Christopher Bell outduels competition for back-to-back Cup victories; first at COTA

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March 2, 2025

Bell Mitchell Pavel — Photo by Mitchell Pavel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

A week after being awarded a caution-timed victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell earned a hard-fought raw victory in the fifth annual running of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, March 2.

The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Norman, Oklahoma, led twice for eight of 95 scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in 19th place. He maintained a consistent pace while keeping his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry intact through the first two stage periods. Bell aggressively charged to the front in the early laps of the final stage period as he moved into the runner-up spot. He then proceeded to gain ground on Kyle Busch for the lead.

Despite losing ground to Busch during a late green-flag pit stop cycle, where he pitted two laps after Busch but had fresher tires with less than 30 laps remaining, a late-race caution with 18 laps remaining presented an opportunity for Bell to take command.

During a 13-lap dash to the finish, Bell intimidated and stalked Busch, even making contact with the latter with six laps remaining entering the Esses. Then, he overtook him for good through the first turn with five laps remaining. Despite having both William Byron and Tyler Reddick challenging him over the final five laps, Bell did not miss his marks amid every turn. He also fended off the challenges from his fellow competitors to win for a second consecutive week and notch his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in Austin, Texas.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, March 1, Tyler Reddick captured his first Cup pole position of the 2025 season with a pole-winning lap at 88.095 mph in 98.076 seconds. Reddick was joined on the front row by teammate Bubba Wallace, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 87.894 mph in 98.30 seconds.

Prior to the event, Zane Smith dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford entry.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Tyler Reddick rocketed his No. 45 The Beast Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead of the field while teammate Bubba Wallace struggled to launch his No. 23 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE entry at the start. Wallace’s early issues forced the field to fan out as Chase Elliott and Carson Hocevar tried to make their moves to the front.

Entering the first turn, Elliott got hit by Ross Chastain, the latter of whom was trying to execute a bold dive bomb move beneath Kyle Larson, as Elliott spun his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet entry and caused a jam-up within the field. As the field scattered through the first turn, Reddick maintained the lead over teammate Wallace, Hocevar and the field through Turn 2 and the Esses.

Reddick would proceed to lead the field through COTA’s new National layout between Turns 6, 6A and 6B before he navigated his way through Turn 12. Behind, newcomer Connor Zilisch was off the pace due to a flat right-front tire on his No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet entry amid contact while Denny Hamlin had damage to the right-front fender of his No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE entry. As Hamlin continued to race on the track, Zilisch made an early pit stop as he dropped below the leaderboard. Amid the incidents, Reddick led the first lap over Wallace.

Over the next four laps, Reddick maintained a stable advantage over teammate Wallace while rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez were scored in the top five. Behind, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, William Byron, Michael McDowell and AJ Allmendinger were racing in the top 10 ahead of Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Hamlin, Chastain, Ryan Preece and rookie Riley Herbst, respectively.

Within the four-lap span, Ty Dillon got turned by Austin Cindric on the frontstretch on the third lap, but he managed to limp his No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet entry away from the carnage scene without drawing a caution.

On the sixth lap, Wallace served a “stop-and-go” penalty off the course in Turn 13 for cutting COTA’s course in Turn 5. The penalty dropped Wallace from second to eighth on the track as van Gisbergen, Busch, Suarez and Larson moved up into the top five. By then, Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over van Gisbergen while Busch, who went off the course exiting Turn 6B a few laps earlier, maintained third place.

Two laps later, van Gisbergen made a move beneath Reddick through the new National layout to muscle his No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet entry into the lead. Reddick briefly attempted to pull a crossover move on van Gisbergen exiting Turn 6B, but he would settle back behind van Gisbergen in second place. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch started to close in on Reddick for the runner-up spot before he overtook Reddick for the runner-up spot in Turn 20.

Through the first 10-scheduled laps, van Gisbergen was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while third-place Reddick trailed by more than a second. Behind, Suarez and Larson followed suit in the top five ahead of Hocevar, Byron, AJ Allmendinger, Wallace and Bowman while Briscoe, McDowell, Bell, Ty Gibbs, Blaney, Chastain, Joey Logano, Preece, Hamlin and Chris Buescher were mired in the top 20, respectively. Meanwhile, Elliott was down in 29th place while Zilisch was mired in 36th place and trailing the lead by 71 seconds.

Five laps later, van Gisbergen stabilized his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over runner-up Busch while third-place Reddick trailed by more than three seconds. As Suarez and Larson continued to trail in the top five, Byron was being pressured by Allmendinger and Hocevar for sixth place while Bowman and Briscoe occupied the top 10 spots ahead of Wallace, McDowell, Bell, Ty Gibbs and Chastain.

Another lap later, the event’s first cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Bowman, McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, John Hunter Nemechek, Riley Herbst, Justin Haley and Josh Berry pitted their respective entries. More names that included Briscoe, Hocevar, Larson, Suarez, Byron, Bell, Ty Gibbs, Chastain, Preece, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith, Cole Custer, Erik Jones and Noah Gragson would pit during the following lap as McDowell was penalized for having a crew member jump over the pit wall too soon. Amid the pit stops, Jones and Zane Smith made contact on pit road.

Then with three laps remaining in the first stage period, the top four competitors that included van Gisbergen, Busch, Reddick and Allmendinger pitted their respective entries while Wallace, who had yet to pit, cycled into the lead. Following the pit stops, van Gisbergen managed to fend off Busch to exit pit road ahead of him, though Busch kept van Gisbergen within his sights.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Wallace captured both his first Cup stage victory of the 2025 season and his first on a road-course venue. Joey Logano, who also has yet to pit, followed suit in second ahead of van Gisbergen, Busch and Elliott while Reddick, Larson, Suarez, Byron and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10, respectively.

Under the stage break, Elliott made an early pit stop to continue to have his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet entry repaired for a broken toe link following his opening lap spin. Once pit road became accessible for the field, select names led by Wallace and Logano pitted their respective entries while the rest of the field led by van Gisbergen remained on the track.

The second stage period started on Lap 25 as van Gisbergen and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start, Busch briefly launched ahead from the outside lane and through the uphill climb to the first turn before van Gisbergen used the inside lane to motor his No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet entry back up front.

As the field fanned out, bumped and jostled for spots, van Gisbergen led Reddick, Busch, Larson, Suarez, Byron and Allmendinger through the Esses and the National layout. With the field continuing to jostle from Turns 12 to 20, Busch would reassume the runner-up spot from Reddick in Turn 20 as van Gisbergen led the following lap.

Shortly after, however, Busch used the frontstretch and a strong left-hand move into Turn 1 to overtake van Gisbergen and assume the lead in his No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet entry. With van Gisbergen just fending off Reddick for the runner-up spot through the Esses, Busch maintained the lead through the Esses, the National layout and Turn 12 while a majority of the field followed suit in single-line formation. Busch would extend his advantage to more than a second over van Gisbergen as he led Lap 27 while Allmendinger and Suarez battled for fifth place in front of Briscoe, Larson and Bell.

Just past the Lap 30 mark, Busch continued to lead by more than a second over van Gisbergen while third-place Reddick trailed by more than two seconds. Then on Lap 34, van Gisbergen tracked and reassumed the lead from Busch through Turns 6A and 6B. Despite losing the lead, Busch would continue to stalk van Gisbergen within close distance, but the latter led the following lap. By then, Allmendinger was up to third place as Byron, Suarez, Briscoe, Bell, Reddick, Bowman and Buescher were scored in the top 10 mark. Meanwhile, Larson, who was racing in the top 10 earlier, was mired back in 19th place after he was penalized for cutting the course in Turn 3.

At the Lap 40 mark, van Gisbergen continued to lead by more than a second over Busch while third-place Allmendinger followed suit by more than a second. Behind, Byron and Bell raced in the top five ahead of Briscoe, Suarez, Reddick, Bowman and Buescher while Preece, Hocevar, Chastain, Zilisch, Blaney, Larson, Hamlin, Justin Haley, McDowell and Ty Gibbs followed suit in the top 20, respectively.

During the Lap 40 mark, select names that included Keselowski and Austin Dillon pitted their respective entries under green while Hamlin was penalized for track violations from Turn 5. A bevy of names that included Reddick, Suarez, Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Haley, Austin Cindric, John Hunter Nemechek, Hocevar, Byron, Bowman, Bell, Briscoe, Logano, Larson and Zilisch would all pit through Lap 42 laps while Dillon was penalized for cutting the course.

Then on Lap 43, the top three competitors that included van Gisbergen, Busch and Allmendinger pitted their respective entries while Preece, who has yet to pit, cycled into the lead. Meanwhile, disaster struck for Larson as the right-front wheel detached from the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry as he exited Turn 6B. With the wheel rolling off the course in Turn 12, the event remained under green flag conditions as both Busch and van Gisbergen made contact upon exiting pit road. Meanwhile, Larson was assessed a two-lap penalty for the detached wheel.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 45, Preece, who came into Circuit of the Americas strapped in 30th place in the driver’s standings, captured his first Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Blaney followed suit in second place ahead of McDowell, Busch and van Gisbergen while Allmendinger, Wallace, Byron, Bell and Hamlin were scored in the top 10, respectively.

During the stage break, some led by Preece and Blaney pitted their respective entries while the rest led by McDowell, Busch and van Gisbergen remained on the track.

With 46 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as McDowell and Busch occupied the front row in front of van Gisbergen, Allmendinger, Byron and Bell. At the start, both McDowell and Busch dueled in front of the field through the uphill climb to Turn 1 until McDowell, who elected not to pit during the second stage’s conclusion, barely managed to fend off Busch through the first two turns and the Esses.

Busch, however, would gain the upper hand and the preferred lane entering Turn 6A to storm back into the lead. Busch would proceed to lead through Turn 12 as Allmendinger made his way into the runner-up spot. Behind, van Gisbergen was trying to overtake McDowell entering Turn 15 while Bell, Byron, Briscoe, Reddick, Suarez and Hocevar all followed suit in the top 10.

As the field jumbled up and jostled for spots from Turns 15 to 20, trouble ensued when Suarez, who was in eighth place, hit the curb in Turn 19 and spun his No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet entry in front of Reddick. As Suarez spun off the course, he was hit hard on the right-front side by teammate Connor Zilisch as Zilisch backed his No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet entry against the tire barriers in the gravel trap.

The carnage ended both Trackhouse Racing competitors with wrecked race cars and concluded Zilisch’s Cup debut. The incident drew a full-course caution as Busch had maintained the lead over Allmendinger, van Gisbergen, Bell and McDowell, respectively.

When the event restarted under green flag conditions with 41 laps remaining, Bell, who restarted in fifth place, made a bold three-wide move beneath van Gisbergen and McDowell as he tried to gain spots through the uphill climb to Turn 1. With Allmendinger briefly getting shoved off the track, Bell squeezed his way out of a jam in between Allmendinger, Byron and Briscoe to move into the runner-up spot as Busch ran away with the lead entering the Esses.

Busch would proceed to lead through the National layout and Turn 12 as the field behind fanned out and jostled for late spots. Despite Bell closing in for a bid for the lead, Busch would lead the following lap as Briscoe, Byron and Allmendinger followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen was mired back in seventh place behind McDowell while Chastain, Hocevar and Reddick followed suit in the top 10, respectively.

With less than 40 laps remaining, Busch led by nearly half a second over a hard-charging Bell while Byron battled and overtook Briscoe for third place. Allmendinger followed suit in close pursuit in fifth place while van Gisbergen gained a spot to sixth place. Meanwhile, Bowman proceeded from spinning in Turn 12 without drawing a caution as McDowell began to slip out of the top-10 mark amid his worn tires.

Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Busch retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Bell while third-place Byron trailed by three seconds. Behind, Briscoe and Allmendinger were scored in the top five ahead of van Gisbergen, Chastain, Reddick, Haley and Gragson while Blaney, Hocevar, Logano, Keselowski, Preece, Austin Dillon, Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Elliott and Wallace were mired in the top 20 ahead of Hamlin, Gilliland, Herbst, Cindric and Zane Smith. Meanwhile, Bowman was in 30th place, McDowell dropped back to 34th place after he pitted under green two laps earlier and Larson was strapped in 35th place while a lap down.

Five laps later, Bell started to close in on Busch for the lead, where the latter was leading the former by seven-tenths of a second, as Elliott pitted under green. Behind, Byron trailed in third place by more than two seconds while Allmendinger, van Gisbergen and Briscoe, the trio of whom were fiercely battling amongst one another, were racing in fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively, with Reddick scored in sixth.

Another two laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops ensued as Wallace and Zane Smith pitted their respective entries as Busch extended his lead to more than a second over Bell. More names that included Byron, Briscoe, Chastain, Reddick, Buescher, Briscoe and Chastain would pit during the next lap before the leader Busch pitted with 27 laps remaining. As Busch pitted, Bell remained on the track and led the following lap while Haley, Preece, Logano, Gragson and Gibbs all joined Busch on pit road.

With 26 laps remaining, Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet entry under green from the runner-up spot. The leader Bell would then pit his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE entry during the next lap as van Gisbergen cycled into the lead. By then, Blaney was in second place while Busch trailed in third place by more than 20 seconds. Once Bell exited pit road, he had fallen to sixth place and was separated by two cars to Busch. Busch would proceed to move up into second place with 24 laps remaining as Blaney pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry.

Then with 22 laps remaining, van Gisbergen, who was initially leading by more than 17 seconds over Busch, pitted under green from the lead. As Busch cycled back into the lead, van Gisbergen exited pit road in eighth place behind Briscoe and Gilliland despite having the freshest tires over the field. Meanwhile, Busch was leading by more than two seconds over Byron while third-place Bell trailed by more than five seconds.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Busch stabilized his lead to more than two seconds over Byron as Bell continued to trail in third place by more than five seconds. Meanwhile, Allmendinger and Reddick trailed in the top five and by more than 10 seconds while van Gisbergen was mired in seventh place behind Briscoe. Chastain, Haley and Bowman followed suit in the top 10, respectively while Blaney, Buescher, Preece, Elliott and Wallace cycled into the top 15.

Two laps later, a full-course caution flew when Denny Hamlin collided with Austin Dillon which sent both spinning in Turn 6A and Dillon getting stuck in the gravel trap. During the caution period, some including Briscoe, Buescher, Preece, Elliott, Wallace, Herbst, Hocevar, Keselowski, McDowell, Nemechek, Zane Smith, Hamlin and the Dillon brothers pitted while the rest led by Busch remained on the track.

As the event restarted under green with 13 laps remaining, Busch and Byron dueled in front of the field through the uphill climb to Turn 1 until Busch rocketed ahead and retained the top spot entering the Esses. Bell would overtake Byron for the runner-up spot prior to entering the Esses as Allmendinger, Reddick and van Gisbergen followed suit in the top six.

As a stack-up that involved Gibbs getting spun by teammate Briscoe ensued in Turn 6A, the event remained under green flag conditions as Busch maintained a steady lead over Bell through Turns 6B and 12. While van Gisbergen, Reddick and Gragson bumped and battled fiercely for fifth place, Busch led the following lap as he continued to be pursued by a hard-charging Bell.

With 10 laps remaining, Busch retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Bell while Byron trailed in third place by more than a second. Behind, Allmendinger and Reddick were in the top five ahead of Gragson, Haley, Logano and Chastain while van Gisbergen dropped to 10th place. Mired in the pack, Larson spun in Turn 20, but the event remained under green as Busch continued to fend off Bell through every turn and corner with the top spot.

A lap later, Bell attempted to make a move beneath Busch for the lead in Turn 1, but his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE entry went wide as he quickly snapped back to the right and just avoided hitting Busch. This drew Bell into a battle with Byron for the runner-up spot while Busch slightly stretched his advantage through the Esses.

As Bell tried to regain his ground through the National layouts and from Turns 12 to 20, Busch maintained the lead by seventh-tenths of a second with eight laps remaining. Over the next lap, Busch pulled a bold block on Bell entering Turn 1 and fended off Bell’s charge through the Esses, the National layout and from Turns 12 to 15 to maintain the lead. This allowed Byron to close in on the top two leaders as Busch led the following lap.

Then entering the Esses, Bell nearly got alongside Busch, but both made contact as Bell’s left-front fender hit Busch’s right-rear fender. Amid the contact, both kept their respective cars racing straight as Busch retained the lead. Busch would continue to lead from the National layout through Turn 15 before Bell got alongside Busch and rubbed him. Busch, however, pulled back ahead through Turns 16 to 19 before Bell made a move beneath Busch and pulled ahead to lead with five laps remaining.

As Bell cleared Busch to lead in Turn 1, Byron proceeded to overtake Busch for the runner-up spot entering the Esses as Reddick joined the battle. Through Turn 6A, Bell nearly got into the wall, which allowed Byron to close in for the lead. By then, Reddick started to challenge Busch for third place while Byron got to Bell’s rear bumper in Turn 12. Amid the four-car battle from Turns 12 to 19, Bell started to pull away from Byron while Reddick overtook Busch for third place. Meanwhile, Gragson muscled up to fifth place while Bell led the following lap.

Over the next two laps, Bell stabilized a reasonable advantage over Byron and Reddick while Busch started to lose ground in fourth place as he trailed by more than three seconds. Amid Byron’s efforts to gain ground through the turns, Bell maintained the top spot while Reddick could also not navigate his way through both Bell and Byron.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained in the lead by three-tenths of a second over Byron and by seven-tenths of a second over Reddick. Bell would proceed to maintain the top spot through the Esses and the National layout before he got through Turn 12. From Turns 12 to 20, Byron used the turns to try and execute any crossover and bump-and-run move on Bell in his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet entry, but he could not get to Bell’s rear bumper for contact.

Bell fended off Byron for a final time in Turn 20 and was able to muscle through the frontstretch with the top spot and claim the checkered flag by four-tenths of a second over Byron while Reddick followed suit in third place by half a second.

With the victory, Bell, winner of last weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, notched his 11th career win in NASCAR’s premier series and his third on a road-course event. The Oklahoma native previously won the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in February 2021 and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October 2022.

In addition, Bell, who achieved back-to-back Cup victories for the first time in his career, became the fifth competitor overall to win a Cup event at Circuit of the Americas and he posted the second straight victory of the 2025 campaign for both Joe Gibbs Racing and the Toyota nameplate. Bell’s 2025 victory was redemption from the previous season, where he rallied from making contact with Kyle Busch to finish a close second place behind Byron.

As an added bonus, Bell recorded the 191st Cup Series career victory for Toyota. With the victory, Toyota is tied with Plymouth for the fourth-most Cup victories all-time among manufacturers.

Photo by Mitchell Pavel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“That was almost a déjà vu of last year,” Bell said on the frontstretch on FOX. “I had the track position that time. Man, these road course races, they’re just so much fun. Whenever Kyle [Busch] was leading, I was just trying to be so cautious. Obviously, we know what happened last year. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to pass him clean and he was just doing such a good job at running his race. He could get off the corners just good enough that I couldn’t get inside of him. There, I started peaking a nose and he bobbled, allowed me to get out front. Whatever I did, I’m like, ‘OK, just don’t beat yourself.’ Those were about the five or six-sloppiest laps I’ve ever run.”

“Just super proud for everyone on this DeWalt No. 20 team,” Bell added. “We didn’t count last week. Last week was a speedway. We didn’t have that one circled, but we definitely had this one circled. I’m ready to keep adding to [the win column].”

William Byron, the reigning winner at COTA, settled in second place while pole-sitter Tyler Reddick rallied to finish in third place. Chase Elliott made a late recovery from his opening lap spin to finish in fourth place while Kyle Busch, who led a race-high 42 laps, ended up in fifth place.

The second and fifth-place results left both Byron and Busch pleased with the results but disappointed over not being able to fend off Bell’s late-race charge to the front and eventual win. The runner-up result marked Byron’s second top-two result in the 2025 Cup Series season while Busch, who was trying to snap a 59-race winless drought, collected his first top-five result of this season.

“It was really close,” Byron said. “I felt like the battle between [Bell] and Kyle [Busch], I was just sitting there, waiting for one of them to bobble or slide their tires. Bell got by him and I felt like once he got clear, his car was super loose. It gave me a couple of shots at him. I just could never get beside him. We’ve always raced really well together, so I didn’t want to move him blatantly and all that kind of stuff. Sucks to be so damn close, right? You can be on the bumper of the guy coming to the line. That sucks, but a lot of races ahead and hopefully, we can just keep bringing this speed. It’s a good start to our road course program. Still a little bit of work to do. It’s been a good start to the year so far.”

“The contact we made with [Bell] between [Turns] 2 and 3 bent the right rear and it was completely a different race car after that,” Busch added. “[I] Hate it for all the guys and everybody with Rowdy Nation and [Richard Childress Racing]. We got the grit. We’re from Welcome [North Carolina] and we’re going to outwork anybody there is to work. The [No. 8] guys did a phenomenal job with the race car that we brought to the race track unloading. Just not the way I wanted it and just being able to make as many adjustments as we did in practice and qualifying and then there in the race having a really good race car.

“Wish we had a little bit more there at the end. I’ll give Christopher credit, though, where credit’s due. He ran me really hard and I was a complete butthead, but he did a great job working me over and just doing it the right way and being able to get by. [I] Wish it was us [winning].”

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who led 23 laps, came home in sixth place while Chris Buescher, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman and Todd Gilliland finished in the top 10.

Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski ended up in the top 15 while rookie Riley Herbst, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece finished 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 25th, 30th, 32nd and 33rd, respectively. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs, who spun in the closing laps, plummeted to 34th place, the final competitor scored on the lead lap.

There were 20 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 15 laps. In addition, 34 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the third event of the 2025 Cup Series season, William Byron leads the regular-season standings by two points over Ryan Blaney, five over Tyler Reddick, 21 over both Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott, and 22 over Bubba Wallace.

Results:

1. Christopher Bell, eight laps led

2. William Byron, one lap led

3. Tyler Reddick, nine laps led

4. Chase Elliott

5. Kyle Busch, 42 laps led

6. Shane van Gisbergen, 23 laps led

7. Chris Buescher

8. Noah Gragson

9. Alex Bowman

10. Todd Gilliland

11. Michael McDowell, three laps led

12. Ross Chastain

13. Carson Hocevar

14. Chase Briscoe

15. Brad Keselowski

16. Justin Haley

17. Riley Herbst

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Bubba Wallace, four laps led, Stage 1 winner

21. Denny Hamlin

22. John Hunter Nemechek

23. Cole Custer

24. Joey Logano

25. Austin Cindric

26. Josh Berry

27. Erik Jones

28. Ty Dillon

29. Zane Smith

30. AJ Allmendinger, two laps led

31. Cody Ware

32. Kyle Larson

33. Ryan Preece, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

34. Ty Gibbs

35. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

36. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

37. Connor Zilisch – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, for the Shriners Children’s 500. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 9, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

RCR NCS Race Recap: Circuit of The Americas

By

Official Release

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March 2, 2025

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet Team Forced to End Day Early After Contact at Circuit of The Americas

Finish: 35th
Start: 27th
Points: 28th

“We had an up and down day at the Circuit of The Americas with our No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet. We played strategy and pitted early in both stages for better track position at the start of the next. Our car handled well, and we were just trying to be patient until the end. With 18 laps to go, we were running inside the top-20, and the No. 11 locked up his front tires and wiped us out. My team did a great job trying to make the repairs, but the damage in the rear was too much to fix and we had to go to the garage. Bummed for our Richard Childress Racing team. I felt like we had a top-15 car, and it sucks we didn’t get to show it today. On to Phoenix next week.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet Team Lead the Most Laps En Route to a Top-Five Performance at Circuit of The Americas

Finish: 5th
Start: 8th
Points: 9th

“We had a really good No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet to be able to push that hard at the end. I just wish that we had equal tires to the No. 20. I don’t know if that was all the difference. I know he was really fast and had a good racecar. I feel like equal tires might have been able to help me hold on a little bit better to him. But even before that last yellow flag, I felt like the gap I had on the field was far enough out front that I could run the clean lines – the lines that I wanted – to preserve and take care of the tires. Once we had the yellow though, it was just defensive mode. You are in a complete and utter beat the heck out of the tires mode at that point, and I just didn’t have it over the No. 20. Hate that the contact that we made between Turns 2 and 3 ruined our racecar too. It bent the right-rear toe link and knocked everything out of it. I didn’t have anything there at the end to compete with those guys. Randall (Burnett, crew chief) and the No. 8 guys did a great job adjusting the car through practice, qualifying and into the race, and giving me a piece to go out, do that well, and get the Rebel Chevrolet up front. Appreciate everyone at RCR and ECR Engines for a really good piece this weekend. If we can keep getting top-fives and running inside the top-five, the wins will be right there.” -Kyle Busch

Rick Ware Racing: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix from COTA

By

Official Release

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March 2, 2025

RICK WARE RACING
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

Date: March 2, 2025
Event: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Round 3 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas (2.4-mile, 20-turn road course)
Format: 95 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/25 laps/50 laps)

Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Preece of RFK Racing (Ford)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 37th, Finished 31st / Running, completed 95 of 95 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (37th with 10 points)

Race Notes:

● Christopher Bell won the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix to score his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at COTA. His margin of victory over second-place William Byron was .433 of a second.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 15 laps.
● All but three of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Byron leaves COTA as the new championship leader with a two-point advantage over second-place Ryan Blaney.

Sound Bites:

“Just never got the car quite where we wanted it to be. Felt like we made good gains throughout the race, but we started so far out of the box that by the time we started getting our Arby’s Ford Mustang dialed in, it was too much to overcome. But I’m definitely proud of the effort. We picked up about two or three seconds from where we were yesterday in practice and qualifying, and that’s a testament to how hard these guys are working. We’ll just move on and get ready for Phoenix.”– Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Arby’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Shriners Hospital 500k on Sunday, March 9 at Phoenix Raceway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Buescher Leads Ford Mustang Dark Horse Teams at COTA Road Course

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Official Release

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March 2, 2025

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Ford Finishing Order:

7th – Chris Buescher
8th – Noah Gragson
10th – Todd Gilliland
15th – Brad Keselowski
19th – Ryan Blaney
23rd – Cole Custer
24th – Joey Logano
25th – Austin Cindric
26th – Josh Berry
29th – Zane Smith
31st – Cody Ware
33rd – Ryan Preece

CHRIS BUESCHER No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “This 17 team battled really hard to get our Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse up to P7 here. We are happy with that. It was a really hard day; a lot of ups and downs. We never got ourselves into the track position that we wanted to. We want to be better. It was a good day but I just feel like we are not quite competitive enough to win here at COTA. We have been very close at all of the other road courses – we feel like we have a chance to win at the others. We need to make a couple more tweaks to our Mustang here at this place. A good showing for this new course. We stayed out of the melee, for the most part, and I am proud of everyone on this Fastenal team. They did a good job today.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 4 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was not looking good after that first run. We were really, really bad. We kept our heads up and never quit. This Rush Trucks Centers team did just an awesome job of wrenching on this Ford Mustang Dark Horse. We persevered and didn’t let that early adversity get us down. It was a lot of hard work throughout the day but I am super proud of everyone’s efforts. It just matters what that scoreboard says at the end of the day, not what it took to get there. We brought it home in one piece and in the top-10.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We knew it would look different here today. We started 10th and finished 10th but we battled all day. We were OK at the beginning but we got stuck behind the [number] 9 literally in turn one. That is how it goes sometimes. I am just really proud of the fight in our team. We fought through a lot. We got a little lucky with the caution there at the end but overall we just kept fighting through everything. That brought home a top-10 finish for our Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse and we can be proud of what got us that result .”

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Haas Brothers Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a lot of ups and downs. A hard fought day for sure. Our guys did a great job rebounding throughout the day. We brought a fairly fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse but we had a few hiccups throughout the day. I feel like, to come back and get a solid result at the end of the day, wasn’t a bad thing. We will just keep building from here.”

Toyota GAZOO Racing – NCS COTA Post-Race Report – 03.02.25

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Official Release

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March 2, 2025

BELL SCORES SECOND STRAIGHT CUP SERIES WIN IN EXCITING COTA FINISH
Ends NASCAR’s Longest Streak Without Back-to-Back Winners

AUSTIN (March 2, 2025) – Christopher Bell won his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Sunday. Bell battled for the win coming down the stretch in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE and made the race-winning pass with five laps to go en route to victory lane. It marks his second straight victory after also scoring the Cup Series win last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Tyler Reddick started on the pole and led twice for nine laps (of 95) early in the race and was in the mix in the final laps before crossing the finish line in third place, marking his fifth top-10 result at COTA. 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace won the first stage, marking his first career stage win at a road course.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Circuit of the Americas
Race 3 of 36 – 228 miles, 95 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
2nd, William Byron*
3rd, TYLER REDDICK
4th, Chase Elliott*
5th, Kyle Busch*
14th, CHASE BRISCOE
17th, RILEY HERBST
20th, BUBBA WALLACE
21st, DENNY HAMLIN
22nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
27th, ERIK JONES
34th, TY GIBBS
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

What was the difference this year in terms of getting it done and getting the victory today?

“That was almost a deja vu of last year. I had the track position that time. Man, these road course races are just so much fun. Whenever Kyle (Busch) was leading, I was just trying to be so cautious. Obviously, we know what happened last year. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to pass him clean. He was just doing such a good job at running his race, and he could get off the corners just good enough that I couldn’t get inside of him. But there I started peeking a nose, and he bobbled and allowed me to get out front. Whenever I did, I’m, like, ‘Okay, just don’t beat yourself.’ Those were about the five or six sloppiest laps I’ve ever run. Just so happy for these guys right here. They’ve been on me hard about winning with them. Just super proud for everyone on this DeWalt No. 20 team. We didn’t count last week. Last week was a speedway. We didn’t have that one circled. We definitely had this one circled. I’m ready to keep adding to it.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you talk about the great effort you made coming down the stretch today?

“Yeah, we really did in our Beast Toyota Camry. I don’t know, I thought we were okay in the first stage and just got caught off guard out there by the 88 (Shane van Gisbergen) and a couple others. Stage 2 and the first half of stage 3 there unfortunately we just – I wouldn’t say we really lost the handle, we just lost the pace on our Beast Toyota Camry. I didn’t really know how the rest of the race was going to unfold for it to hang on there at the end and the drive back up to the front was good. Just wish the last restart there — I lost some track position just getting jumped on by cars on different tire strategies and just lost ground there. I think if I could’ve survived that we probably would’ve had a much better shot out there sooner than we did. All in all, a good recovery for our team and any time we come to a place like this we want to win but a solid day.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

CHEVROLET NCS AT COTA: Post-Race Report

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Official Release

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March 2, 2025

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
MARCH 2, 2025

Byron Leads Chevrolet with Runner-Up Finish at Circuit of The Americas

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd – William Byron
4th – Chase Elliott
5th – Kyle Busch
6th – Shane van Gisbergen
9th – Alex Bowman

In an all-out battle all the way to the checkered flag, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron led Chevrolet to the checkered-flag at Circuit of The Americas – scoring a runner-up result in his No. 24 Chevrolet.
Byron led a strong contingency of Chevrolet drivers to the finish of the NASCAR Cup Series’ third points-paying race of the season, with drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations earning top-10 results. Among those finishers includes Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, who sustained damage in a turn one, lap one, incident. Continuing to fight all race long, a late-race pit strategy gave Elliott a fresh set of tires to drive his way to a fourth-place finish.
Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch’s NASCAR Cup Series debut ended early after sustaining damage during an incident in the final stage. The 18-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina, native had an early setback after enduring damage on the opening lap, but later rallied to a strong performance in Stage Two – driving his No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet from outside the top-30 to the 14th position.
Showing speed across the Chevrolet camp right out of the gate at Circuit of The Americas, drivers from five different Chevrolet organizations collectively took 10 of the top-11 positions on the final speed chart following Saturday’s two rounds of practice for NASCAR’s top division. Reciprocating the speed in qualifying, Chevrolet drivers took seven of the top-10 starting positions for today’s 95-lap event – led by Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (third) and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar (fourth).

Chevrolet’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series statistics at Circuit of The Americas:

Wins: 3
Poles: 3
Top-Fives: 17
Top-10s: 27

Chevrolet’s season statistics with three NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 1
Poles: 0
Top-Fives: 7
Top-10s: 13

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Phoenix Raceway with the Shriners Children’s 500 on Sunday, March 9, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 5th

How much more could you have pushed your car?

“No, that was it on pushing the car. We had a really good No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevy to be able to push that hard. I just wish that maybe we had equal tires to the No. 20 (Christopher Bell). I don’t know if that was all the difference. I know he was really fast and he had a good racecar. I feel like that might have been able to help hold me on a little bit better to him, but even that last yellow flag that we had, I felt like the gap that I had to the field, I was far enough out front that I could run the clean lines, the lines that I wanted, to preserve the tires and take care of them as much as I could to see if he could get there. But once we had that yellow, then it was just defensive mode. You’re in complete and utter just beat the heck out of the tires at that point, and I just didn’t have it over the No. 20. Hate it that the contact that we made between two and three ruined our racecar too. It bent the right-rear toe link and knocked everything out of it. I just didn’t have anything there at the end to compete with those guys. That doesn’t go for what our Chevy was today. Randall (Burnett, crew chief) and the guys did a great job adjusting it through practice, qualifying and into the race, and giving me a piece to go out there and do that well, and to get this Rebel Chevrolet up front like we did. Appreciate Zone, Cheddar’s, Lucas Oil, Chevrolet and everyone at RCR and ECR for a really good piece this weekend. If we can keep getting top-fives and running in the top-five, the wins will be right there.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 4th

You really had to work for it. How much more did you car give you there at the end?

“Yeah, it was just a crazy day, really. I got run over, I felt like, there in the first corner. I’m curious to see it. I still haven’t seen it to know whether or not I did something wrong. I’m happy to own it, if I did. I just felt like it was the first corner of the first lap, and it’s just a bummer to get behind and then we had damage. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys did a great job fixing it and getting it that close. We got behind on a restart there and just had to play major catchup there. Alan made a great call there at the end to put tires on it. We were rolling up through there really good at the end. Obviously when you have a good car like that, I would have liked to have been in the fight with those guys, but it was a great recovery from where we were at during the end of the second stage.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 2nd

How close was that and what else did you need to do at the end there?

“Yeah, it was really close. I feel like the battle between he (Bell) and (Kyle) Busch — I was just sitting there waiting for one of them to bobble or slide their tires. Bell got by him and I felt like once he got by him and clear, his car was super loose and it kind of gave me a couple of shots at him. I just couldn’t ever get beside him. We have always raced really well together, so I didn’t want to move him blatantly. We were just sliding there a ton at the end. We came a long way this weekend and I am really proud of that. We were pretty far off to start, but got ourselves pretty raceable and in a position to win. Just sucks to be so close. You are on the bumper of the guy coming to the line and that sucks. A lot of races ahead and hopefully we can just keep bringing this speed. It’s a good start to our road course program. Still a little work to do, but thanks to Raptor, Chevrolet, Axalta, Liberty University, and all of our partners. Been a good start to the year so far.”

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 11th

“Definitely an up and down day for us in our No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet. We had decent speed. We got some track position early on and we were trying to work a strategy, but unfortunately had a pit road violation there that put us to the back. Track position is so important. We tried rallying back. We fought hard all day and we had a pretty good car. It’s something to build on. We were hoping to get back into the top-10, but just ran out of laps there. Really proud of the effort. Scored some points again and got some Stage points. Not ideal because we are going for wins, but we are getting closer. We are just going to keep grinding.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage.

Finished: 37th

Not the start of the race that you wanted or the end, but in the middle stages, you had a lot of speed. What are your takeaways from today?

“Yeah, we had a really fast No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet. I’ve had so much fun preparing for this event. That second stage, driving from outside the top-30 to 14th, was a lot of fun. I was passing a lot of guys that I used to watch on TV growing up. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to come back and do this again. I had an absolute blast driving through the field, and I wish it didn’t end early.”

Zilisch on the accident that ended his Cup Series debut early in the final stage:

“All I saw was a cloud of smoke, and by the time I saw him (Daniel Suarez), it was way too late to do anything. I saw him spinning off to the left and I thought he was going to keep going in that direction or stay there. I guess he flipped back right and he started coming towards me. Really unfortunate way to end my Cup Series debut. We were one of the top-five fastest cars in the second stage there. I went from outside the top-30 to 14th, and I felt really good about our Chevy. We made a lot of gains from practice and qualifying. It’s just an unfortunate way to end it.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage.

Finished: 36th

“I just hit the curb, hit the ground and then it spun me out. When you have low air pressure, that’s very easy to do because the car is lower to the ground. I wish I could say it was a big mistake, but it wasn’t. It was just maybe a tire width too far to the left, and I hit the curb and I spun out.”

Was this an encouraging run for your team today?

“It was a good day for the No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet team. We were a top-five, top-10 car, for sure. I thought we were going to be a little bit better than that, but we have to continue to work and learn from today.”

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. Learn more at GM.com.

TPC Racing’s Returning Champion David Williams Wins Season-Opening Porsche Sprint Challenge Race at Sebring

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Official Release

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March 2, 2025

Returning 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge Champion David Williams Picks Up Where He Left Off with a Type 992 Masters Class Victory Friday and P3 Finish Saturday in the No. 237 Quality Brand Group Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Tillman Schmid Finishes Fourth in Pro-Am Saturday in the No. 277 Monoflo International Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in His Porsche Sprint Challenge Type 992 Debut
Shaun McKaigue Rebounds from Qualifying Incident to Finish Both Masters Class Sprint Races in the No. 234 Cobot Intelligence Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Tom Kerr Secures Porsche Sprint Challenge Career-Best Finish Saturday at Sebring in the No. 74 Got Veins? Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport

SEBRING, Florida (March 2, 2025) – TPC Racing and returning champion driver David Williams were quick to renew their winning ways in this weekend’s season-opening USA Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway where Williams scored a Type 992 Masters Class victory Friday in his No. 237 Quality Brand Group/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. After winning the Master Class pole earlier on Friday, Williams jumped from his outside row two starting position into third place overall at the start and defended both his Masters lead and the top three overall podium position straight to the checkered flag.

Williams backed up Friday’s win in the first race of the year with a third-place Masters showing in Saturday’s final sprint. The weekend’s convincing performance was nearly identical to the showing TPC Racing and Williams put in at Sebring at the 2023 Sprint Challenge opener. After a second-place finish in what was then known as the “Am” class in that weekend’s first race, Williams gave TPC Racing its first career Porsche Sprint Challenger race win and a springboard to that year’s championship with a victory in the next day’s final sprint. Williams went on to win three more races in the 2023 season, and he and TPC Racing respectively secured that year’s 992 Am driver and team championships.

Williams took last season off to focus on his successful business at the Quality Brand Group but clearly demonstrated he didn’t lose a bit of his competitive edge in his Sebring return. He left Sebring with an early-season lead in the Masters championship driver standings, 109 – 108, one point ahead of his nearest challenger.

Another strong showing in Porsche GT3 Cup competition at Sebring came from race-debuting Type 992 competitor Tillman Schmid in the No. 277 Monoflo International/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Shaking off a retirement in Friday’s opening race after a contact incident, Schmid battled in the top 10 overall from the start of Saturday’s finale. Despite a caution-plagued race, that ended under waving yellow and checkered flags after the fourth incident of the race, Schmid gained valuable experience ibn battling with both the Pro-Am and Masters class leaders to cross the finish line ninth overall and fourth in Pro-Am.

Also rebounding over the weekend was veteran TPC Racing driver Shaun McKaigue in his No. 234 Cobot Intelligence/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. After turning his fastest lap of the session, McKaigue had a minor contact incident in Friday’s qualifying session that relegated him to the back of the nearly 40-car starting field in both of the weekend’s 35 minute + 1 lap races. Passing more than 10 cars, McKaigue recorded his best finish in Saturday’s finale with a 15th place showing in a Masters class field of 25 entries.

The weekend’s breakout performance came from resurgent TPC Racing driver Tom Kerr who raced to a career-best sixth-place Masters finish in Saturday’s Porsche Sprint Challenge Cayman race in his No. 74 Got Veins?/TPC Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Kerr shook off a string of mechanical issues at Sebring last year to record several strong finishes later in 2024, but his result on Saturday topped his best finish last year of seventh at Road America.

Next up for TPC Racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America is Rounds 3 and 4 of both the GT3 Cup and Cayman series at Sonoma Raceway, April 4 – 6.

Harris Levitas, TPC Racing Director of Race Operations: “The season-opening weekend for us went really well. It was a nice refresh on the 2024 calendar year for TPC Racing. Coming out of the gate winning and then a third-place finish in Masters again for David earned some solid points to open the year. It’s great momentum to take forward. Tillman did an amazing job, finishing ninth overall and fourth in the Pro-Am class in his first major race in a 992 Porsche GT3. It was incredible work by him. The improvement has been tremendous. Shaun drove clean and consistent. He stayed out of trouble in his first race weekend in a 992. All of the yellows in Race 2 didn’t help us much, but we’ll take the third-place finish for David and solid results for Shaun and Tillman and go from there. The GT4 race was just great work by Tom Kerr. It was like having a new driver the way he performed. You can’t ask more than that. His improvement has just been tremendous. And as always, the TPC Racing team did an awesome racing job this week. We’re revamped the team internally, and the guys are working so well together. The team is really bonding and molding and it’s showing in the results. I just can’t say enough about how great the TPC Racing Team guys are.”

David Williams, Driver No. 237 Quality Brand Group/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “It was awesome to win the season-opening race again. The track was pretty good for being as hot as it was. The GT3 Cup field is so tight. You’re talking a field separated by just tenths of a second in qualifying. I did get a good race start and had some good coaching with Mike Skeen. The car was setup great, so it was just head down and stay in it. It worked out well. We had a couple of restarts, but I didn’t think I had enough for them, but the two guys in front of me were in another class and I was leading Masters from third overall. The focus was more like ‘stay with them, stay with them, stay with them,’ and it worked out well. The Saturday race start wasn’t great for me. I gave up a position. These guys are really aggressive. When the race was green, my car was really good. I was making time on them, my car was staying strong, and I think the other guys felt their car was running back. Unfortunately, the race ended under another caution, and we didn’t have a chance to continue the charge. Overall, we had two podiums, and I’ll take it, but in the second race I could have been a little stronger. I’m excited for the season. I have a lot of experience at Sebring, but we’re going to some places like Sonoma I’ve not been to and Road Atlanta, where I haven’t been in a decade. So, it will be fun to get back to some of those old tracks. It’s a good group of guys in Porsche Sprint Challenge Masters with a really good, competitive field which I’m excited about. I need that good strong racing, and I think we’re going to get it.”

Tillman Schmid, Driver, No. 277 Monoflo International/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “I ended up P4 In class on Saturday. It was fun to be out here with Porsche Sprint Challenge again, but to be in the top series for the GT3 Cup cars for the first time. It’s a stout field. There’s a lot of really fast Masters guys, too, so it’s fun to dice it up with them. It was good to bounce back after the first race when we got caught up in a contact incident. It was a little bit frustrating to not finish, it was one of those racing deals. I probably squeezed a little too hard there too, but I’m learning the new race craft around a new car. I was really happy with the Saturday race result. I just went out and executed a clean race, which is what we want to do every week, and we’ll build on that. Next, we head to Sonoma in the first week of April and I am really looking forward to it. It’s a home track and I’ve got friends and family there. It will be a fun one.”

Shaun McKaigue, Driver, No. 234 Cobot Intelligence/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “I’m really happy with the progress we made, setting up the car and learning how to drive the car. I was happy with my first qualifying lap, but unfortunately, an incident curtailed qualifying for us. After that I wound up starting at the back and getting to watch all the melee. Overall, however, it was positive. We didn’t have a great finish in the race, but the car is in one piece, we did turn a nice qualifying time, and I’m happy about all of it. I’m really enthusiastic about the car. It’s a great car. It’s going to take a lot to get it to the next level, but I feel way more confident now than I did at the beginning of this weekend. Compared to the 997 and 991 generations I am familiar with, it’s a bigger, badder beast!”

Tom Kerr, Driver, No. 74 Got Veins?/TPC Racing Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport: “We were able to qualify really well, and with Mike Skeen coaching me and in my ear all of the time, it really helps a lot. There is nothing like having a pro guy coaching you along. The TPC Racing team had a good setup on the car, and I raced a little more aggressive than I was last year because I felt more confident. The number one thing is we had some practice with this car, so I was able to get some coaching and practice before a race rather than during a race, which was the case last year. So, that meant a lot to me. We had a great group battling in Saturday’s race, but about 20 minutes into the race the tires got very greasy. I could put a couple car lengths on everybody, see where I was faster, then I would slide in the next corner and they would close the gap. It’s hot. We’re in Florida. The tires had a lot to do with me being stuck with the group of guys. I was turning faster lap times than all the guys behind me, but they were closing the gap as I slid. But that’s racing and we brought it home in both races for some good finishes to start the year.”

About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sports cars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at www.TPCRacing.com.

Palou Pulls Off Master Class To Open Seasonwith St. Petersburg Win

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Official Release

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March 2, 2025

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Sunday, March 2, 2025) – One of the big questions for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field entering the 2025 season was how to halt the title march of three-time and two-time defending series champion Alex Palou.

They’re still searching for that answer, even after the first race of the season Sunday on the sunny streets of St. Petersburg.

Palou opened his quest for a third consecutive Astor Challenge Cup as series champion in the best way possible, winning the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding in a master class of strategy, speed and patience. He drove his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 2.8669-second victory over teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who said afterward that he contested the last 90 laps of the 100-lap race without radio communication in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“What an amazing job by everybody,” Palou said. “They gave me everything we needed this weekend to win. I told you yesterday we had a really, really fast car.

“Our strategy changed a lot during that first yellow, but I’m so glad we got that No. 10 in Victory Lane. It’s been 138 days since Nashville (2024 season finale), and I’ve been dreaming about this every single night.”

Spaniard Palou, who started eighth, earned his 12th career victory in the series. The Ganassi team secured its first 1-2 finish since July 2023 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium finishers in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet after Dixon passed him for second on the final lap.

NTT P1 Award winner Scott McLaughlin finished fourth in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, as Team Penske joined Chip Ganassi Racing with two drivers in the top four. McLaughlin was one of seven drivers out front today, leading a race-high 40 laps.

Florida native and resident Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five finishers at his home race in the No. 27 Chili’s Honda fielded by Andretti Global.

Palou took the lead for good on Lap 75 when Felix Rosenqvist made his final pit stop in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing. It was the culmination of a race of split strategies, as drivers who started on the grippier, less durable Firestone Firehawk alternate tires – including Palou, Dixon and Newgarden – jumped into the pits on Lap 3 during the only caution period to shed the alternates for Firestone primary tires.

That proved decisive, yet Palou didn’t just inherit the lead at the race’s three-quarter mark and cruise to Victory Lane. He produced blazing in and out laps surrounding his final pit stop at the end of Lap 72, undercutting his teammate Dixon, who couldn’t discuss strategy with his team and reacted to Palou’s pit move by stopping one lap later after being slowed by thick traffic.

After his final stop, Dixon exited the pits behind a charging Palou.

“We were just kind of flying blind out there,” Dixon said of his radio problems. “Ultimately, I think they were trying to call me in because on that last lap we had before we pitted, there was just so much traffic, and we lost two or three seconds. That’s where the 10 car got us.”

Said Palou: “I think he (Dixon) got trapped in traffic a little bit. That’s why the 10 stand decided to pit a little bit early. We had a really clean out lap, could run fast and just opened a gap from there.”

Palou was 4.502 seconds ahead of Newgarden on Lap 75, but that gap didn’t last. Newgarden sliced that margin to 2.4 seconds by Lap 88 as Palou coped with turbulent air from the car ahead of him, the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet of Sting Ray Robb, who was racing to stay on the lead lap.

Newgarden took advantage and continued to stalk Palou, pulling to within .8186 of a second after Lap 95. Dixon also was gaining ground in third.

But a potential logjam of three cars battling for the checkered flag was scattered when Palou finally lapped Robb in Turn 1 on Lap 96. Newgarden and Dixon squirted past Robb on the same lap, but the traffic-free clean air allowed Palou to pull away immediately.

Palou expanded his gap to 1.1959 seconds after Lap 97 and 1.6938 seconds at the white flag at the end of Lap 99. His lead grew even more during the final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street circuit as Dixon and Newgarden dueled for second. Dixon got past fellow Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion Newgarden in Turn 10 on the final lap.

“I felt like our car today certainly was capable of winning,” Newgarden said. “Just didn’t quite get there for a couple of reasons. Pit cycles, obviously, we needed to go longer, and we had a shift at the end that we didn’t realize, so we kind of had to give up that second place.”

2024 St. Petersburg winner Pato O’Ward used a mix of strategy and speed to climb from the 23rd starting spot to finish 11th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. That was the biggest climb from start to finish by any of the 27 drivers in the field.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday, March 23 at Thermal, California (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

indycar-race-results-2

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Team Chevy St. Petersburg Race Report

By

Official Release

-

March 2, 2025

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
MARCH 2, 2025

JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND TEAM PENSKE GIVE CHEVROLET THEIR 337TH INDYCAR PODIUM FINISH SINCE 2012 IN THE V6 ERA

Chevrolet Starts Season Solid with Two Finishing in the Top-Five and Four in the Top-10

Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, raced to a third-place finish on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Chevrolet’s 23rd podium finish at the track in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012.
Newgarden’s podium finish was his 59th career podium finish, and Chevrolet’s 337th overall since 2012 in the V6 era.
Chevrolet finished with four in the top-10 at the conclusion of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg including Newgarden, his Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin (fourth), Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard (seventh) and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi (10th).
Leading the field to the green flag Sunday, McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet captured Team Chevy’s 10th NTT P1 Pole Award on the Streets of St. Pete in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012 Saturday, his second on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn course. Additionally, McLaughlin’s pole is Chevrolet’s 136th earned pole award in the V6 era since 2012.
Team Chevy drivers and teams kicked off Sunday’s race day with a warm up practice session, with six Chevrolet drivers finishing in the top-10 including Nolan Siegel from Arrow McLaren (fifth), Conor Daly from Juncos Hollinger Racing (sixth), Christian Lundgaard from Arrow McLaren (seventh), Sting Ray Robb from Juncos Hollinger Racing (eighth), Pato O’Ward from Arrow McLaren (ninth), and David Malukas from AJ Foyt Racing (10th).
Team Chevy next heads to the Thermal Club for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix in Thermal, Calif. Competing on the Twin Palms layout, a 3.067-mile, 19-turn racing surface, the main event airs live on FOX at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 23. Additional coverage throughout the weekend can be found via INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218.

Race Results (Top-10):

3rd Josef Newgarden
4th Scott McLaughlin
7th Christian Lundgaard
10th Alexander Rossi

Morning Warm Up Results (Top-10):

5th Nolan Siegel
6th Conor Daly
7th Christian Lundgaard
8th Sting Ray Robb
9th Pato O’Ward
10th David Malukas

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“Overall, a lot of positives to take out of that race. Very good race for us. We had a little issue with the pit stop on the end there that took us out of the top-10. Overall, our race was incredible. We just kept going forward. The green tires, which was a big question mark for all the drivers on it having a lot of pace. I think, for us we managed to do a full stint and even did an extra few laps. The car is really good. The team is doing a good job. So to start off the first race like that, to capitalize on my mistakes from (qualifying), we finished off with a P13. It’s a very good, decent result to start the season off and better results for the rest.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“Solid first weekend back. Wished the result was a little bit better for us. I think we were just struggling with the balance all weekend, and getting a bunch of things sorted. Qualifying kind of hurt us with the electrical problem, but that’s also nobody’s fault. That was just freak. Just keep on learning from this event, and a lot of notes to be taken and move forward to Thermal.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“Things were tough starting out with a puncture on a pretty messy start in front of us. From what we had today, I would say we maximized things after starting further back than where we would have liked. We got some solid points and it’s important to make sure our bad days aren’t too bad. Great job by the team with the pit stops and the strategy, and I’m looking forward to Thermal in a couple weeks.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“That was a very disappointing end to a strong weekend. We had pace in every session and on both tires. For how hard this team has worked, coming away from today with that result is disappointing. We’ll continue working hard, though. We’ve shown what we have. The whole No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team executed well all weekend. If we continue to execute like that all year, we’re going to have some good results when the luck is on our side.”

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It was a really, really good first weekend overall. From where we were in Practice 1 to Practice 2 to Qualifying, we just kept chugging speed out of the car and got faster and faster into the race. Going in, it was a big question mark on strategy, what was going to work and what wasn’t. I hate to see the cars that are always on the better side of the strategy are the winning cars again. Obviously, I would have liked to have been in that situation. The Firestone Alternate tire runners got the lucky yellow in the beginning of the race, and it simplified their race from there. We got to lead a good amount of the race, which was awesome for a debut with Arrow McLaren, so I’m very happy for that. The rest was pretty much just damage control. We were looking at a good result but also potential for a very bad result. We chose a bit of a safer route, and we got home in eighth. At the end of the day, we get points for that and leading the race, which is pretty cool.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“First race of the year done in St. Pete. Not a bad race for us with a P15 finish from starting P24. Our pace in the No. 21 Splenda car was good. It was a clean and boring race for us but that means it was a safe one. We will keep that going forward and into the next race at Thermal.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“It was always going to be hard starting from 20th. We came in P2 on the strategy that we chose, which was starting on the primary tire. We steadily improved the car all weekend and from a strategy standpoint, we executed really well. That’s about all we could get out of it, but the weekend overall was positive. We’ll take the momentum and try to keep learning.”

Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“I think we had a tremendous start which was a lot of fun. Gained a lot of positions. Got off of the greens (alternate tire) right when we wanted to. Honestly, I think we had great pace during the race. Just our used set of primaries kind of hurt us in the middle of the race. We definitely know to make sure to keep only new primaries from now on the rest of the season. Just something we didn’t know. Thought we could’ve got away with it. Bit of a shame to kind of not capitalize on a top-12 that I think we had. We were running ahead of a lot of those guys to finish up near there in the top-10. Decent start, we learned a lot, and I think we can carry a lot of this to the next few races.”

Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“Today was okay. I think we had a good car. We are still learning the tires. I think there is room to go on that. It really hurt us at the beginning of the race. Our ending stint was really nice. I know we were there in front of the leaders trying to hold (Alex) Palou off, and it is very hard to hold off that guy. I felt like we decent pace in the car. I think we could have gone a little more forward with different tire pressure. Overall, I’m happy with it. I think we had decent fuel save, and decent power. So, I am hoping that the No. 77 Goodheart Chevrolet goes faster at the next one, and I think it will.”

Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:

“This is the first race and we didn’t have particularly high expectations today, but I think we maximized most of it, what we could. Today, we did what we could but again, we had an issue with the radio. That compromised the whole strategy. I was basically left more or less on my own figuring things out, which was a bit difficult because it’s our first time here. I didn’t know a lot of things that were going on. I think we could have done a bit better in terms of position, but I tried my best out there and that is the most important thing. We will all now work really hard in the three weeks we have before the next race, taking the learnings from this weekend.”

Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:

“It was a solid first race from us today. There were no big mistakes on anyone’s side, aside from a little one I had at Turn 10 which I recovered from pretty quickly. We were P19 and P20 for the team, on the lead lap, which I think is a good start. We have some areas where we can work on, but overall the pace was pretty good. We chose to start on the primaries, and with the crash at the start we were put at a bit of a disadvantage by having to do a longer stint on the alternates than the other strategy. I think in a different circumstance with this strategy we could have been a bit higher up but we can’t complain at all. We had good pace when we were fighting with the others. I’m really happy in general. We will debrief and work on lots of things to take to Thermal.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“It was a good race by the 2 team. A couple of hiccups but this team fought really hard. It starts with a really great car, and we have had a great car all weekend. I think we could have qualified higher than 10th and I said that yesterday. I felt like our car today was certainly capable of winning, but we just didn’t quite get there for a couple of reasons. The pit cycle was where we obviously needed to go longer and then we had a shift there at the end that we kind of didn’t realize and we had to give up second place there. It was a great fight for our team, and this is a good start for us. We are on the podium, got some points and we would like to keep these points on the board and then have a good, solid year. It’s a long season and you have to go all the way. I am happy to be back with this team and happy to see the energy here to start the year in INDYCAR. You know, everything is very positive right now so thank you to Team Chevy and sorry we couldn’t get the win. Obviously, PPG has been here with us and backing us and I always love driving this PPG car because normally its more lucky, but we had a lot of people here supporting and we just got to get ready to go to the next one.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“We were ultimately a pit stop behind, but we knew that was the risk of running the blacks. I think if it was no yellow first lap, we’re gone. It is what it is. Great day for us. Good points. Great start to the year. A pole and a fourth, I can’t be unhappy with that.”

On the greater variation of the green and black tires adding to strategy…

“Look, they’ve done what they’ve needed to do to get degradation. I think kudos to Firestone for giving it a crack. Overall, okay.”

On not having a caution would’ve made a difference…

“I think if the caution was in a different spot, for sure. The yellow on the first lap really hurt us, but we knew going in, that was the risk of running the black tire. We wanted a solid race, and I thought the risky strategy was starting on the green. Ultimately it was the other way around but we had great pace today and I’m really proud of everyone.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Just really close racing there in the middle of the pack and we got checked up super quick. Got into the back of the 6 car which was my fault and obviously not intentional. Normally that corner opens up a bit there, so I need to go back and look at that. Not much I could do after that contact with the 45 car behind me. Just hate to start the season this way. We’ve been strong starters the last few years with the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Looking forward to Thermal and the points race there.”

Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with members of the media during the podium press conference after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the VISIT St. Pete/Clearwater Media Center, wrapping up the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.

But we’re joined now by Josef Newgarden driving the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet with his fourth podium here at St. Pete, 59th career podium, one behind the great Johnny Rutherford for his 17th all time. Josef led two laps today.

How would you describe the start to 2025? I’m sure if they would have told you ahead of time you’d get a podium finish, you might take that, although you’d love a win?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it was a good day. A podium is always solid. I think I said that on Friday when I was in here that ultimately we need a good day just to get points on the board. That’s kind of going to be most important for this weekend, so we accomplished that.

Can’t be too dissatisfied. I think we had some miscues in the race today for sure. Just a couple fueling-wise. But the team still did a stellar job. It starts with the foundation of a fast car, and we certainly had that all weekend, and it definitely felt like it was intact in the race.

Very solid overall, just wish we could have capitalized on the positioning. We were in a good position today to challenge for the win and misstepped a little bit, but really proud of the team and the way they started. Built awesome cars. We can go on with that and feel confident at least to challenge for wins in the future.

Putting good points on the board is always the key, so we can leave here with a solid result.

Q. How are you going to beat Palou for the title?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m sorry, that is an incredible question. It’s round 1. I know this is your first race here, but it’s round 1, dude. Let’s see how it goes.

Q. The physical difficulties out there, how was the track, alternate rubber, et cetera?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Very similar to last year, I would say. I don’t know how everyone else feels, but to me it felt similar track conditions, good temperature, great track build. Kind of typical St. Pete. It just grips up like crazy here in the race. Certainly throughout the weekend and in the race it kind of takes another level throughout each stint.

Pretty straightforward. Felt like typical St. Pete. You’ve just got to get the cycling correct and get yourself in position. Obviously didn’t have as much chaos with a lot of restarts. Sometimes that can jumble things up. Really just had a pretty straightforward day. Just needed to get the cycles right.

Q. Josef, what were you going through the last lap or two when you started to fall away from Alex?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, we just had fuel miscues today two times. The second one we were just — we had a shift that was unexpected with a lap to go, and we just had to hit the emergency button, which was unfortunate. We kind of started that last lap like half emergency mode, and then they said, you just have to pull the chute here. Like just finish.

Yeah, it happens. It’s unfortunate.

To have miscues like that and to still finish third I think is a great day in a lot of ways. Really pleased to come out of here with points. Obviously there’s a lot more that could have been.

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Alex Palou pulls off undercut to win at St. Pete

By

Tucker White

-

March 2, 2025

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Fresh off his third NTT INDYCAR Series title, Alex Palou kicks off the 2025 season with a victory.

The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda pulled a successful undercut stop of teammate Scott Dixon on Lap 72 and took the lead from Scott McLaughlin on Lap 74. With 10 laps to go, however, Sting Ray Robb held him up for five laps and Josef Newgarden cut the lead to half a second. With five to go, he overtook Robb into Turn 1 and pulled away to a 2.867 margin of victory.

“Yeah, huge. Couldn’t be happier,” he said. “It’s been a long off-season and a tough off-season for everybody at CGR and HRC. They’ve been working really, really hard to try and — I mean, we were speaking on Thursday during media or Friday that it was one of the places that we’ve been struggling in the past, and we wanted to get a little bit closer to the competition.

“I wanted to be here in Victory Lane, but I did not expect maybe to be here in Victory Lane. That shows the amazing job that all the men and women did at Chip Ganassi Racing during the off-season. One-two for the team, I don’t know what Chip said, but I bet he’s pretty happy.”

Dixon overtook Newgarden right next to the deadline room on Bay Shore Drive to finish runner-up for the fifth time on the streets of St. Pete. All while he dealt with radio issues the entire race.

“It was kind of tough just to see what we were doing, kind of mileage-wise,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a lot tighter, obviously; once the first caution happened, it was going to be a strict kind of two-stopper.

“Kind of worked on the warm-up laps and kind of for the first 10 and that was about it, but ultimately cost us the race, I think, with not coming in when I should have, I think, with about maybe the same lap as Alex. We caught that traffic with about five or six cars and lost about two or three seconds on that in lap, so that was a bit of a nightmare.”

“Yeah, it was a good day,” Newgarden said. “A podium is always solid. I think I said that on Friday when I was in here that ultimately we need a good day just to get points on the board. That’s kind of going to be most important for this weekend, so we accomplished that.”

Pole sitter McLaughlin (who led a race-high of 40 laps) and Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five.

Marcus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist, Christian Lundgaard, Rinus VeeKay and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top 10.

Race summary

McLaughlin led the field to green at 12:28 p.m. Coming through Turn 3, Will Power hit the back of Nolan Siegel and slammed the outside wall. Louis Foster spun out, also. Most of the field pitted under the caution to switch onto Firestone blacks (except for Pato O’Ward, who stayed on Firestone reds). Nine cars stayed out.

Another look at what led to the Lap 1 incident.

📺: #FirestoneGP on FOX pic.twitter.com/fcm5ZSJKTK
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 2, 2025

Back to green on Lap 8, Rosenqvist looked to McLaughlin’s inside but backed out and McLaughlin pulled away from the field. By lap 12, he pulled out to a 1.140-second lead. By Lap 15, however, Rosenqvist cut the gap to seven-tenths of a second. Ten laps later, McLaughlin pulled back out to a 1.737-second lead. By Lap 30, he pulled to a four-second lead.

Rosenqvist pitted from second that same lap and switched to Firestone reds. McLaughlin followed suit the next lap and switched to Firestone reds. Marcus Armstrong pitted from the lead on Lap 34 and stayed on Firestone blacks. Colton Herta pitted from the lead on Lap 35 and took Firestone reds, but has trouble with the right-rear tire. Newgarden pitted from the lead on Lap 37 and stays on Firestone blacks. Dixon pitted from the lead on Lap 38 and remained on Firestone blacks.

McLaughlin cycled back to the lead on Lap 40 but pitted five laps later for Firestone blacks. Herta made an unscheduled stop on Lap 47 because his team short-filled him on fuel his first stop.

Rossi, who had yet to run a different tire compound, pitted from second for Firestone reds on Lap 63. With Dixon hounding him, Lundgaard pitted from the lead for Firestone reds on Lap 68. Dixon pitted from the lead for Firestone blacks on Lap 72, but Palou’s undercut cycled him out ahead of Dixon. McLaughlin pitted from the lead on Lap 74 and Palou cycled to the lead.

WHAT A MOVE BY @AlexPalou!

📺: #FirestoneGP on FOX pic.twitter.com/90sJocEJs7
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 2, 2025

“I caught about five or six cars on my in lap,” Dixon said. “I think I lost about two or three seconds just on my in lap. They did the right thing; they could see the traffic coming. I had no communication, so didn’t know. I’m sure they were trying to call me in, but as soon as you catch them, the undercut is going to be pretty strong, especially if you pop out into clear track.

Sting Ray Robb, the last car on the lead lap, held up Palou. Which allowed Newgarden to reel him in and cut the gap to half a second. With five laps to go, Palou overtook Robb into Turn 1, stretched the lead back out to a second and drove onto victory.

Nuts and bolts

The race lasted one hour, 51 minutes and nine seconds, at an average speed of 97.173 mph. There were nine lead changes among seven different drivers and one caution for six laps.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES next heads out west to Thermal, California, to race at The Thermal Club on March 23.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Race Results

(8) Alex Palou, Honda, 100, Running
(6) Scott Dixon, Honda, 100, Running
(10) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(1) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(9) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 100, Running
(7) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 100, Running
(3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 100, Running
(5) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(12) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 100, Running
(20) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(23) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(21) Graham Rahal, Honda, 100, Running
(17) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(19) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(24) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(2) Colton Herta, Honda, 100, Running
(22) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(15) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 100, Running
(27) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(18) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 100, Running
(26) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 99, Running
(14) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 99, Running
(25) Jacob Abel, Honda, 99, Running
(4) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 46, Contact
(11) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
(13) Will Power, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
(16) Louis Foster, Honda, 0, Contact

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Alex Palou pulls off undercut to win at St. Pete

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Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Race Results

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