in a big spot for tomorrow.
Good to be back. What a great atmosphere today. I think St. Pete has typically felt like this even on a Friday, but today looked really, really great. Nice to be back at the track.
THE MODERATOR: Looked good on FOX.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I can’t wait to see it.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Josef, you were second fastest in the 45-minute session. Is there any incentive to come out here and win after what happened last year? I want to show I can win by that type of length without any drama?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think there’s definitely motivation for us to do well. Like, that seems obvious. I won’t shy away from saying that. Definitely we want to come out here and do a great job this weekend. It would be very gratifying to win the race.
I don’t think that needs to be our focus. I don’t see how this year is different. Every year I show up at St. Pete it’s about putting up a solid result on the board. I really mean that. I’m not just trying to be poetic.
You have to get a result on the board to start the year and you got to start thinking championship right away. If we can come out of this weekend with a good result, a clean car, I think that it’s going to be a win.
Do we ultimately want to have a dominant day, be out front, make a statement? Absolutely. I hope that happens. I’m not going to try to force that. I think we need to get what we can this weekend, what we’re capable of, move on to the next and have a really solid year. That’s more where our focus is right now.
Q. Pato has had a pretty good run here even though he got the victory only because of what happened to you last year. The year before he was leading and had the plenum issue. Seems to have a good rhythm for this track. Do you see him as really I don’t want to say the guy you’re chasing, but how big a threat is he in the race?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I’m going to give you the typical answer because it’s so true. Pato is definitely going to be in the conversation. I don’t see how he won’t be. He has been for many years.
You look at guys like Kyle or it’s Colton or Alex or my teammates, there’s too many individuals that probably can and will be in the conversation that you have to consider a threat for the weekend.
It’s hard to just single somebody out like Pato. Is Pato excellent here and is he going to be in the conversation here, yes.
Q. Josef, Team Penske, what has made you so good at this racetrack?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s a good observation that we have fast cars here. Similar to Andretti holistically speaking on a street course, I think our cars have suited this track over the years. Certainly since I started in 2012, I think Team Penske has always had a good base package here. It’s gone up and down a little bit, but been very consistent over that time.
How many poles has Will had around here? Nine. Some absurd figure. It speaks to the quality of the car. Even to start today on primaries, I felt like our car was naturally fast. I’m appreciative of that, the effort we put in. We’ve even doubled down on it. Even though we know we have a good base car here, we’ve tried to make it even better.
I don’t think I can give you one reason why. These things move all over the place. Kyle was just talking about this with their team, they know they have a strength on street courses. Maybe that strength doesn’t carry everywhere.
We’re trying to flatten our performance window where it’s not peaks and valleys, it’s just quite consistent everywhere and we have that speed naturally.
This has always been a stronghold and we want to have that everywhere we go.
Q. Josef, it’s all about driving and working and trying to win. Are you excited to see some of the things on the broadcast? How interested are you in seeing how the sport is being portrayed to a bigger audience?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I love it. What’s not to love about it? I’ve preached this this entire off-season. The great thing for everybody in this building right now, everyone touching this sport, we’re not hoping and dreaming that this thing becomes something elevated and great again. It was a great, great sport at one point. It was world renowned. It deserves to be that.
I think FOX will be a tremendous catalyst to bring it back to what it once was. I’m excited. I’m excited for all of us. I think we all deserve it. We’ve all been working hard. We all continue to need to work hard. Let’s see what this season can bring. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think it can be a very big year.
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