CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit
St. Petersburg, Florida
Saturday Qualifying Report
February 28, 2026
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (February 28, 2026) For the second straight and the third time in five years, Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet will start the season-opening race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, from the pole position. The Kiwi’s lap of 60.5426 seconds (107.032 mph) over the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit led his 13th career pole. Team Penske has won 11 of the 15 poles at St. Pete and now has 158 and 106 poles all-time and since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012.
McLaughlin barely escaped the first group of the first segment of qualifying and was joined by Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in advancing to the Fast 12. McLaughlin’s new teammate, David Malukas, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, led the second group of the first segment, and Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet also advanced.
McLaughlin led the Fast 12, with Malukas also advancing to the Firestone Fast Six in a group that had all 12 drivers separated by less than half a second.
Chevrolet pole stats
McLaughlin’s pole is the 246th earned pole, all-time, for Chevrolet
McLaughlin’s pole is the 142nd earned pole, since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, for Chevrolet
McLaughlin’s pole is the 12th earned pole with Chevrolet for Scott McLaughlin, all-time and since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo, tying for 8th all-time list and 4th since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6
McLaughlin’s pole is the 157th earned pole with Chevrolet for Team Penske all-time, tops all time
McLaughlin’s pole is the 105th earned pole with Chevrolet for Team Penske., since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, for Chevrolet, tops all time
McLaughlin’s pole is the 11th pole on the Streets of St. Petersburg for Chevrolet – with all of them coming from Team Penske
Lundgaard is quick in pre-qualifying practice
Before qualifying, the Team Chevy drivers and teams had just over an hour to find more speed before setting the grid for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Matching Friday, the practice consisted of one 40-minute session for all drivers and two 12-minute sessions, with the field split. The 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit was still damp from heavy overnight rains as the 40-minute portion of practice got underway.
Rinus VeeKay in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet set the quickest lap during the full field running, turning a lap at 61.9918 seconds. He was joined in the top eight by Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and Nolan Siegel in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Friday’s quickest driver, Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet, was the second-quickest in the first group, with O’Ward and VeeKay also in the top five. O’Ward’s teammate, Christian Lundgaard, in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, was the quickest of the second group, and the quickest overall in practice with a lap of 61.6157 seconds.
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Qualifying Results
What They’re Saying:
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet qualified: on pole
“We said to ourselves, if we had the pace to go for pole, we’re going to go for it. So we put tires on and went after it. A couple of guys didn’t obviously, but, you know, best spot to start from. I love St. Pete. It’s great to great to be back here in Florida I think everyone’s enjoying the, the warmth and, yeah, just great. Glad for everyone at Dex as well.
“It’s going be a lot of different strategies. Everyone’s trying to figure out the tire and stuff like that, you know? But we put ourselves in the front and hopefully we keep it.”
David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet qualified: 5th
“We needed that. We needed that. I mean, After that first qualifying run there, I was trying so hard, and the car felt so good. I made a mistake on the first lap, so on the second run, I said okay, here we go, put it together, and I just knew we were going to make this fast six. We decided to go with used reds for the fast six and save the new ones for the race. It seems like it is going to be red dominant. Hopely that strategy works out and we can go for P1.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified: 8th
“I think we missed the track evolution there a little bit, and our balance fell off from the perfect window. The car definitely didn’t have more in it, and it’s about where we have been today – sitting in eighth and flirting with the final transfer. I’m very happy with the car on primary tires. The soft tires have just been more difficult, as it’s been for us in the past. We need to dive into that and see what’s going on because I do think the car was capable of being a bit higher up.”
Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified: 12th
“It was a bit of a disappointing Qualifying. We were expecting more after after our P1 and P2 results. I think it was a question in my mind if we had what it really took on the Firestone Red tires. Just judging off of P1, we didn’t really seem to be there on the alternates. It’s frustrating but at the end of the day, points are scored tomorrow, so we’ll keep our heads down and figure out the strategy for the race.”
Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet qualified: 14th
“We took a gamble with the two sets of reds. We fell on the back foot after not really getting a proper feel in Practice 2. We had an imbalance on the first run and did what we could to try and mitigate that for the second run. It was just limited on what we could do. We went fairly aggressive and it still wasn’t enough. We’ll see what we can do to move forward tomorrow.”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS Chevrolet qualified: 17th
“We unloaded pretty good because the car was decent. We just were a little too free on both runs. Not too much we could do, but we definitely didn’t take a big enough stab at it, either. So, a lot of work to do for tomorrow, but other than that, everything else going in the right direction.”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet qualified: 19th
“Tough qualifying. Started in the blacks really good. We’re p3 at the moment. Then when we put the reds on, just never really turned them on. Never really got that, that grip that the reds are supposed to give. So, that was tough. I mean, it’s very tight out there. Miss transferring by two-tenths. It’s definitely in there if we would have got that that grip that we needed. But, yeah, overall, I think still a very positive weekend. We’ve got a lot of pace. That’s what matters in a race. So, excited for that. And, yeah, we’ll make sure we address what went wrong on the red tires in qualifying. I’m very confident in this in this team and, and all the guys on the 76 crew.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet qualified: 20th
“Today was pretty good. I think that our qualifying performance was, okay. We are two-tenths from transferring, which hindsight, the field is just so tight. There’s no room for error. Little things make make a big difference around this place, but really proud of the team, the Goodheart crew. They worked hard to get the car in a good spot for for qualifying, and I think that we’ll have a competitive race car tomorrow. It seems like both cars are in a very similar position. We’re looking for the same things, and so that should give us a good direction for what we want going in the race.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified: 22nd
“I was feeling really good about our chances to transfer today, but we didn’t get a lap in Q1. That’s racing, but it’s very disappointing after our No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew put so much work into getting this race car into proper form. We’re going to focus on moving forward tomorrow.”
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet qualified: 23rd
“Not ideal. We hit a lot of traffic when we came out and I didn’t want to hold anybody up, and that’s what bit us. The sequencing was all off. It felt good on blacks. We’ve been struggling with brakes all weekend and I felt like we got on top of that, finally. The car was really good, it was just unfortunate not to put something together there. The team will fight tomorrow.”
Caio Collet, No. 4 COMBITRANS AMAZONA Chevrolet qualified: 24th
“It goes by quick– the session. Definitely the step from blacks to reds was something that I really underestimated. I didn’t really use the grip that I had available there. I really under drove the red tires. But it’s a lesson learned. We’ll just keep our heads down and focus on the work for tomorrow, it seems it’s going to be a long race, 100 laps, so we can move forward. I think we have a decent car. I’m looking forward to the first race tomorrow.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet qualified: 25th
“That was a very difficult qualifying session and a tough way to start the season. We are at a bit of a loss after we had a strong Practice 2. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow but we will be ready.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Scott McLaughlin
Post-Qualifying Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: Joined by Scott McLaughlin, the driver of the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet with back-to-back NTT P1 awards here on the Streets of St. Pete, his third all-told here in St. Petersburg, 12th career pole in his INDYCAR Series history.
Congratulations. Something about this track, eh?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yep. Maybe I need to move to Florida. I don’t know what it is. I love this place. Great way to start our year.
We did this last year, and I proceeded to have the worst year of my life. I’m just focused on execution tomorrow and the rest of the season. This is one little step. Just really proud of the execution because I felt like we nearly actually missed Q1. We were right on the buffer there, and the car was terrible. It was nice to tune it up and get it right and then it become one of my favorite cars I’ve had around here.
It’s a testament to Raul and the camaraderie that we’ve built already and the understanding for each other, and that can only grow from here.
Q. What kind of adjustments did you make?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We were firing springs in the thing and front wing changes and everything. We threw the kitchen sink at it between Q1 and Q2, made it a little bit better through Q2, scraped into the Fast Six, and then it was just a matter of executing for the Fast Six and have some fun with house money we like to call it, so it was fun.
Q. Scott, I wanted to go back to the practice in the morning. We had this heavy rain yesterday night. Did you feel any big difference when you had practice in the morning with the grip level?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, grip level was definitely lower, lower than what we tend to expect here Friday to Saturday morning. So that was a challenge in itself.
But I was very happy with my car on Friday. It’s handy when you come to a street circuit and you’ve had a decent P1, and that sort of gave me a little bit of confidence heading into qualifying that we knew where we wanted to be. We obviously missed the window when qualifying started, but we knew where to tune or had an idea where to tune to for Q2.
Q. I hope this will not happen, but everything can be possible with the weather. Did you have a conversation with your team about having a rain race tomorrow?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: If it rains, it’s the same for everyone. I love the rain. I’m from New Zealand, and it rains half the time there. I think it’s something that I’ve grown up with. I’ve always looked at it, like I said, it’s the same for everyone.
You’ve just got to go out there and try and tune the car to the best of your ability and drive it as fast as you can.
Q. Yesterday when we were doing the media bullpen you had talked about execution, like everything is all about execution. You keep saying that word today. I’m curious how you reel yourself in because we know you can get pretty excited in the car. How do you reel yourself in or how do you feel that and know you’ve got to tame it back to execute?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I know I’m 32, but I guess you could say it’s maturity a little bit, INDYCAR maturity, knowing how long the season is. One sort of pole — it’s quite easy to be 20th next week at Phoenix. It’s INDYCAR racing.
Enjoy the highs, but work hard because it’s so close that people are going to be coming for us tomorrow, and we know how good the 10 car has been and how good everyone else has been for so many years.
For me, I’m just going out there, I’m trying to enjoy driving the car like a little kid again, just doing what I love and telling Raul what I want from the car and what will make me go faster, and we’re doing that.
I didn’t feel good at Q1. I said, I need this, this and this to go faster. He gave me it, and it was about sort of mixing the old potion together and sending it, and it was nice.
Q. When you have the turnover on top of the timing stand, the spotter we talked about yesterday, how reinvigorating is this to you to come out of the gate like this?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it’s definitely a refresh. 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.
I felt like me and TC, 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.
But yeah, there’s still a lot of — I think there’s a lot of things that we can work on as a group together, but this is a great start.
Q. Speaking of TC, do you get excited when you think of the prospect of the race because that’s a guy who’s been a master here at coming up with the right strategy to keep you up front, so when you think of possibilities of tomorrow, how excited do you get?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I’m excited because we’ve got a great car. I think it’s nice to have a guy that you know that’s got the history of choosing the right calls and whatnot, but I’ve also had plenty of those guys on my stand before and won here with Kyle Moyer, who was unreal in that department, too.
The first thing you need is car speed, and for me to make the right moves at the right time, no mistakes, and hopefully we can have a day like we did in 2022.
Q. I know you’re focused on your effort, but to throw a bouquet at Dale Coyne Racing, I don’t know if anybody expected the rookie Dennis Hauger to be third and Grosjean in his first race back to be in the Fast Six, so how impressed are you by what they did?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was very impressed. This is INDYCAR. It’s competitive. That’s what makes the sport so awesome is the fact that a lower budget team, whatever you want to call it – I’m sure they don’t like me saying that – but at the end of the day it’s well known, and they’re killing it. That was a great effort. I was certainly surprised to see both of them in the Fast Six, but they’ve made some acquisitions over the off-season and got a couple guys that have been pretty deeply entrenched into the sport, as we all know, and been okay.
Q. Curious about the progress you feel Team Penske has made on its street course package, especially with three before the 500 and one directly after?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m skeptical to go, yeah, we’ve found — I think for me, it’s going to be waiting until Long Beach. Long Beach was our worst street circuit, I thought personally and I think as a team and probably the biggest gap we had to the Andrettis and maybe the Hondas in some ways.
This is nice, but we know we’re fast here. It’s just a matter of executing — sorry I keep using that word but you’re going to get used to it. Yeah, I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch. It’s okay right now.
Q. How much of a point of emphasis was the street course package over the off-season?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The whole package was, yeah. We need to be better.
Q. Before you’d been on the track, you mentioned that you expected the tire deg to be similar to the 2024 race. Now that you’ve been on both compounds, is that your opinion still?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m not sure. I don’t think so. Yeah, I think it’s going to be worse than we think. But I think it’s going to be good enough that you have to run on them long enough, but I think there is a cliff there. But we’ll find out tomorrow morning.
Q. How much is that going to change the race, to have to run on two sets of the alternates?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, you have to be good on both compounds. Thankfully my car has been pretty similar balance-wise on both compounds. I don’t know on tire deg, but I know certainly when I go out on used reds that it’s certainly a loss, in some ways, but I think we can make do with it.
Tune-In Guide
Sunday
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 9am (ET)/8am (CT)/7am (MT)/6am (PT) – FS1/ INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (100 laps) – noon (ET)/11am (CT)/10am (MT)/9am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
Chevrolet history on the Streets of St. Petersburg
Wins – 9
2024 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren
2022 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske
2020 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2019 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2016 – Juan Montoya – Team Penske
2015 – Juan Montoya – Team Penske
2014 – Will Power – Team Penske
2013 – James Hinchcliffe – Team Penske
2012 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske
Poles – 10
2025 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske
2024 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2022 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske
2020 – Will Power – Team Penske
2019 – Will Power – Team Penske
2017 – Will Power – Team Penske
2016 – Will Power – Team Penske
2015 – Will Power – Team Penske
2013 – Will Power – Team Penske
2012 – Will Power – Team Penske
Podiums: 25
Chevrolet driver podiums on the Streets of St. Petersburg: Will Power (5), Josef Newgarden (4), Helio Castroneves (3), Pato O’Ward (3), Simon Pagenaud (3), Juan Montoya (2), Marco Andretti (1), James Hinchcliffe (1), Ryan Hunter-Reay (1), Tony Kanaan (1), Scott McLaughlin (1)
Chevrolet team podiums on the Streets of St. Petersburg: Team Penske (18), Andretti Global (3), Arrow McLaren (3), Chip Ganassi Racing (1)
Laps Led: 754
Chevrolet driver laps led on the Streets of St. Petersburg: Will Power (213), Scott McLaughlin (127), Josef Newgarden (83), Helio Castroneves (73), Juan Montoya (71), Simon Pagenaud (64), James Hinchcliffe (26), Christian Lundgaard (23), Pato O’Ward (23), Oriol Servia (16), Rinus VeeKay (13), Ryan Briscoe (9), Jordan King (5), Tomas Enge (4), JR Hildebrand (3), Mike Conway (1)
Chevrolet team laps led on the Streets of St. Petersburg: Team Penske (640), Arrow McLaren (46), Andretti Global (26), ECR (19), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (16), Panther Racing (7)
Manufacturer History on the Streets Of St. Petersburg
Wins (with competition)
9 – Chevrolet (2024, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012)
6 – Honda (2025, 2023, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2005)
Poles (with competition)
10 – Chevrolet (2025, 2024, 2023, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012)
5 – Honda (2023, 2021, 2018, 2014, 2005)
Historical Chevrolet in the INDYCAR SERIES information
INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979)
Chevrolet-Powered Wins in the Twin-Turbo 2.2L V6 Era (2012-present)
Chevrolet-Powered Wins – All-Time
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.
GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US INDYCAR series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.
